If you are considering starting your own vegetable plants indoors, there are some tips that can help you to be more successful. Crucial to your success are the container, soil, light, watering practices and timing.
There are lots of options when it comes to the container. The most important factor is that the container has drainage holes to allow the water to drain away from the roots.
I like to re-use the black plastic flats that I got from the garden center. These have great drainage and hold a lot of soil and seed.
If you are just starting out, however, I would recommend that you take a look at some of the kits that are in the stores. These are pre-packaged containers that include soil as well. The soil is usually in the form of peat pellets (more on that later).
The kits are usually a bit more expensive, but if you are only going to start a few plants, it’s a good value.
Use a lightweight seed starter soil. I was looking at the stores the other day and noticed that not many carried bags that were labeled for seed starting.
They had bags of soil that were labeled “potting mix.” This is where it gets a bit tricky.
You really need a lightweight mix that drains easily; the heavier the mix, the slower the drainage. Poor drainage will cause major problems.
I noticed two bags side by side, both labeled potting mix. However, one was quite a bit lighter than the other. Therefore, if you can’t find seed starting mix, find the lightest potting mix available.
Another option for soil is the peat pellet. These are basically compressed peat moss. Once you add water, the pellet expands to accept the growing root system.
Again, these are good if you are only growing a few plants. I like to take the bulk soil and fill the entire container, and then plant my seeds in groups.
After the seedlings get a few leaves, I transplant them to pots. If you use the peat pellets, you don’t have to transplant the seedlings, as they can continue to grow in the pellet.
The amount of light is critical. These plants normally grow in full sun, and it’s hard to get close to that amount of light in a windowsill.
Artificial lighting is essential, unless you are starting your seeds in a greenhouse. There are a lot of Web sites that can direct you on how to construct a simple grow light kit using fluorescent shop lights.
About the Author