Let’s start with starts
You can purchase starts from a lot of different places. However I prefer to grow my own starts. It’s not that its cheaper. Which, don’t get me wrong it is cheaper. For me it’s about variety. Here I need a variety which will preform well for the conditions I have which is hot and humid most of the year.
We will be using what I believe is a 4 inch pot, about the same size as solo cup. (height and width of the average cell phone). Yes, you can use plastic cups just make sure you put holes in the bottom so the excess water has some place to go.
Then we will need a good sterile starting medium, or starting mix. It’s OK to use the bagged stuff but it must say starting on the bag. Peat moss is also a good choice for starts. I prefer to use coco core. To me the coco core seems to hold moisture and be more resistant to fungus than the others. Then it could just be my bias imagination.
Now you have your starting medium. Let’s get some moisture in it. Place your mix in a container. I use a five gallon bucket for this. Add water until the mix is moist enough to stick together, but not so wet that water drips from it. Next I will add 2 table spoons of blood meal and 2 table spoons of bone per gallon of the mix. I know at this stage it doesn’t help, but I do it anyway.
Next we will be putting this mix into the planting containers. Pack it gently into the containers. Leaving a little space at the top. For the 4 inch pot and plastic cups about ¼ inch. At this point you are ready to put the seeds into the into the containers you just made. You will either make a hole or push the seed into the soil with a stick or stick like object. To obtain a depth of about 2xD or two time the diameter of the seed. I find some of the seed pack instructions are a little off. I had one which told me to plant a tomato seed to a depth of 1 inch. I just thought it was a bit much but I tried a couple at that depth and the rest at something a little more sensible. If I recall I went with the thickness of a common pencil for the depth of that tomato seed . In the end the ones planted at one inch never made it and the one’s I planted at the width of a pencil all germinated fantastically.
The next thing I do is dust the top with cinnamon. This in theory prevents damping off. After that, remember that space we left at the top. We are now going to fill that with perlite. You want to know why. It’s because when you water the force of the watering could splash out shallowly planted seeds and prevents the soil from splashing out of the container. Side benefit is air flow which helps resists the fungus and damping off. I use the perlite especially when starting onions because I sprinkle the seeds into the container and then just sprinkle a lite coating of starting mix on top of them. The perlite allow me to water without the onion seeds moving all over the place.
We can now water gently trying not to disturb our freshly planted seeds too much. Some people like the bottom wicking method. In this method the water moves through tiny spaces in a material using capillary action. Yes, this method can and does work depending on the situation. But when you are starting seeds many people see the seed as only being resident in the first 1 percent of the container and worry they will not receive enough moisture during its first critical moments.
At this point the starts will be placed in your area of light. Up north you will probably place in a well lit window. Maybe, you have set up a grow light station. I just place mine on the screen porch because it does not get cold enough here for me to worry about out door conditions. It also saves me acclamation time. I can go from the porch to the garden with little to no issues. The other thing is the seed which survive the outdoor starting is usually stronger that the ones I started in a totally protected environment. This is why indoor growers use fans to help make the stem stronger. There is the green house option which I guess is similar to me starting on a screened porch.
This is where we wait monitor moisture levels and get excited about the tiny shoots of new growth. Because, some seeds can take up to 6 weeks to germinate. Some beginners get frustrated and give up. If you are a beginner or straight up noob. Relax everyone starts some where. I would suggest starting with something fast germinating like tomatoes. They usually pop off in about two weeks and grow fairly quickly as compared to Onions which can take a half a year from start to finish. Don’t let your starts dry out. If you see the soil starting to pull away from the edges of the container. They are dry and really need water. Also, don’t let them be too wet because they will fall victim to pest (fungus gnats) and disease (Fungus, damping off)
Summary:
- Select starting containers
- Select starting medium
- Fill containers
- Place seeds
- Cinnamon and Perlite (protection during germination)
- Water regularly without over or under watering
- light and ventilation.
- Wait. Have patience man.
