We’re really getting into the swing of the whole “urban gardening” thing – our raised beds are almost ready to start planting!
So today, I thought I’d share some simple steps on starting seedlings. I’m no expert in the field, but I did grow up helping my parents with our family garden every year, so I’ve got lots of years of experience tucked under my belt. {You can read a few of my thoughts on that here.}
We started our seedlings a little over a week ago, and I made sure to try and snap a photo each day {once they sprouted} to share. Hopefully, I’m not overwhelming you with too many photos. I’ll try to give brief tips and instructions along the way!
We started out by gathering seeds and a germination tray. I’m trying a couple of different brands of organic seeds {that’s one of our purposes in planting a garden – to get great organic produce for a price that we as a family can afford!}. I was able to grab the Martha Stewart seeds at my local Home Depot, where I bought our germination tray.
They were missing several veggies that we wanted in our garden, so I turned to my favorite online source for organic seeds – Seeds of Change. I was able to find everything I was looking for, and then some. The seeds arrived at our home in less than a week as well, so that was a bonus! If you have a favorite spot to order or purchase from, I’d love to hear!
When we opened the tray, it was filled with these coir pellets – which I had no clue on. They’re a bit funky to work with at first, but really cool once you figure things out! Following the package instructions, we rehydrated them with a bunch of water. As you can see from this photo, we didn’t need them all, so we decided to remove them from the tray for later use. The boys watched in amazement at how big the things puffed up once they had water!
After they were all good and soaked, we took a toothpick out of the cupboard to fluff up the peat that was inside each little net pot{in the garden we’d use a trowel, of course}. It worked really well, and we were happy with the result! Once it was all fluffed up, we dropped our seeds in – three to each pot, just in case any didn’t all sprout.
After planting, we created little pot markers to make sure we remember what was planted where… I used more toothpicks and these fun stickers from Jenni Bowlin Studios. I just jotted the plant name down and stuck one on each side of the toothpick, so that they’d stay.
Now comes the hard part. Waiting. Can you hear the Jeopardy music? I had the boys check the packaging to get more details on how long it would take their seeds to sprout so that they wouldn’t be disappointed if they didn’t see anything right away – but honestly, we were pleasantly surprised when just 3 days later, we were greeted by this:
Some tips for caring for the seeds as the germinate:
1.) Water – We had to soak our pellets really well to get them to rehydrate. We chose NOT to use the cover that came with our seed tray – because if they are too wet, they’ll mold and rot instead of sprouting. We checked the moisture each morning by gently touching the soil. You want the pots to stay moist, but not wet. It took several days of them sitting in the sunlight and warmth before they needed more water.
Don’t let them completely dry out either. They’ll just sit in the same state they were in in the package.
Always water in the morning – for a number of great reasons: for starters, it helps to prevent mold. And it’ll make sure they’re not bone dry and baking while the sun is shining on them throughout the day.
If you’re in the city, and using chlorinated water, be sure the set water out for a day or two so that the chlorine can evaporate out a bit. Plants don’t like it.
2.) Sunlight and Warmth – If you’re in a colder climate, and not placing your trays outside to start with, be sure to set them in a window that has plenty of sunlight and warmth!
3.) Care – Check in on your seedlings twice per day – just a peek. One of the things that makes starting seeds or caring for a garden tricky is that they are living things – and just like a puppy, they need water and nourishment. Unlike a puppy, they can’t get your attention if you forget, and will just wither up and die.
I hope these tips are helpful!! I’ll be checking in next week with our seedling’s progress – though if you follow my instagram, you’ll get subjected to them every day!}. I’ll be sharing tips on “thinning” to grow plants that are strong, and transitioning your seedlings from indoor pots to an outdoor garden bed.
This has been so exciting for us! I have loved watching our son’s interest in the progress and how they’re learning to care for them!
