For some reason, when I was growing up I heard that it was hard to start seeds early and that it was a lot of work. Everyone I knew bought plants at the nursery or garden center. I tried starting my own seeds a couple times, but only got a few sprouts or wasn't disciplined enough to grow them to maturity. However, my mother-in-law has been starting seeds for a long time and has figured out a great way to do it. I am having a blast sprouting my own pepper and tomato plants, so I thought I'd pass this method along to you.
Tools & Supplies:
Seed Starter (I bought Jiffy brand from Walmart)
A clear plastic or glass container- shallow and wide, like a casserole dish or plastic tub
Seeds
Piece of glass to fit over the container (I used photo frame glass)
Directions:
1. Prepare your seed starter by mixing some water in. You want it a little muddy, but not soup.
2. Put your wet seed starter in the container.
3. Set the seeds on top of the soil about 1 inch apart (or whatever the packet says). It's best to only plant one kind or variety of plants in each container. I planted all of my peppers in one container (pictured below), but I didn't know that hot peppers take longer to sprout. You can see that my hot peppers (to the right) are more sparse than the other varieties. If you do plant different varieties together, be sure to keep track of which is which. I separated my container into sections with a bright yellow thread and labeled each section on the outside of the box.
4. Push the seeds under the soil with a toothpick.
5. Set the piece of glass on top of your container. Make sure that there are no cracks between the glass and the container where air can get in. You want to create a greenhouse effect, where the water in your soil mix evaporates, hits the glass, and then falls back down on the soil. No watering or keeping moist required.
6. Put the 'greenhouse' in a warm place, like on top of your fridge. DO NOT lift the glass before you are ready to repot.
Tools & Supplies:
Seed Starter (I bought Jiffy brand from Walmart)
A clear plastic or glass container- shallow and wide, like a casserole dish or plastic tub
Seeds
Piece of glass to fit over the container (I used photo frame glass)
Directions:
1. Prepare your seed starter by mixing some water in. You want it a little muddy, but not soup.
2. Put your wet seed starter in the container.
3. Set the seeds on top of the soil about 1 inch apart (or whatever the packet says). It's best to only plant one kind or variety of plants in each container. I planted all of my peppers in one container (pictured below), but I didn't know that hot peppers take longer to sprout. You can see that my hot peppers (to the right) are more sparse than the other varieties. If you do plant different varieties together, be sure to keep track of which is which. I separated my container into sections with a bright yellow thread and labeled each section on the outside of the box.
4. Push the seeds under the soil with a toothpick.
5. Set the piece of glass on top of your container. Make sure that there are no cracks between the glass and the container where air can get in. You want to create a greenhouse effect, where the water in your soil mix evaporates, hits the glass, and then falls back down on the soil. No watering or keeping moist required.
6. Put the 'greenhouse' in a warm place, like on top of your fridge. DO NOT lift the glass before you are ready to repot.
A week or so later... !!!
Another fun and more aesthetic way to sprout seeds is to use a glass cake stand as your "greenhouse". I put my tomato seeds, one or two per section, in a damp cardboard egg carton.
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Next week we'll discuss transplanting the seedlings and using a grow light. Happy seed-starting!
-Bethany
-Bethany
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