Tips and Tricks for Starting Seeds

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When you are starting a garden of your own, nothing is more rewarding than growing your own plants from seed. It’s really wonderful when you see the seeds you planted begin to germinate and bloom into flowers or harvest your own vegetables and fruits! Growing plants from seed is not always an easy task. But by experimenting you can develop and adopted the following techniques to ensure that seeds get a healthy start.

Quick Tips for Starting Seeds Successfully

You can sow the seeds in 3 ways:

Plant the seeds in a seed raiser & transplant later when seedlings are strong enough.
Plant seeds in a suitable container or in a large planter like the poly box.
Directly sow in a garden bed

You cannot just scoop out dirt from your garden and plant seeds in it. Seeds need a special type of potting soil or the seedlings become more prone to diseases and infections. Get a good quality container with suitable drainage like shallow seed raising flats, cell growing trays, biodegradable pots, etc. By repurposing items like plastic punnets, Ice-cream containers or biodegradable toilet rolls you can also make your own seed planters.

You should cover the planters to create a humid environment. Use a spray bottle to finely mist water over the seeds. Established plants will have an extensive root system they can rely on for moisture, but seedlings don’t have any. Hence once seeds sprout, watering should not be missed out. Nevertheless, it’s important not to overwater and let seedlings sit in water.

Natural light or fluorescent light can be used if raising seeds indoors. If there are not enough light seeds won’t germinate well. You’ll need supplemental lights to provide 14-16 hours of light daily.

You should start seeds at the right season. Some seeds need warmth to grow. In many cold regions, sowing seeds when it’s too cold is a common mistake done. Don’t start your seeds too soon.

Make labels and add them to the containers after you start sowing seeds. Or else it will be tough to tell seedlings apart. Ensure to include the sowing date on your labels.

Seedlings are very delicate & need daily attention and loving care. You should monitor seedlings daily, checking on germination, soil moisture, temperature, and lights to increase your chances of success.