Starting Seeds Starts Your Season
I really dig seed-starting. I take early plant development very seriously. First I'll tell you how I do it, then I'll tell you why I do it that way.
All of my seeds are started in Pro-Mix BX potting medium and supplemented with vermicompost. I use a 4:1 ratio of the two.
Let me start by stating that I am not compensated by the Pro-Mix people nor do I work in a gardening center. I just like the product because it works well for me. Its ingredients are Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, calcitic and dolomitic lime, a wetting agent, and mycorrhizae (that's the most important part for me!).
What is mycorrhizae? It's a fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with the roots of your plant, effectively extending your plant's access to water and nutrients in exchange for sugars produced by the plant. Almost every species of plant has evolved to take part in this relationship but unfortunately not many people are aware of it. I don't know how many nursery plants are grown in mycorrhizae, but I would venture to say not many. I just don't see how a plant can reach its full productive potential without the helping hand that nature intended for it.
The next part is the vermicompost. As far as I'm concerned, this stuff is magic! Vermicompost is nutrient- and microbe-dense. It also tends to retain quite a bit of nitrogen, alleviating the need to add fertilizer. It can be overdone though to the detriment of your plants. That's why I use four parts of Pro-Mix to one part of vermicompost. The beauty of vermicompost is that if you've made it correctly, you're supplying your seedling with all of the nutrients it needs to assemble the enzymes necessary for optimal health. I add azomite rock dust to my worm bins to ensure that all of the trace minerals are present.
Now that you know what I use, the next step is to mix the ingredients and load seed trays. I mix everything in my trusty wheelbarrow and then load it into 72-cell trays. I add warm filtered water to the bottoms of the trays, put the trays on heating pads, cover the tops with Saran Wrap, and wait for the seed-starting mix to become saturated which usually takes a day or two. Only after the mix is saturated and warm do I plant the seeds. Proper temperature and moisture levels are crucial to germination. It helps to know the germination temperatures of the seeds you're planting.
Lettuce seeds germinate at lower temperatures than peppers do for instance. If you try to germinate peppers at too low a temperature, the seeds are liable to rot before germination ever occurs.
The use of filtered water is important because municipal water has either chlorine or chloramines added to it, both of which are there to kill all the life-forms in the water. Chlorine will off-gas in about 24 hours but chloramines will not. I use a fancy filtration system to get rid of these chemicals but you can also put water in a bucket and then add some mature compost that you've put in a paint filter bag. The chloramines will get captured by the humates in your mature compost. I would let it sit overnight before removing the compost to be on the safe side.
Once your seeds are planted the waiting game begins. As soon as you see your little ones being born, take off the plastic and get them under lights immediately. I use both plant grow lights and regular fluorescent bulbs. Just keep the fluorescent bulbs close to the tops of your seedlings so they don't get spindly. Their growth should be compact. Adjust the height of your lights as your little plant babies grow, taking care not to inadvertently burn the tops. Then all you have to do is monitor moisture until it's time for your plants to go into either a larger container or their permanent spot.
So that's how I start my seeds. It's really fairly simple. The only other advice I can give is to check your county extension office for transplant dates. That will let you know when your plants need to be ready to go in the ground. Most seed packets will tell you how many weeks it will take for a plant to germinate and then develop to the point where it should be transplanted. Usually it's around four to eight weeks.
Happy planting!
Recommended Reading: The New Seed-Starter's Handbook by Nancy Bubel
Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof
The Worm Book by Loren Nancarrow and Janet Hogan Taylor