Seed Starting 101 (part 2): Beginner’s Guide to Starting Seeds Indoors
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Starting your seeds indoors or in a green house is a great way to get a head of the season and it’s not just for those who live in cold climates. I myself live in Central Florida, Zone 9b and not only do I start frost tender crops indoors during the winter but I also start my seeds indoors in late summer/early fall when the temperatures are still too hot for cold-season vegetable and flower crops. There are many benefits to starting seeds indoors and it may seem intimidating for beginners just starting out but with the right, simple set-up, it’s not as hard as you may think. You are probably going to make a few mistakes along the way but that’s all apart of the learning process! So don’t be afraid and just start some seeds!
In this post I will go over the benefits of starting your seeds indoors as well as when to start your seeds and how to set a simple, budget-friendly seed starting space up for success. While each gardener has their own way of starting seeds and there are hundreds of different ways that one may start seeds, I will share all of my tips and tricks that I use to successfully start my seeds indoors. Take what works for you and leave the rest!
Not all seeds benefit from being started indoors, certain crops do better if directly sown into the garden. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to check out part 1 of my seed starting series; Seed Starting 101 (Part 1): Direct Sow vs Transplanting. In that post I go over all of the details on how to choose between direct sowing and transplanting, the advantages of each method as well as determining the best time to start seeds.
Why Start Seeds Indoors?
Starting your seeds indoors may be more time consuming than just direct sowing your seeds in the garden but it has many advantages including:
Getting a Head Start on the Season
Long season crops such as tomatoes, peppers and broccoli take a long time to mature and in some climates with shorter growing seasons it is near impossible to get a good harvest if you don’t start your seeds early. In my zone, we do not have a long period of cool weather so I often start many of my cool-season flower and vegetable crops indoors during July and August while the weather is still hot. This allows me to have healthy plant starts ready to plant out into the garden in October, giving me a huge jumpstart on the season. The same goes for warm-season crops, in my climate, our summers heat up quickly and by June it is too hot for most crops to thrive, not to mention the increased pest and disease pressure. Many crops can not handle the extreme heat of our summers so it is important to get a head start on the warm-season crops by starting them indoors in December and January.
Earlier Harvests
When you start your seeds a head of the season indoors, you will have the advantage of harvesting your crops much earlier than if you had direct seeded them outdoors.
Succession Planting
Succession planting allows you to keep a consistent supply of food and flowers in your garden all season long. If you start your seeds indoors you will have transplants ready to fill a crops place once you have finish harvesting it.
Less Disease and Pest Pressure
Seedlings are small and tender making them more susceptible to environmental conditions, diseases and pests. When you start seeds indoors, you are (hopefully) providing the perfect growing conditions to keep your baby plants safe and healthy. I have lost seeds and seedlings more times than I’d like to admit to birds, caterpillars and slugs when I have direct sown them into the garden. Seedlings can also dry out from the heat or freeze during a late season frost. There aren't many things more frustrating than losing seedlings to pests and environmental conditions, getting you farther behind on the growing season.
Higher germination rate
Seeds need two main conditions in order to successfully germinate, consistent moisture and temperatures, otherwise you will have sporadic germination rates. Sowing your seeds indoors will allow you to keep the environmental conditions ideal for germination consistent while also protecting them from birds and insects, thus resulting in higher germination rates compared to when you direct sow them. I often use this method for expensive, harder to find seeds to ensure that I get a high germination rate.
Use Less Seeds
As mentioned previously, when you start seeds indoors, you typically get a higher germination rate which means that you won’t have to use near as many seeds as you would if you directly sowed them into the garden.
Timing: When to Start Seeds Indoors
Knowing when to start seeds indoors depends on your climate and the growing conditions of each plant. Warm-season plants can’t handle frosts and freezes while your cool-season plants can’t handle the heat of summer so it’s important to get familiar with your growing seasons and then plant each crop accordingly. I will touch briefly on when to start your seeds indoors, but I go more in depth on this topic in my previous blog posts; Guide to Starting a Garden (Step 5: Planning your garden) and Seed Starting 101 (Part 1): Direct Sow vs Transplanting (Climate and Growing Seasons).
The first thing you will want to know is your growing zone, this will give you your average first and last frost dates. While knowing your growing zone is important, it is your climate and growing seasons that you really want to familiarize yourself with. There are typically four growing seasons; cold-season, cool-season, warm-season and hot-season, and depending on your climate, you may have a couple or all four growing seasons. Most crops can’t tolerate extreme hot and cold temperatures so by getting familiar with your climate’s growing seasons and each plant’s growing conditions you can plan your crops accordingly.
You will want to start warm-season crops indoors 4-12 weeks before your last frost date so that they will be ready to transplant into the garden once the danger of frosts have passed. You can often find seed starting information and sowing times on the back of each crop’s seed packet. Many cool-season crops can also be started indoors while the weather is warm, though some crops need cooler temperatures or cold stratification, a period of exposure to cold, moist temperatures, in order to germinate. By becoming familiar with your climate and each crops needs, you will be able to determine the best time to sow your seeds.
Planning Your Garden First
Before starting your seeds, you will want make sure that you have all of your necessary supplies and seed starting set-up put together.
Next, you will want to plan out your garden space and have it prepped and ready before your plants are of transplant size. It is all too easy to go seed crazy and end up with way too many plants or crops that you may not actually like to eat. I recommend that you plan your garden out and make a sketch of your garden plan. That way you know exactly what crops you want to plant, where they are going and how many plants of each crop that you need. It is always a good idea to plant a little extra just in case you lose a few seedlings along the way.
Finally, when it comes to planning your garden, make sure to choose plants that you actually like eating! I know all too well how tempting those seed catalogs are and wanting to plant all the things. While it’s fun to experiment with a few new crops, you want to make sure that you will actually use the majority what you’re growing otherwise you are not going to know what to do with all of your harvests.
Seed Starting Set-Up
Seed starting supplies and set ups can range from a more DIY, budget friendly set-up to expensive, high-end set ups but there is something for everyone’s budget. Setting up a seed starting station has some initial start up costs and there are some things that you don’t want yo skimp on, like proper lighting, but your seed starting set-up doesn’t have to be expensive or complex. All you need are a few simple essentials to make it a success!
Shelving
When setting up your seed starting station, the first thing that you are going to want to have is a shelf to put all of your seed trays and containers on. While you could set your plants on any flat surface such as the floor or a table, shelves take up less space than a table or floor and help to keep everything organized. You are also going to need lights above the seedlings and these metal shelves work perfectly for that. Lights can be hung from each shelf so that they hang right above each tray of seedlings allowing you to easily adjust the distance between the seedlings and lights as needed. In order to hang your lights from each shelf, you will want to make sure that you choose a shelving unit that doesn’t have solid shelves. In other words, you want something that has holes in it like the metal shelf mention above so that you can easily hang the lights.
When it comes to shelving size, I have found that a minimum of 48” x 20-24” works best so that you can fit the most amount of seed trays on your shelves. I use 1020 trays that are 10” x 20” to start most of my seedlings and I can fit up to 4 trays on each 48” x 24” shelf. If you have a 6 foot long shelf you can fit 6 trays, etc.
To keep it budget-friendly, you can search for used shelving or put together a more budget friendly shelving set-up with materials that you have on hand. You could also set your plants on a flat surface such as the floor or a table and hang lights above your plants.
If you have a higher budget and are looking for an all in one set-up, I recommend this set-up from Gardener’s Supply Co.
Lighting
One of the most important components to your seed starting success is lighting and unfortunately putting your plants on or near a window is just not enough light in most cases. Without proper lighting you will have weak, leggy seedlings that wont fair well in the garden so it’s essential to have a proper lighting set up.
There are many lighting options out there from high-end grow lights to simple LED shop lights depending on your budget. LED lights are brighter, more energy efficient and give off a wider color spectrum than their fluorescent counterparts. I personally find LED shop lights like these perfect for growing seedlings.
When shopping for LED lights there are two things to keep in mind. You want lights with a minimum of 2,000 (though, 5,000 + is best) Lumens, which is a unit of measurement that indicates the amount of visible light a light source produces, and you want them to be the length of your shelves. So, if you have a 4 foot wide shelf, then you will want two, 48” LED lights per shelf.
When setting up your light source for your seedlings, you will want to make sure that your lights are at the appropriate height above your seedlings. This can range anywhere from 2'“-12” depending on the plants and light intensity. Typically a 4”-6” proximity is best for young seedlings but to determine the best distance, you will want to pay close attention and adjust your lights accordingly. For example, if you notice leggy seedlings, then the light needs to be closer to the plants but if your seedlings look burnt then you need to adjust the light further away from the plants, etc.
Finally, you may be thinking “how long should the grow lights be on for?” Well typically 14-16 hours is consider optimal for most plants and seedlings. Like people, plants need a period of darkness to rest so it is important to keep lights on for 14-16 hours during the day and turn your lights off at night. It is also important to keep the lighting on a consistent schedule and to do this, I like to set my grow lights up to a timer to keep the lights turning on and off at the same time each day. Otherwise, I will most definitely forget from time to time.
Soil Medium
When starting your seedlings, it is important to make sure that you have the proper soil starting medium. Seed starting mixes differ from potting soils because they are lighter, hold the right amount of moisture and often have a lower nutrient content in them. Seed starting mixes are often “soilless” and contain sand, vermiculite or perlite as well as peat moss or coconut coir. This allows for better moisture consistency and a lighter medium that allows for better root penetration.
If you buy a pre-made mix, it is often sterile, meaning that it doesn’t have any pathogens or weed seeds in it that may harm your tender seedlings.
When looking for a premade seed starting medium or DIYing your own it is important to choose a mix that doesn’t contain large particles like bark or stones which make it harder for seeds to penetrate the soil. You want a light fluffy growing medium. Though, I prefer to add some nutrients to my seed starting medium so that it sustains my seedlings longer, you will find that it is not necessary. You see, seeds are amazing little things and contain enough nutrients in them to sustain seedlings until their first or second set of true leaves emerge. This means that they do not need any additional nutrients up until that point. So while seedlings may not need nutrients at first, I find that the added nutrients give my seedlings a better start and sustain them in their pots for a little longer. Each gardener has their own preference.
I typically make my own seed starting medium by using Fox Farm’s Coco Loco potting mix and adding extra coconut coir and a little bit of kelp meal to get my seedlings off to the right start. Peat moss is an unsustainable, non renewable resource that I try to avoid when I can and coconut coir is the perfect sustainable option. The Coco Loco potting mix is made without peat moss which is why I typically use this recipe for my seeds. This seed starting recipe is also perfect for soil blocking and was inspired by Blossom Branch Farm which I have adjusted a bit to fit my needs. You can find her recipe and instructions here, the only thing that I do differently is replace greensand with kelp meal because greensand is harder to find in my area.
Seed Trays, Pots and Soil Blocking
You are going to need something to start your seeds in and this can be anything from seed starting trays, old yogurt cups, plastic cups etc., so there are container options for every budget. You just want to make sure that you have drainage holes in the bottom of your containers. Also, the smaller the container the better when sowing seeds. This allows for better moisture control in the soil as excess moisture can cause rotting or fungal issues.
Another one of my favorite ways to start seeds is soil blocking, which is when you mold soil into little blocks using a soil blocker. Though it is still very much a learning process for me, I love this method for many reasons such as reducing my use of plastic, it takes up way less space meaning more seedlings and it prevents plants from becoming root bound. I also like to put my soil blocks on these trays but you can use any flat surface that has a little bit of a lip to keep water in. I plan to do an entire post on soil blocking in the future once I feel more confident in my methods.
These are Larkspur started in soil blocks.
If I am not soil blocking then I am starting my seeds in 1020 trays of 50, 72 or 120. These 1020 trays are the best quality that I have found and will last you quite a few seasons. As mentioned previously these also fit on 20'“-24” wide shelves perfectly.
Calendula started in 1020 trays.
Seeds
Once you have planned out your garden and what you want to grow, you are going to need buy your seeds which you can get from many places. In my previous post The Top 8 Places to Buy Vegetable, Flower & Herb Seeds for Your Garden I explain common seed terminology such as, heirloom, organic, hybrid and non-gmo, as well as what to look for when buying seeds. Here I list some of my favorite, reputable seed companies to get your seeds from.
Plant Tags
Plant tags are another important part of your seed starting set-up. You may think that you are going to remember exactly what you planted but when the time comes to transplant, there is a good chance you are going to forget. There are many things that you can use as tags from plastic plant tags to popsicle sticks, and I have often used tape on the containers or trays to label them as well. Whatever you choose to use, just be sure to label your plants! Also, while you can use any permanent marker, I have found these garden markers to be good at holding up against fading or smearing off!
Heat Mats
Seeds typically germinate best when temperatures are between 70 F and 80 F degrees and they need consistent temperatures to germinate evenly.
I personally do not use heat mats because I do not live in particularly cold climate, but if you do then you may find that heat mats are necessary to make sure that your seedlings are warm enough to germinate. Unless you have your seeds in a colder space, you will often find that your LED lights will put off enough heat to keep the temperatures ideal.
Air Circulation
Lastly, air circulation is important to have as part of your seed starting set-up for many reasons. Air circulation helps prevent fungal diseases by lowering the humidity, promotes strong stems and healthy seedlings, which also makes the hardening off process easier.
To provide air circulation, you just need to provide an oscillating fan. You want to make sure to create a gentle breeze for your plants and avoid pointing the fan directly at the seedlings as to not dry them out.
How to Sow Your Seeds
Now that you hopefully have your seed starting station set up and your garden planned out, its time for the fun to begin! But before I list the step by step process of getting your seeds started, I want to go over a few germination tips and tricks.
Light
When is comes to germinating, some seeds need light to germinate while others need complete darkness. You can usually find this information on most seed packets but most of the time your very small seeds need light while the larger seeds like sunflowers and nasturtiums need complete darkness.
Moisture Control
As mentioned previously, consistent moisture is key to a successful germination rate. You want to make sure that the soil stays consistently moist until your seeds can germinate and depending on the crop, seeds can take anywhere from a couple days to a few weeks to germinate.
To help keep the soil moist, you may find a humidity dome to be super helpful. Once the seeds germinate, you will want to immediately remove the dome to keep your air circulating. A humidity dome, along with your grow lights will also help keep your temperature consistent without the need of a heat mat.
Temperature Control
As previously mentioned, providing consistent temperatures will increase your chances of a high germination rate, so make sure to provide consistent temperatures ranging from 65 F-80 F depending on the crops. Cool-season crops germinate best with cooler temperatures while warm-season crops require warmer temperatures.
Germination Tips
Soaking Seeds
Some larger seeds like peas, beans and nasturtiums benefit from soaking seeds for 8-12 hours in water before planting. While this is not a required step, seeds will germinate earlier if they are soaked.
Sowing Depths
Sowing depths for each seed depend on the seed’s size and light requirements for germination. A common rule is to plant a seed no deeper than 2-3 x the width of the seed. So for example, super small seeds and seeds that require light for germination, like snapdragons, it is important to place the seeds on the surface of the soil in order for them to germinate. While small seeds need to be barely covered and larger seeds can be planted a few centimeters deep. It is important to not plant seeds too deep or they may struggle to reach the surface.
Step by Step for Sowing your Seeds
Step 1: Moisten your seed starting medium, you want it moist like a wrung out sponge and not soggy.
Step 2: Fill your containers with seed starting medium.
Step 3: Sow your seeds to the appropriate depth.
Step 4: Label your seeds.
Step 5: Water your seeds, bottom watering is best as to not displace the seeds and soil. This is crucial if your seeds require light to germinate.
Step 6: Place under lights and add heat mats and humidity domes if needed.
Step 7: Monitor Seeds for germination and moisture levels, once seeds have germinate remove the heat mats and humidity domes.
Seedling Care
Lighting
Monitor the lighting as your plants grow and look for signs of stress. Healthy plants that are getting enough light will be stocky while plants that are not getting enough light will be thin and leggy as they try to reach for the light.
Also, plants that have the light too close to them may show signs of burning so it’s important to monitor your seedings closely and adjust the distance of the lights as needed. You will want to also raise your lights as your plants grow taller.
Air Circulation
Air circulation has many benefits, for starters, it moves stagnant air and decreases the humidity around your plants which helps to reduce your chances of fungal diseases while also supplying oxygen to plant roots. Air circulation mimics natural breezes, which creates healthy, resilient seedlings with sturdy stems that will better withstand being transplanted into the garden later.
Air circulation can be simply achieved by using an oscillating fan to create a gentle breeze on your seedlings, just make sure that the fan isn’t directly pointed at the seedlings or it can quickly dry out your soil.
Watering
Monitor your seedlings often and make sure that you keep the soil evenly and consistently moist at all times but not soggy.
When watering your seedlings it is best to water from the bottom up, This is especially important for small seeds that rely on light for germination as to not displace the seeds and soil on the surface. Also, if you’re using soil blocks, bottom watering will prevent the blocks from washing away.
To water from the bottom, you will want to put your seed trays and containers into a tray of water and allow it to sit for a short time so that the soil can absorb the water from the bottom. I use these 1020 seed cells with the trays and just fill the trays up with enough water for the plants to absorb. Then I will dump the excess water if needed.
If using soil blocks in a pan or tray, gently fill the tray up just enough, allowing the soil to absorb the water and gently dump out the excess. Be careful not to add too much water too fast or your soil blocks will disintegrate and wash away.
If you choose to water from the top, be gentle with the water or use a mister as to not displace the soil too much.
Fertilizing
Seeds provide just enough nutrients for seedlings to grow one or two sets of true leaves, but after that they are going to need added fertilizer as many seed starting mediums do not contain much nutrients.
Once my seedlings have grown their second set of true leaves, I use liquid fish and kelp fertilizer at half strength to feed my seedlings once every one to two weeks until I can pot them up into larger pots with a more nutrient dense potting mix.
If I have used a seed starting mix that has more nutrients in it like the recipe I recommended earlier then I often can wait longer to fertilize. Just observe your plants for nutrient deficiencies or excess and plan your fertilizing schedule accordingly.
Thinning
While sowing seeds, you typically put 2-3 seeds per container or seed cell to ensure that you get at least one to germinate. If you get multiple seeds to germinate then you are going to need to thin out your seedlings to one seedling per pot or container, otherwise seedlings will compete for space and nutrients, resulting in weak plants.
Thinning seedlings is best done when seedlings have one or two sets of true leaves and do not have a large root system yet. Thinning can be done by gently separating the roots and potting up one seedling to a container or you can pinch or snip out undesirable seedlings.
Snipping out unwanted seedings is probably the hardest part, mentally, for any beginner (and seasoned gardener) to do. No gardener likes to waste or throw out plants but if you separate and pot up each individual seedling you are going to likely end up with A LOT more plants than you need!
To separate seedlings and pot them up in individual pots, you will want to carefully take the soil and plant out of the container it was sown in and carefully separate the roots then plant it in it’s own container of potting soil. Some plants like legumes (beans, peas, etc.) and root crops (carrots, radishes, etc.) do not like their roots disturbed and in that case you are better just pinching out unwanted seedlings.
To pinch or snip out seedlings, use your finger nails to pinch or scissors to snip out undesirable seedlings. Start by picking the healthiest looking seedling to keep and then carefully pinch out the rest. Avoid pulling out seedlings by their roots as to not damage the one that you chose to keep.
Potting Up
Once plants have 2-3 sets of true leaves they can technically be planted straight into the garden once you have hardened them off but if your weather is not appropriate for planting or your garden space isn’t quite ready then you may need to pot your plants up into larger containers. This especially true if your seedlings are in soil blocks or seed trays. If you sowed seeds in larger containers like 4” pots then you will have a little while longer before they will need larger pots, if you even have to pot them up at all.
Seedlings that are not potted up soon enough will run out of room and become root bound in their containers. The containers will also not be able to hold adequate nutrients and moisture.
If your seedlings are in seed starting trays then you will want to pot them up into 4” containers once they have 2-3 sets of true and an adequate root system. If you started them in soil blocks you can either put pot them up into containers or larger soil blocks. A good rule of thumb is to pot your plants up into containers that are no more than 2x larger than the pots they are in to avoid excess moisture retention and wasted nutrients.
To pot your seedlings up, water them first to make taking them out of their containers easier and to avoid damaging the roots. An easy way to pot up your seedlings is to fill your larger container up with a quality potting soil, make a divot in the soil the size of the root ball and place your seedling in it. Once you are done potting up, give everything a good watering before placing them back under the grow lights.
If you timed your seed starting correctly then you shouldn’t have to pot your plants up again before planting them in the garden but if you need to pot them up again, simply pot them up into a larger container.
Hardening Off
Now that you have spent the last several weeks carefully tending to your baby plants, it’s finally time to plant them out into the garden, but first you will need to harden them off.
Hardening off is process of gradually exposing your plants to the outdoors over a period of 7-10 days. Indoors, plants experience the perfect environmental conditions that you have provided and have been sheltered from the harsh environmental conditions of the outdoors. So, if you just plop them out in the garden with out first hardening them off then there is a good chance your plants will experience shock or die, making all that time and energy that you put into growing them a waste.
To harden you plants off, you will want to make sure that the weather will be mild for the next 7-10 day, meaning no extreme temperature fluctuations, storms, strong winds, etc. During the next week or so you will gradually expose your plants to the environmental conditions like sunlight and wind. If at all during this time your plants look stressed then bring them back inside and try again the next day.
A week before you plan to take your plants outdoors, make sure to stop fertilizing them and decrease their watering. This will slow their growth, reducing the stress they may experience when placed outdoors.
On the first day place your plants in a shaded spot that is sheltered from strong wind and if possible, close to where they eventually will be planted. Leave your plants out for 3-4 hours before bringing them back indoors, and make sure to set a timer so you don’t forget to bring your plants in.
The best time of day to take them out is usually morning or late afternoon when the sun isn’t as strong, though, in the spring and winter you can usually bring them out anytime of day. Plants will dry out faster when exposed to the elements so be sure to monitor them for adequate water and any signs of stress such as wilting.
Gradually over the next 7- 10 days, move them to a sunnier location each day and leave them out for longer periods of time. By day 5 they should be able to be placed in full sun and typically by day 7, it is safe to plant them in the garden as long as the weather is mild.
Planting
Once you have your plants planted out into the garden be sure to check on them daily and watch for any signs of stress such as wilting or pest issues. Newly planted plants can be more susceptible to drying out and will need to be water daily for the first couple of weeks.
To help protected your newly planted babies from the elements and potential pests, you may find frost, shade clothes or netting to be helpful until your plants become established.
I like to utilize frost clothes to protect against any late season frosts and shade clothes to protect my plants from the extreme heat of summer. Netting is also beneficial to keeping pests off of my plants. I have a huge issue with pickle worms on my squash and cucumber plants and netting helps to prevent the moths from laying their eggs.
Common Seed Starting Problems
Even the most experienced gardeners can still experience seed starting issues from time to time and it helps to know what to look for so that you can quickly remediate the issue. I will go over a few common seed starting problems incase you come across any during your seed starting journey!
Leggy Seedlings
Seedlings that have thin stalks and are long and leggy is a sign that your seedlings are not getting enough light and are trying to “stretch” to reach the light. To fix this issue simply move your grow lights closer to your plants.
Likewise plants that receive too much light will look scorched or be discolored such as yellow, brown or bleached. To fix this just move your grow light further away from the plants.
Dampening Off
Dampening off is a common problem when starting seeds indoors. It is caused by several different fungi organisms and can happen seemingly over night. Unfortunately there isn’t much that you can do to cure it once it has happened but there are measures that you can take to prevent it.
A tell tale sign of dampening off is when your seedlings look like they have collapsed or have been pinched off at the soil’s surface, this is due to the stem rotting. Other signs of dampening off include seeds failing to germinate, discolored leaves, fuzzy growth or brown lesions on seedlings and stunted growth.
While there is no cure once seedlings have been affected, there are ways to prevent it. For starters always sanitize your containers before planting. Next, the funguses that cause dampening off thrive in cool, wet conditions so make sure that your soil is consistently moist but never soggy wet.
Finally, make sure that you have good air circulation and proper lighting. By providing the proper growing conditions for your seedlings, you can greatly reduce the risks of your seedlings dampening off.
Poor Germination
Poor germination can be caused by several factors such as too much or too little moisture, wrong planting depth and improper temperatures.
When the soil stays consistently too wet, especially when combined with cooler temperatures the seeds can be prone to rotting and fungal infections. Likewise if seeds do not get enough moisture they can fail to germinate or quickly die off after germination. To prevent this, make sure that the soil is consistently moist and not soggy.
Wrong planting depth can also contribute to poor germination. Seeds should only be planted no deeper than 2-3x the width of the seed and some seeds need light to germinate. It is important to know which seeds need light to germinate and which ones need complete darkness. Also, if you plant your seeds too deep they may fail to make it to the surface before running out of energy.
Improper temperatures can also contribute to poor germination. While some cool season crops can germinate in cooler temperatures, ideal germination temperatures are between 70-80 degrees F for most seeds. Also, be sure to make sure your seedlings aren’t exposed to temperatures at 95 degree F or more as is can sterilize and kill your seeds.
Final note, some seeds require cold stratification or a period of time where seeds are exposed to cold moist conditions in order to break dormancy and encourage germination. This is especially important for certain flower crops like larkspur, delphinium and foxgloves and many perennials, shrubs and native plants.
To ensure good germination rates, make sure to know the germination requirements of plants before sowing them such as their growing depths, light requirements and whether or not they need cold stratification to germinate.
Happy Planting!
I hope that this post encourages you to give indoor seed starting a try so that you can get a head start on your gardening season! Remember, you are might make a few mistakes along the way but we learn from our failures. So, set up a simple seed starting station, just start sowing those seeds and have fun!
If you found this information helpful please share the love by sharing or pinning this post! Also, feel free to leave any questions in the comments below and be sure to check out the related blog posts to help you on your gardening journey!
Related Blog Posts
In this post I will go over all of the details on how to choose between direct sowing and transplanting as well as the advantages of each method.