How to grow plants from seed in sevensteps

It might be cold outside, but now isactually a great How to grow plants from seed in seven steps to start yourgarden by planting seeds indoors. Here are some helpful tips.

By Barb Gorges

Special to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle

"It is so much fun to grow yourown stuff," said Barb Sahl, who teaches Laramie CountyMaster Gardeners classes.

Plus, you can grow varieties that maynot be available at local nurseries. Best of all, you can time their growth sothey are the optimum size for transplanting to the garden.

Yes, even though it looks a lot likewinter, now is actually a great time to start your garden.

It will get its start indoors, ofcourse, but here's a primer that will take you through all the steps of startingseeds so later this spring, you can fill your plot with lots of healthy plants.

STEP 1: READ THE SEED PACKET

Get seeds that are in packages datedfor this season. The older the seeds, the less likely they will germinate.

Look for short-season vegetables soyou can harvest before frost.

The "Silvery Fir Tree"tomato that I tried last year is supposed to produce a ripe tomato in 58 daysafter transplanting outdoors.

Most vegetables have short-seasonvarieties available, even eggplant. "Orient Express" is rated for 58days to maturity, and "Marketmore," a cucumber rated for 60 days.

Cheyenne native Willi Galloway,author of "Grow Cook Eat," recommends a rating of 75 days for ourarea.

Check to see if seeds are betterdirectly seeded in the garden -- some don't transplant well.

Look for how many weeks before thelast frost you should start seeds indoors. On average, our final frost date isMay 24.

The packets will also tell you theproper planting depth. For tiny seeds, it is so scant, you should place them onthe soil surface, sprinkling a little dry soil on top and moistening with amister.

Check to see if your seeds needspecial handling. To germinate, some need soaking or nicking or exposure todirect light or to sit in darkness. Some even need to cool in the refrigerator.

STEP 2: USE SPECIAL SEED-STARTINGSOIL

Kathy Shreve, another Master Gardenermentor, is adamant about buying special soil designed for starting seeds. It'savailable in most places selling gardening supplies. You will have a higherrate of success because it's sterile -- it doesn't carry funguses that can killseedlings -- and it's lightweight so the seeds don't have to struggle throughthe heaviness of typical garden soil.

I don't need much of this specialmix. Once the seedlings have several true leaves, not just those first two"seed leaves," I can move them into larger pots with regular, cheaperpotting soil.

Because the seed starter soil issuper-dry, be sure to mix it with water before filling the pots.

STEP 3: USE STERILE POTS

Kathy and Barb both swear by"accelerated propagation systems." There are several brands, but theone we use is from www.LeeValley.com. Theclear plastic dome keeps the soil surface moist until the seeds sprout.

But the water reservoir is key. Awicking system waters each cell from below so that seeds are never jostled fromtop watering. And before seeds sprout, the reservoir may not need filling forseveral days, letting you take a vacation before the more demanding part ofplant parenthood begins.

Because the seedlings require only afew weeks before they need repotting, I have been able to start all my smallseeds in shifts in this watering system, which is the size of an egg carton.More robust seed varieties do well in other containers covered with plasticwrap until they sprout.

scavenge for my other containers,carefully reusing plastic pots from plant sales and nursery purchases, as wellas whatever stores throw out. It's appalling how much plastic waste thehorticultural industry produces.

Any container you can sanitise can bereused -- styrofoam cups, tall drink cups (especially useful for tomatoes),yogurt cups --just be sure to poke a lot of holes in the bottom for drainage.Clean it and then soak it in a 10 percent bleach solution for a few minutes,then rinse.

There are pots made from compressedfibers of various kinds. The idea is you can plant the pot and all right intothe garden and the roots will grow through the walls. My experience is that theroots tend to stay in the pot. It is better to tear it away when transplantingand throw the pot in the compost pile.

Last year, I tried the"PotMaker," a little wooden cylinder that you roll a strip ofnewspaper around several times, fold the bottom inch or so underneath and crimpthe fold. Remove it from the cylinder and fill it with potting soil. If handledcarefully, or rather not handled after setting in a plastic tray, these littlepots will hold up until the plant is ready for transplanting outdoors. Whilenewspaper is degradable, I prefer to remove it, if there aren't too many rootsalready growing through it.

You could use any cylindrical objectto make the size pot of your choice. Wrap the paper around, but not so tightlyyou can't slip it off. And use a freshly read newspaper -- nothing that's beensitting out for weeks, accumulating disease spores.

STEP 4: PROVIDE BOTTOM HEAT

Some types of seeds, such asvegetables of tropical origin such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, arehappier with warmth from an electric heat mat placed beneath them. Vegetablesfrom cold climates, like cabbage and broccoli, don't care so much. Yes, this isan investment, but especially necessary if you are starting seeds in a chillybasement.

Last year, I dispensed with the heatmat when I decided to start my seeds in the hall bathroom instead of thebasement. It has no windows, just a skylight, and it's the warmest spot in thehouse -- over 65 degrees. No one uses the bathtub now so I put in freestandingshelves and hung up lights.

STEP 5: PROVIDE EXTRA LIGHT

"A windowsill is hardly eversufficient to grow good stocky seedlings," said Kathy.

Catalogs are happy to sell youspecial grow lights, but for the brief time seedlings are with you, a 4-footshoplight with two fluorescent bulbs, 5,000-6,500 degrees Kelvin (daylight isapproximately 5,600 degrees), is adequate for two standard 10-by-20-inch flats.

Turn on the lights when you get up inthe morning, and turn them off at bedtime.

Keep the tops of the plants about 1to 2 inches from the light bulbs. Either hang the lights on chains so thattheir height can be adjusted, or stack stuff under the flats to bring themclose to the lights.

STEP 6: PROVIDE WIND

Really! Both Barb and Kathy keepsmall, ordinary oscillating fans going across the room from their seedlings. Itprevents damping off disease, when seedlings keel over and die.

Also, plants respond to air movementby reinforcing the strength of their stems so you'll have stockier, strongerplants.

This has worked for me when I startedseeds two years ago. Last year, in the bathroom, I didn't use a fan and didn'tlose any plants. However, Kathy and Barb's plants did look better than mine.

STEP 7: WATER AND FERTILISE CAREFULLY

More indoor plants are lost toover-watering than anything else. Once your seedlings germinate, remove anyplastic covers and make sure the surface of the soil gets a bit dry before thenext watering. As the seedlings grow, their watering schedule will change. Planto check them at least every day.

Most seed-starting and regularpotting soils have fertilizer added, so let the little plants chew on that afew weeks before giving them anything more -- and then figure half strength ofwhatever the directions recommend.

SUCCESS!

Don't worry if by the end of May yourplants aren't blooming and as mature-looking as the ones at the store. Bloomingplants sell better, but often their roots are pot-bound in those tinycontainers, and the plants, especially flowers, may not really recover to growmuch the rest of the summer.

You can make sure your starts aren'tpot-bound and are at just the right stage to jump into the garden and keepgrowing.

BARB GORGES

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page maycontain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specificallyauthorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this materialwithout profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving theincluded information for research and educational purposes. We believe thisconstitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17U.S.C § 107