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Let’s Get Growing! Sowing Your Seeds (Part 2)

Start Your Engines

It’s finally time! The garden plan has been made, and all the seeds I’ve ordered have started to arrive. I’ve also managed to clean off the seed starting area and organize everything well in advance – this is a first for me! If you’re looking for ideas on setting up your seed starting area, check out Part 1 of our Let’s Get Growing series.

Get Ready…

With everything now in place, it’s time to get started sowing our first sees of the season. In truth, I started my early seeds in mid-January (I’m always pushing the limits on things), and as I write this in mid-February, I now have seedlings that are ready to be transplanted.

Before opening your seed packets, it’s important to have everything ready and at hand. I like to follow the mise en place method used by top chefs both in my kitchen, as well as in my seed sowing areas. There’s nothing worse than having your hands covered in soil only to find out that you need to run upstairs to grab a towel.

So, find your seeds, your soil, and your seed trays, and of course some water. I like to keep my seeds in these photo organizer boxes for easy storage and organization. They’re great for when you have to direct sow seeds outdoors on a windy or wet day as they keep the seed packets dry and from blowing away. I arrange mine in alphabetical order, though I’m toying with the idea of arranging them by which month they should get sown. We’ll see what I do moving forward.

Another key tool to have with you is your seed list. I make a list of all my seeds, and on it I have the dates they should be sown, and whether they should be sown indoors or outdoors. My list also includes plant spacing for when I move them into the garden later in the season.

Get Set…

When starting seeds, I find that it’s best to wet the potting soil before filling the seed trays. This allows you to get a better feel for how wet the soil is, as well as allows you to give the soil some time to absorb the water. If you have potting soil that is very dry, or contains a lot of sphagnum, it can almost reject the water at first. 

In order to help with this step, I find it easiest to have a small wash basin handy that I can fill soil and water into. Then I use a small trowel to mix everything together. You want the soil to be thoroughly moistened, but not soaking wet. Oftentimes this is described as about as wet as a damp sponge.

Once your soil is moistened, go ahead and start filling it into your seed trays. Don’t have fancy seed trays? No need to worry. You can use pretty much any container you have on hand. Just make sure that you poke some holes in the bottom so water can drain out. I’m using some plastic lettuce containers this year to start my lettuce in, and I know folks who’ve used milk jugs with the tops cut off. Even your egg cartons will make great containers to start seeds in.

Once your tray is filled with soil, gently press the soil. The idea is to tamp it down slightly, so you don’t have any major air gaps, but not so much that you press out all the air trapped in the soil. We’re not making bricks! 

After you’ve tamped the soil down you may need to add a bit more soil to each cell in the tray. Leave about a quarter of an inch up to the lip of the cell. You want this for two reasons. First, it will help keep the water from washing your seeds out when you water the trays. And second, you may need room to cover your seeds with some extra soil.

Grow!

Now that you have everything in place, it’s time to put on some good music, roll your sleeves up, and get sowing! 

Depending on the number of plants you want to end up with, this part can take a little while. Now that you have your seed starting trays ready (or at least a few of them), go ahead and grab your seed packets. Before opening the packet, read the back of it to see how deep you need to plant your seeds. A typical depth is about ¼ inch, though certain seeds like lettuce don’t like to be covered at all, and others like squash can go deeper.

Now that you know how deep to plant, go ahead and open the packet and pour some seeds into your hand. I find this step is easiest to do without gloves on. Next grab a pinch of seeds and sprinkle them into your seed tray cells. 

You’ll need to find what works best for you at this point. Some people are very meticulous and only drop one seed per cell. That’s not me. I like to sprinkle a few seeds per cell, and then transplant them later on. Inevitably not every seed will germinate. So by sowing several per cell, I should have at least one seed germinate in each one. Plus it allows me to start a larger number of seeds in a smaller footprint. 

With your first seeds sown, you will want to label this section of the tray so you remember what you’re growing where. I like to fill a complete row, and sometimes two, with a single type of plant. So I label each row with what is now growing in it. You can use special plant markers you buy at the plant store, or anything else that you can imagine. The only things you want to make sure of is that you can easily write on it, and that it is waterproof as it will get wet. I’ve used plant markers, as well as old blinds that I’ve cut into pieces. Both work. 

After you’ve sown your seeds, go ahead and place them in your growing spot. Ideally this should be an area that is warm, and can be supplemented with artificial light once the seeds germinate. 

I have a setup in my basement where I keep mine. Because it can get cold, I have had great luck using heat mats under my flats. This helps to keep the soil warm, and encourages the seeds to sprout, much like the warm summer sun.

If your seeds need to be covered with soil, go ahead and do that before setting the tray aside. After covering the seeds with their top dressing, I like to pat the soil down a bit to ensure the seeds have good contact with the soil, then mist everything well with a spray bottle. 

Finally, it’s best to cover the top of the soil to reduce evaporation the first few days. There are all sorts of options for this, simply use whatever you have on hand. I like to use bits of cardboard boxes, but I’ve also used plastic wrap as well as plastic domes. Regardless of what you use, you’ll be removing it once the seeds start to sprout. Until then, you can also save a bit on your energy bill and leave your lights off.

Check on your trays once a day, and gently water them if they are drying out. Once you start to see seedlings, remove the covering or replace it with something see through such as a plastic dome. You will also need to turn on your grow lights at this point. 

As the seedlings develop you can switch from top watering to bottom watering, which will encourage their roots to grow downward. This helps them to develop good strong root balls, which is what you want before planting. If, like me, you’ve planted several seeds in one cell, you will eventually need to separate the seedlings and replant them individually. I’ll cover this in an upcoming article.

What to Grow in January and February

So what did I start in January? As you were reading the back of your seed packet, you most likely noticed a comment about when you can start seeds inside or outside. This is sometimes part of the paragraph of information, and sometimes part of a diagram. This is the information I use to make my seed list.

Armed with this information, I started the following seeds in January:

January

  • Artichoke
  • Celery
  • Celeriac
  • Onions
  • Lettuce – this is extremely early, but I’m hoping I can get some going in a container so we can start eating fresh lettuce sooner

And will be sowing these seeds in February:

February

  • Rosemary
  • Stevia
  • Leeks
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage – red and green
  • Egg plant
  • Kale
  • Lettuce – I want to start some succession plantings
  • Radishes – to have something to eat with our lettuce
  • Chives
  • Lavender
  • Lemon balm
  • Marjoram
  • Oregano
  • Sage
  • Thyme

March – weekly planting of items from this list

  • Lettuce – this is when we should be starting lettuce in my zone (I’m 5A)
  • Mint
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Mustard greens
  • Chervil
  • Tarragon
  • Savory
  • Peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Melons
  • Basil
  • Fennel
  • Dill 
  • Hyssop
  • Calendula
  • Sunflowers

April

  • Beets
  • Pak choi
  • Zucchini
  • Luffa (yup! You can grow your own luffa sponges)
  • Broomcorn
  • Zinnias
  • Forget me nots
  • Corn
  • Squashes

By mid-May I can start to move plants into the garden, as well as start direct sowing items such as carrots. Until then, I’ll be starting seeds and/or transplanting seedlings to larger pots on a weekly basis starting in March.

Check out our Part 3 article to learn how to transplant your seedlings.

Happy sowing!

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