Seed Starting For Beginners
The first year I started gardening, I bought starts from my local nursery. The selection wasn’t great, but I had no idea how to start my own plants back then. Seed starting seemed like a weird science experiment that I just wasn’t capable of performing.
If this sounds like you, let me assure you that seed starting is one of the easiest things you will ever do in your garden. Sure, there will be mistakes. Plants won’t survive or even sprout. But, as the Dirt Cheap Homesteader, I can tell you that this is something you need to do, to save money and be healthier. And yes, you can do this.
Benefits:
Let’s start by talking about the benefits of starting your own seeds. For starters, you can obtain a much more diverse variety of plants by starting your own seeds. Seed companies offer thousands of different varieties of seeds for flowers, vegetables, and fruits. You could never run out of choices for new plants to try in your own backyard.
It’s cheaper! You can start hundreds of seeds for the same price that 1 plant would cost you at your nursery. Seed packets can range from $.99 to $6. You could easily spend $40 at your local garden center on plant starts and only get a dozen or so plants. On the other hand, you could buy seeds and start dozens of plants on your own for under $10. Plus, these seeds can be stored for a few years worth of plantings, so you don’t have to buy them every year.
There is a hidden benefit that you may not even realize when you start your own seeds. You can avoid introducing new pests and diseases into your garden. Many people don’t realize, but nursery plants can often contain unwanted bugs or disease that have the potential to persist in your home garden. I know the first year I started gardening, this was something I was oblivious to. And it still gets overlooked by seasoned gardeners as well.
You can get non-GMO, heirloom seeds more readily than you can find those qualities in store bought plants. These factors may not seem important to the gardener who is just starting out, but they will allow you to save future seed from your own plants down the road. I mention this, because most gardeners move on to saving their own seed, once they master seed starting. It follows naturally, and using heirloom non-GMO seed is what you will want to use.
Choosing the right seeds:
I mentioned heirloom, non-GMO seeds. The new gardener may not know what those terms are, but they are important. I will try to keep things simple here, but I urge you to do your own research about GMO’s. In my opinion, if it isn’t natural, then I don’t want to use it. GMO’s are seeds that have been genetically altered by companies who don’t necessarily have people’s health as their top priority.
Heirloom seeds are from plants that have been grown over generations and the next generation will be the same plant from seed saved. In contrast, any seed that says hybrid, cannot be saved to reproduce the same plant for the next generation.
Going organic is also important in choosing the right seed. Organic seed means that the seeds were grown from plants without using any pesticides. Sometimes, companies will coat seeds with pesticides or coatings so they grow better. Like I said before, if it’s not natural, then no thank you.
Purchase seeds that will grow in your climate. How do you figure that out? At first, you need to look up which growing zone you are in. To make things simple for you, just google plant hardiness zones and take a look at the government map. Locate the zone you live in based on that map, and only purchase seeds that can be grown in your zone. Seed descriptions and packets always have a range of zones listed on them, so you can purchase plants that will grow in your zone.
One final consideration for purchasing your seeds is location. You want seeds from plants that were grown as close to your home as possible. Seeds from plants grown close to your home will have experienced similar weather and pest conditions that your plants will experience. That means that the future plants you produce from those seeds will do better in your garden since they were grown in similar conditions. Most seed companies are on-line, so before you decide to purchase seed from a site, see where they are located. You may not want to purchase seeds from California if you live in Maine. But, if you can’t find the variety you are looking for nearby, don’t sweat it.
What should I grow?
You have decided on trying to start seeds, but which plants should you decide to grow? The number of choices on-line can make your head spin. Purple asparagus, orange cauliflower, and black peppers can all be purchased as seeds and grown in your home garden, but I would limit these purchases to one variety a year to see if it is something you can grow at home. In my experience, the more exotic the seeds, the harder they are to grow since they aren’t usually common to your area. They can also be way more expensive with fewer seeds offered than a similar, more common variety.
You want to be successful if you are just starting out, so stick with simple choices. Simple things to grow are lettuce, common herbs, beans, carrots, peas, and radishes, depending on your climate. This is the list I grew my very first year and had great success with. I also grew cherry tomatoes the first year, and I still have volunteer plants popping up year after year offering luscious tasty treats, unlike anything I could buy.
On the other hand, I also tried to grow eggplant, cabbage, Cherokee tomatoes, watermelon, and yellow cucumbers my first year. I failed miserably at growing all of these either due to inexperience or pests that I had no idea existed. I never saw a squash beetle in my yard, or in my life until that first year of gardening. I was ill-prepared to deal with the onslaught of small caterpillars, flying beetles, and rodents that would destroy those plants that I was told were simple to grow. You're going to have to do a little experimentation at first to find out what works in your climate, but it’s easy to do and your reward will be the produce you harvest that tastes unlike anything you could buy at your grocery store.
When to start your seeds:
There are two general practices used for starting your plants from seeds. Some seeds can be planted directly in the ground, while others should be started indoors. There are many articles, websites, apps, etc., that can help you in this determine which category your seeds fall into, but I prefer to use this free seed starting calendar from Seeds for Generations. It’s a great little tool that you can easily print out or save to figure out when and how to plant your seeds. The only information you need to enter is your predicted last frost date. That again can be Googled easily. The seed planting calculator can be found here:
I personally think this is the best and most important free tool you will find to tell you when to start your seeds. I have used other free apps, but the time it takes to load all of the pertinent information, isn’t worth the effort. I have also used other printable calendars before, but the others often require resizing to fit on a page, to the point that you can’t read the information once printed. Trust me, this one is easy to read, can be saved for future reference, and prints out easily. Plus, all you have to do is add your last frost date, and you're done. It also tells you which seeds can be directly planted into the ground, and which seeds need to be started indoors as an added bonus. It’s super easy, and it’s what I use every year since I began my adventures in gardening.
Jason also offers a ton of free education on his site, and he is one of the resources I used when I first started out. The things I have learned from him and his friends really boosted what I can do as a gardener, and helped me avoid a lot of costly mistakes. http://seedsforgenerations.com/?ref=77
What you need to start your seeds:
You need some supplies to be successful in starting your own seeds. I do not believe that you need to spend a lot of money building a quality set up for seed starting, and if you are starting out, you need to keep it simple and cheap. Let’s talk about the basic needs of your future plants. They are going to need access to light, water, and air.
I have read over and over again that you can start seeds and place the sprouts in a south facing window of your home and it should provide the amount of light you will need to grow your plants. In my case, I have found this to be completely useless information, as seedlings need more than 12 hours of light to establish well indoors, and my window doesn’t provide that. I just don’t recommend relying on this method to grow your plants if you are a beginner. In contrast, I have heavy wire shelves which have two 4-foot long double fluorescent lights suspended above each shelf. But again, I do not recommend this for the beginner, since this requires about a $100 investment. If you are starting out, you need to make sure you are spending less that $25 for your entire enterprise. That way, if you decide you don’t like it, you haven’t made a big financial commitment. I find that anything invested over $25, gives you a sense of obligation, so I don’t recommend going beyond that when trying anything new in gardening. There are always exceptions, but if you decide you don’t want to continue, you won’t feel guilty later about spending money on now, useless items.
For light sources, I recommend a small LED or florescent light. The light will need to be adjustable since your plants will grow. For my first set up, I went to a DIY store and purchased two metal clamp lights for about $5 each on sale. (http://amzn.to/2pUQOSL) I have these plugged into a timer set for 16 hours a day for the first few weeks when the plants are beginning to grow. Using a timer frees me from having to remember to turn them on and off, and if you are new to seed starting, it can be super easy to forget to turn your lights on in the middle of a crazy morning trying to get things done in a hurry.
The next consideration is your water. After you plant your seeds, you are going to want to mist the top of the soil for the first few week or so with non-chlorinated water. I know this may seem like a deal breaker by the sound of it, but all you need to do is let your tap water sit out uncovered overnight, or 12-24 hours and the chlorine will evaporate from it. Then, you will need to remember to water from the bottom of the plant on a regular basis.
To prevent mold from developing on your plants after they sprout, you will need to either locate your plants where the airflow is good or provide a soft breeze from a small fan on a low setting. The general environment for seed starting is ideal for mold and fungus to grow, so this is important to remember. Don’t stick your new plants in the basement in the corner, or you will discover something far less desirable growing instead of your plants. The key to your new plant’s health is to make sure the area is ventilated enough to prevent mold from growing.
Seed Starting Supplies:
Earlier I talked about the right kind of seeds, but let’s talk about purchasing seeds. I can’t stress this point enough: Never, ever pay full price for seeds!
Seed companies offer plenty of sales throughout the growing season that you should never have to pay full retail price. The largest seed companies rarely offer a good deal and tend to be the most expensive option even when they are on sale. Stick with smaller, more trustworthy, reputable companies if you can.
There are many great options out there for you, so spend a little effort researching pricing and you should be able to buy a complete garden’s worth of seeds for $5-$10.
A side note about online and mail order seeds, please check the standard shipping rates on your purchases when researching your costs. There are several reputable companies who charge more for shipping, than what your total purchase of seeds amounts to. I find this ridiculous, so I warn you they are out there, but there are better options.
You are going to need a seed starting medium. After years of gardening, I have settled on my favorite, most cost effective method. I suggest if you are just starting out, you use a cheap, organic seed starting mix. I swear I have tried everything available on the market, and seed starting mix provides the easiest, most forgiving way for a newbie to start seeds. I buy several bags of mix for $6 a bag from Walmart. Yes, Walmart. I just can’t beat the price when I consider shipping from other sources. One bag should be plenty to start your first garden though.
The final piece of equipment you will need for simple seed starting are the seedling containers. These are usually plastic pots or trays that can be purchased for as little as $5. I tend to go with the larger trays pictured so that my seedling have room to grow, and I save a step by not having to transplant tiny seedlings.
Starting Your Seeds:
I’m going to keep things simple here. Let’s take it step by step.
Gather your supplies along with something to label your plants. I like to use a permanent marker along with some self-adhesive address labels.
Pour in about half of the mix into a tub or basin and wet it using a few cups of water at a time. Run your hands through the mix a few times and add water if needed. Allow the mix to sit for at least 10 minutes to saturate the fibers. You can always add more mix, or more water if needed, but allow it to sit after mixing again.
Once the mix is saturated and is able to be clumped loosely when squeezed, you can fill your containers. I like to fill mine about 2/3 full and pack the mix in loosely. Then take the marker and make a small indentation in the center of the mix for each container to accept the seed.
Decide how many plants you can seed using your containers. For example, you may want to seed 5 tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, 5, peppers, and 5 cabbages. Read the seed package to determine how deep to plant the seed. Use the marker to make your indentation bigger if needed. For the very tiny seeds, I simply put them in the indentation I already made. You will want to only seed one thing at a time to avoid mislabeling plants. Plant your seeds in the containers and label them as you go. Cover the seeds loosely on top by sprinkling some of the mix over them.
Finally, water them from above using a spray bottle or a fine mister. Place a piece of plastic wrap or a plastic dome cover over the top to contain the humidity. Set your seeds into a warm ventilated area and monitor them for sprouting. Keep the soil moist until you see seeds emerge.
Once your seeds haves sprouted, you need to remove the cover and place them under the lights. Keep the lights about 2 inches from the top of the plants at all times. This prevents plants from becoming “leggy”, which means that the plants will grow vertical too quickly in order to be closer to the light, and you’ll end up with plants that have stems too weak to support the weight of future growth.
Now, with regular watering and light, you should be well on your way to a successful year of seed starting. And, don’t forget to harden off those seedlings before you plant them in your garden.
I hope I have given you the tools you will need to be successful at starting your own garden. There is one final piece of advice I would like to offer you. Don’t give up. If you have taken the time to read this article and do a little research on your own, then you are well on your way to growing your own food. All it takes is a little curiosity and some effort. There will be failures and disappointments, but you will be rewarded a thousand times over once you begin your own journey. And you can do this!
