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Estoy de Acuerdo / Eu concordo / I agree Collapse 'Written by Brenda F., Master Gardener Volunteer in Chatham County
Have you decided you want to try growing plants from seeds this year, but have some questions? Here are some frequently asked questions about growing your garden from seed.
Do all seeds need to be started indoors? No
Root vegetable crops, such as carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, and radishes need to be seeded directly outdoors because the transplanting process may interfere with root development. Other cool season crops that establish well when directly seeded outdoors include arugula, cilantro, lettuce, kale, and spinach. During this time of year, most warm season crops (squashes, melons, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, etc.) need to be started indoors because they can injured or killed when temperatures are near freezing. Beans and peas are also best sown directly in the soil and not started indoors. For a reference of when different crops can be planted as seeds or transplants outdoors, refer to the NC State Extension Central North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs.
Do I need special indoor lights? Probably.
Seeds need light to grow. If you have a warm, sheltered place to put seedlings outside during the day, like a greenhouse or cold frame, you can place the pots outside during the day and bring them in at night. If you have a southern-facing, very sunny windowsill, that may be enough light for some crops, but you will be far more successful at seed starting with artificial light. Broad spectrum grow lights are ideal, but a combination of 'warm' and 'cool' fluorescent lights can work too. If using LED lights make sure they are grow lights to ensure the output a broad light spectrum that plants need to grow properly. Lights need to be placed directly over the pots and placed just a few inches from the soil surface. As the plants grow, you will need to be able to raise the height of the light so that it is always a few inches above the plants. Seedlings need 12-16 hours a day of light.
Do I need special pots? No
You can reuse small plastic pots that other plants have arrived in, as long as you sanitize them to prevent disease. You can also use containers like yogurt cups, cottage cheese or sour cream containers, cut off milk jugs, etc. Just make sure to clean them and make holes in the bottom for excess water to easily drain out. You can use a 1:10 bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) to sanitize your pots. Keep your pots in a tray for easier watering and transport.
Can I start seeds in garden soil? No
Seed starting and potting mixes are free of pests and diseases that can be found in garden soil. Additionally, garden soil does not drain well enough to be suitable for use in pots or containers. It is easiest to buy potting or seed starting mixes (the latter have a finer texture), but you can also make your own potting mix if interested.
When do I start my seeds? It depends.
Generally, you can start vegetable seeds indoors about six weeks before the recommended transplanting time in the Central North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs. Some crops, like cucumbers, squashes, and okra, grow very fast and just need to be started 2-3 weeks before the recommended transplanting time, while peppers and eggplants should be started 8-10 weeks early.
How deep do I plant my seeds? It depends.
In general, larger seeds should be planted deeper than smaller seeds. Some seeds will not germinate if they are covered with soil. Refer to the seed packet to find out how deep to plant your seeds. You can push the seed into the soil or place the seed on top and sprinkle soil over the seeds. After placing your seeds, gently compact the soil with your hands so that the seeds are getting good contact with the soil.
How do I know if my seedlings are getting enough light? ' Your seedlings will tell you.
If your seedlings are getting tall and leggy, they need more light. If they are stocky and look healthy, they are getting enough light.
How do I water seeds after I plant them? From the bottom.
The best way to water seeds is from the bottom. Pour water into the tray your pots are sitting in, and they will absorb the water they need up into the soil. Water added to the top of the pot can displace the seeds and soil undoing any careful planting you did. Seedlings should not be left to sit in water. Seedlings that are kept too damp can die from damping off disease. Whatever they do not absorb in a few minutes after watering should be drained off.
When can my warm season crop seedlings go outside? After you harden them off and frost is no longer a threat.
Seedlings that have been raised inside need time to adjust to outdoor conditions. This takes about 2 weeks. The first day, sit them outside in a shady, sheltered area for an hour or two. Each day, take them back outside and introduce them to more sun and wind and reduce the amount of water they are getting. By the end of the two weeks, they should be used to being in the sun for multiple hours. If you can, transplant them into your garden on a shady day and water them well. This will help them with any transplant shock. You should also check the weather to make sure there are no frosts predicted. Do not be fooled by a string of warm spring days. Make sure you are near the last average frost for your area.
Can I use the same seed packet next year? Maybe
Seeds are alive but dormant and can only remain so for so long. Some seeds can remain dormant for years and others will not. If you have old seeds, you can get an idea of how well they will germinate by placing 10 seeds on a damp paper towel and folding the towel over the seeds. Seal the paper towel in a baggie and place it in a warm sunny place. Check the seeds each day to see if they sprout. The number that does sprout gives you a rough percentage of how many of your seeds will sprout. If five sprout, only about 50% of the seeds are viable. It is recommended that if less than 8 of your seeds sprout, you may want to just buy a new package of seeds. The NC State Extension Gardener Handbook has more information on seed propagation.
More vegetable seed starting resources.
To get the hang of seed starting, it takes practice. There is a lot to know and a lot to get right, including watering, lighting and timing. So in this week's podcast, I am answering seed starting questions that listeners have submitted to help you have a successful seed starting experience and get over any hurdles you've confronted.
Last week, I discussed the five most common seed starting mistakes, a list that I came up with based on the 5,000 or so questions that I have fielded from the Online Gardening Academy' Master Seed Starting course over the past three years. I set aside this week to answer the questions you still had after listening to last week's roundup of common mistakes.
Master Seed Starting is now entering year four. The enrollment period runs through Monday, January 29, at which point the launch window closes until next year. It's a comprehensive course with 75 instructional videos. It took two years to create this course, with trials and experiments that I documented to craft the many hours of course content.
You can also register right now for my free webinar Seed Basics & Beyond: 9 Things to Know Before You Start Plants From Seed. Three opportunities remain to attend, one per day from January 25 to 27. This webinar is full of information to help you take your seed starting to the next level. In this webinar, I share what you need to know about seeds to understand how they work so that you can be more successful in your seed starting endeavors. I firmly believe that the more that you understand about working with seeds and what they need to be successful, the more success you will have.
You can delve further into seed starting by checking out the many 'joegardener® Show' podcast episodes and joegardenerTV YouTube videos I have made on the topic. My video 'How I Start Seeds Indoors Tips & Techniques' is a great place to start. In 15 minutes I take you through my entire process for sowing seeds indoors, from putting them into the cell trays and watering them in after sowing the seeds, to taking them down to my seed starting room and putting them under the lights. For even more, see the Links & Resources section at the bottom of this page.
One of the most important things to know when seed starting is whether your seeds are still good. If they were not packaged for the current year (this date should be on the seed packet) they may no longer be viable. The older they are, the greater the chance that the seeds will be duds, so fresh seed is the way to go if you don't want to take any chances.
Some seed varieties, such as lettuce, go bad quickly, while others, such as tomatoes, can last for years if stored well. If you have older seeds that you are unsure about, you can conduct a simple viability test. Take out 10 seeds and put them onto a damp paper towel, and fold the paper towel over a few times. Put the paper towel into a zip-lock bag and set the bag someplace warm ' around 70°F. Three to five days later, check for seed germination. Did seven seeds sprout? Your seeds have a germination rate of about 70%. Did one sprout? Your seeds have 10% viability.
If you discover that the seeds you saved have 50% viability, you should sow them at a density of two per cell so that you can expect one sprout per cell.
Moisture and heat are the enemies of maintaining the viability of seeds. Dry and cool are the best conditions for seeds to ensure they last.
When saving seeds, ensure they are dry before putting them into storage, and add a silica pack or two to each seed envelope to absorb any lingering moisture. (You can find all of my seed saving and seed starting supplies and equipment at my Amazon shop.)
A good rule of seed storage is to never go over 100. Take the average temperature in the room and the average humidity and add them up. For instance, a 70° room with 30% humidity adds up to 100, and that will be safe for stored seeds. But if the temperature is 70° and the average humidity is 40°, now the total is 110, and that won't be good for the long-term viability of your saved seeds.
Most seed starting mixes that consumers can find at big box stores do not include a wetting agent. Also known as a surfactant, a wetting agent is described as something that makes water wetter. It breaks the surface tension of water so the seed starting mix can readily absorb the water.
Wetting agents are found in mixes available to the nursery trade, but probably not in the bag of seed starting mix you brought home. You may find that when you add water, the water just sits on the top of the mix. That's because the mix is hydrophobic. Peat moss is notorious for this. Once peat moss is wet it holds water very well, but when dry it is difficult to get it to absorb any water.
I use a professional seed starting mix, Pro-Mix BX, which comes with a wetting agent. The water soaks in immediately, which avoids the tedium of patiently soaking straight peat moss by adding a little bit of water at a time and waiting.
I use the shower nozzle of my kitchen sink on a light spray, and the water goes right into the seed starting mix with a wetting agent. If your mix is not absorbing water well, you can gradually add a little bit of water at a time, a couple minutes between applications, for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can premoisten the mix prior to adding it to your seed trays and sowing seeds. And once your seeds are sown, you can top the seeds off with a little more premoistened mix and sprinkle more water on top. Because the mix is presoaked, it will accept this additional water readily.
When watering newly sown seeds, take care not to blast the mix with a sharp stream of water. The seeds may float right out of the tray or into other cells. But when you practice, you'll get a feel for this quickly.
Lori Jo Jamieson asks about using PittMoss for seed starting. I have used this product for several years now, and the more I use it the better I get at seed starting with it.
PittMoss is a non-peat, non-coir alternative for seed starting. It's made of recycled paper and cardboard that's been engineered to mimic soil. It's very finely ground but still a little bit chunky. It looks and feels very different than peat moss or coir, but it is an alternative that has promise.
I am currently experimenting with 2-inch-deep cell trays filled with 100% PittMoss that I am comparing to trays that use a mix of PittMoss and peat moss or PittMoss and coir.
When I spoke about PittMoss with Dr. Charles Bethke, the manufacturer's horticultural soil and nutrition consultant, he said that PittMoss is really designed for 4-inch-deep trays, because shallow trays tend to get waterlogged since they don't have the depth of gravity to move excess water out.
Figuring out how to use 2-inch trays with PittMoss took me some time. It is a different experience than sowing into peat moss or coir, and there is a learning curve there.
Heather C. asked about using humidity domes over seed starting trays. These range from 2 inches high to 7 inches or even taller. I am a firm believer in using 2-inch domes. If you are challenged for space overhead, you don't want tall domes. A tall dome will make it difficult to adjust the distance of your lights from your plants. The 2-inch domes also cost less, which is another plus.
A shallow dome over the seedbed will more effectively hold moisture in the seed starting mix. A taller dome gives the humidity more room to spread out, which can lead to the seed starting mix drying out on its surface.
I use the taller domes for propagating cuttings. That's when I find I need more than 2 inches of head space.
I put heat mats, also known as propagation mats or seed starting mats, in the category of 'nice to have' but not 'need to have.'
Seeds have a preferred temperature range in which they will germinate. The range is different from one seed variety to the next, and if the soil is either too cold or too hot beyond the range, the seeds are not going to germinate. If your seed starting room is cooler than that range, a heat mat will help get the soil temperature where it needs to be. You can even buy a mat with a thermostat to dial the mat into a specific temperature.
I use heat mats all the time for my warm-season crops, especially tomatoes and peppers.
Once the seeds germinate, the heat mat should be turned off. Leaving the heat mat on too long can create an adverse reaction. Cool soil is better for root development, and the air temperature is more important than the soil temperature at this point.
A good way to know if your seed starting mix is moist enough is to compare the dry weight of the mix to its weight when it has reached field capacity, which is as much water as it can hold. Aim for a moisture level, and weight, about halfway between totally dry and field capacity.
If sewing in soil blocks, you won't know the dry weight because you are starting with moist mix pressed into blocks. Soil blocks inherently dry out faster than mix in plastic cells because soil blocks are exposed on all sides. You may not know how light the blocks are when completely dry, but you can still get a sense of how dry the blocks are based on their weight. You can also get a better sense visually of whether soil blocks are dry, compared to looking at seed starting mix in cells, where you can only see if the top is dry.
You can also reach in and tap a block. If it feels hard and crusty without a lot of give, your blocks need water.
I don't bottom water soil blocks because it is hard to know if all of the blocks are getting water. The blocks on the outside of the trays could suck up all the water, leaving the blocks in the middle dry.
I water soil blocks from the top using a narrow spouted watering can to precisely direct water. If you use a floret that has more of a shower spray, you risk the water beating down the tender seedlings. With a narrow spout, you can get water where it needs to be without pummeling the seedlings.
Grow lights come in full-spectrum types and dual-band lights. Full spectrum lights are white light, and dual-band lights emit a purple hue ' I call it burple ' which is a combination of the blue light frequency and the red light frequency. The red and the blue light frequencies do the most to promote the growth of the plants.
The problem with dual-band lights is that purple-ish look is not a pleasing look. If you have to deal with it every day in your office or living room, it's annoying. Though dual-band lights are the most effective grow lights, it doesn't make enough of a difference to justify putting up with the unattractive and unpleasant burple light. So I only use full-spectrum lights; it's just easier on the eyes.
For more Vegetable Seedsinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
If you will keep your grow lights someplace where they are always out of sight, dual-band lights could be the way to go for you.
Do you need to fertilize seedlings when starting seeds in soilless mix that is free of fertilizer? There is a great debate about this, but I can tell you that I personally rarely fertilize my seedlings between the time they are sown and when they are transplanted outdoors.
Some seed starting mixes contain a trace amount of fertilizer, known as a 'charger,' to give seedlings a tiny kickstart. I use these mixes sometimes, but the fertilizer does not last.
Occasionally, as I pot up seedlings to larger containers, I add a light dose of fish emulsion fertilizer or something else with an NPK ratio of around 2-3-1.
You shouldn't feel like you need to add fertilizer. The seed embryo ' the material inside the seed coat ' has the food that the seed needs to germinate and grow to the point that it's on its own. First the seed leaves (cotyledons) develop to start the photosynthesis process, and then the true leaves come on. At this point, the plants create their own food using the light emitted by your grow lights.
I generally don't add fertilizer when seedlings near the time they are going to be moved outside because I'm not entering them into a beauty pageant or state fair where they have to look tremendous or perfect. I know once they are planted outside in true soil, natural sunlight and good rainwater, they will be fine ' and they'll take off. They will make up for any lost time when they didn't get any supplemental nutrients.
If you still feel the need to fertilize, use an organic fertilizer solution that has a low NPK ratio and dilute it to a quarter or half of what the bottle recommends. (If it says 1 part solution to 10 parts water, add at least 20 parts water). The worst thing you can do is overdo it on fertilizer when plants are still indoors. Stimulating growth in that artificial environment will lead to plants that don't have sufficient space for root growth and top growth, and your lights probably won't meet the demands of the larger plant.
Cynthia Scott writes from Florida, where for much of the year it's hotter than most U.S. gardeners are accustomed to. She asks about starting cool season crops and why the seeds are started in the middle of the summer.
The reason cool season crops are started when temperatures are still high is because there needs to be sufficient time for the crops to mature before the days get too short and everything stops growing as much. And for those living in cooler climates, the first frost date of fall is another concern. When it is too cold, the growth of cool season crops will be hindered, and they will eventually die in a freeze.
The only way to ensure plants mature in time to beat shorter days and the first freeze is to start them early. Cool season crops have no issue, for the most part, getting started when temperatures are warm or even hot. What's important is that they mature in cool weather, so they don't bolt and become bitter.
Cool season crops can germinate in soil that is up to around 85°F, depending on the variety. Even in an un-air-conditioned home, soilless mix that is kept consistently moist should be under this top-end of the range.
When it comes time to plant the crops outside but it is still blazing hot, you need to provide some relief. You can do this with shade cloth. Suspend the shade cloth up high to leave lots of airflow between the plants and the cloth, so no heat is trapped. This could knock the temperature down by up to 10°, depending on what percentage of shade cloth you use. It will take some trial and error to figure out what is sufficient.
Keep the soil mulched so it stays cooler, and keep drip irrigation or soaker hoses under the mulch to maintain soil moisture.
For those in Florida and warm climates, I recommend starting cool season crops indoors rather than direct sowing. Your house is hopefully cooler in summer than the temperature outside.
If you haven't listened to my answers to listeners' seed starting questions, you can do so now by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking the Play icon in the green bar under the page title.
What seed starting questions do you still have? Let us know in the comments below.
Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.
Episode 037: Starting Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success, Pt 1
Episode 038: How to Start Seeds Indoors: The Non-Negotiables for Success, Pt. 2
Episode 039: How to Start Seeds Indoors: Digging Deeper, Pt. 3
Episode 083: Gardening Indoors: The Science of Light, with Leslie Halleck
Episode 125: Saving Seeds: The Basics, the Benefits and Beyond
Episode 238: Peat Moss: Examining the Challenges of Its Ongoing Use in the Face of Climate Change
Episode 256: The Challenge (and Solution) for Using Coconut Coir as a Seed Starting and Growing Medium
Episode 259: Getting to Know PittMoss, a Peat-free Growing Medium Alternative, with Dr. Charles Bethke
Episode 297: Seed Starting Essentials
Episode 348: The Top Five Seed Starting Mistakes and How to Fix Them
joegardener blog: The Best Soil Temperature for Seed Germination
joegardener Seed Inventory Chart & Seed Longevity Chart
joegardenerTV YouTube: How to Know if Seeds Are Still Good
joegardenerTV YouTube: How I Start Seeds Indoors Tips & Techniques
joegardenerTV YouTube: How to Save Tomato Seeds
joegardener Online Gardening Academy': Popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; seed starting and more.
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joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed ' indoors and out. Open for enrollment through Monday, January 29.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Beginning Gardener Fundamentals: Essential principles to know to create a thriving garden.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Growing Epic Tomatoes: Learn how to grow epic tomatoes with Joe Lamp'l and Craig LeHoullier.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Pests, Diseases & Weeds: Learn the proactive steps to take to manage pests, diseases and weeds for a more successful garden with a lot less frustration. Just $47 for lifetime access!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Perfect Soil Recipe Master Class: Learn how to create the perfect soil environment for thriving plants.
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