How to Start Seeds Indoors
It's the middle of January and I am already itching to get back into gardening. As much as I love them, my handful of indoor plants aren’t cutting it!
I love all of the seasons for different reasons. I like the quiet serenity that I associate with winter - especially right after it snows, when that beautiful white blanket has not been disturbed yet. But, I'm still itching for warmer weather and for the green to come back! So, what am I going to do in the meantime? Plan my garden and start seeds indoors!
Two main parts: Equipment and Seeds!
Equipment: Everything you need to keep your seedlings happy
Containers - egg cartons, old yogurt containers, little pots or big pots, etc.
Something to put containers on and for water to drain onto
A knife, screwdriver or toothpick to poke drain holes into containers
Soil
Warm, sunny spot or an artificial light if you do not have a sunny spot
Plastic wrap
Water! I use a small spray bottle in the beginning to make sure they aren’t over-watered
Seeds: Pick your seeds! I have had success starting broccoli, zucchini and tomato plants indoors. I started small last year and was mostly successful! The only seeds that did not sprout were my pepper seeds - but I am blaming that on the week that we had no power and therefore no heat in the house - it got WAY too cold inside!! I will be trying the pepper seeds again and a few new types this year, as well as seeds I have saved from plants that I grew last year. I will give an update in a few months about how all of them turn out!
Step-by-step Instructions:
Prepare your containers! If you are using old yogurt containers or something similar, you should clean out any food remnants or dirt. Poke a few holes in the bottom of your containers if they do not have any and if the material allows you to. I used a toothpick for egg carton containers and a small screwdriver for plastic containers.
Fill containers with soil! Fill your containers with moist soil. There is special seed starting soil you can use, it is lighter than regular soil so the seedlings can sprout more easily. Here is the type of soil that I use.
Plant your seeds! Follow the planting instructions on your seed packets. The seed packets should tell you when is the best time to start sowing the seeds indoors. I have bought seed packets at Home Depot and the local dollar store. You can also find packs of seeds online, like these here.
Cover in plastic wrap and place in a warm place, like on top of the refrigerator. The plastic wrap will help keep moisture and heat in.
Once you see green poking through the soil, remove the plastic wrap and place in a warm, sunny spot! I used an artificial light because we don’t get too much sun inside.
Make sure your seedlings are well watered, but not over-watered!!
Transplant the seedlings into bigger pots whenever they outgrow their containers. For example, I have planted multiple tomato seedlings into a bigger pot to keep inside until the weather warms up.
Once the weather is consistently warm, you can plant your baby plants outside! The seed packets should have transplant instructions for timing as well as if the plant needs any special care.
Enjoy your baby indoor garden during the cold winter months, and then continue to enjoy it in the warm weather when your garden is in full swing!!
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