Seed Starting

When the weather was beautiful last week, I started my seeds for the garden.

The big tray fits perfectly under my seed starting light. The extra secondary mini tray are a few extras I couldn't quite fit in there. I used the real seed markers I bought over the winter (in blue!) to mark what each pot is - this year I'm hoping that using real labels means they won't melt in the rain when I move them outside.

What's in here?

8 tomatoes: 
2 Sweet 100's Cherry Tomato
Purple Cherokee
Bloody Butcher
Early Girl
Yellow Pear
Bushsteak Hybrid
Martino Italian Plum

Flowers:
8 Chantilly Bronze Snapdragons (in the smaller jiffy pots)
2 Sunflowers
1 Morning Glory
1 Blushing Black Eyed Susan Vine
2 Blanket Flowers
2 Globe Amaranths
2 Bishop's Children Dahlias
4 Achillea, Summer Berries (in the recycled 4 pack pot)

A couple of things I've learned about seed starting over the years...

• Start about 6-8 weeks before planting. 6 weeks will give you smaller plants, but they will make up for it when they are planted outside. More than 8 weeks and they start to get leggy. Leggy plants tend to fall over and have weak stems.
• For best germination, plant 2-3 seeds when the seeds are new, or 5-6 if they are older. I am still using seeds from 2010 that still sprout beautifully year after year, I just add in a few extra to increase the odds. 
• Water from the bottom, not the top, it's best to put them in a tray with high sides that you can fill with water and let them soak it up.
• You don't have to do those tiny seed starter cups and transplant unless you are doing large numbers of seedlings. I just put everything in reusable seedling cups every year and they work great. You can even use red solo cups.
• I keep mine in on top of a radiator until they sprout. Most seeds need WARMTH, not light, to sprout (though there are exceptions, which will be on the seed packet directions). Then once they've sprouted, I put them under the grow light for about 14-16 hours a day. 
• When you have multiple sprouts, choose the healthiest one and snip the rest with scissors so they don't overcrowd each other. 
• Sunflowers are very hardy. Last year's giant sunflower lived in a plastic bag in Oliver's backpack in a wet paper towel for over a week before I rescued it. And that little sprout flourished. You can also direct sow them, but I find our chipmunks LOVE sunflower seeds more than anything and mine get eaten too easily. 
• If you do end up with leggy tomato plants, just plant them deep. Like bury the plant in the garden bed up to the top set of leaves. The rest of the plant will turn into a root system for healthy, strong tomatoes. 

Everything else in the garden will be direct sow. I'm hoping to get peas and lettuce started this weekend since the weather is so mild.