Success with starting seeds indoors comes down to a handful of factors: your materials and technique, soil temperature, air temperature, light, and air flow. How we approach each of these will determine how successful our outcome is. Just like any new skill, starting seeds indoors and successfully getting them to the transplant stage takes practice. Last week we talked about the supplies we need to get started. This week, we’re covering how to use them.
Today on Just Grow Something, we’re going to run through what I would consider to be best practices in terms of each of these factors. We’ll talk about the optimal way to approach seed starting and talk about where we can go wrong. By the end you’ll be able to decide for yourself whether you should tackle indoor seed starting as a beginner or where you can improve if you’ve been there before. Let’s dig in!
References and Resources:
Free Seed Starting eBook: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/seedbook
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Seed Starting Supplies Options (aff):
https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething/list/2C6VB08JWCYZ9?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_PQ0YZ9H0SFS3SM5RXCH5
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A lot of gardeners fail their first few attempts at getting
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seeds started indoors properly. Either they don't germinate,
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they fail to thrive, they fall victim to fungal diseases, or
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they're just too weak to stand up to the elements once they're
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moved outdoors. I had my own share of all of
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these problems when I first started, and occasionally I
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still do. We're dealing with living
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organisms and in a home environment we can't always
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control all of the factors involved.
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It's frustrating and I've seen a lot of gardeners simply just
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give up or not even make an attempt in the 1st place.
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Success with starting seeds indoors comes down to basically
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a handful of factors. Your materials and technique,
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soil temperature, air temperature, light and airflow.
00:00:45
How we approach each of these is going to determine how
00:00:49
successful our outcome is. Just like any new skill,
00:00:53
starting seeds indoors and successfully getting them to the
00:00:57
transplant stage takes practice. Last week we talked about the
00:01:01
supplies that we need to get started.
00:01:03
This week we're covering how to use them.
00:01:06
Today on Just Grow Something, we're going to run through what
00:01:09
I would consider to be best practices in terms of each of
00:01:12
these factors. We'll talk about the optimal way
00:01:15
to approach seed starting and talk about where we can go
00:01:18
wrong. By the end, you'll be able to
00:01:21
decide for yourself whether you should tackle indoor seed
00:01:24
starting as a beginner or where you can improve.
00:01:27
If you've been there before. Let's dig in.
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Hey, I'm Karen and what started as a small backyard garden 20
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years ago turned into a lifelong passion for growing food.
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Now as a market farmer and horticulturist, I want to help
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you do the same. On this podcast I am your friend
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in the garden, teaching evidence based techniques to help you
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grow your favourites and build confidence in your own garden
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space. So grab your garden journal and
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a cup of coffee and get ready to just grow something.
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We're talking all about seeds starting this month.
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And so the question of the month for February is what do you
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struggle with most in starting seeds indoors?
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Let me know in the comments if you're on Spotify or YouTube,
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send me a DM on social, put your comment in the Facebook group,
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or just send me an e-mail. What do you struggle with when
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it comes to starting seeds for transplant?
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You have until February 21st to get these answers to me.
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If you want a written guide for all of these tips and techniques
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to follow along with on your seed starting journey, grab my
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free seed starting ebook at Just growsomethingpodcast.com/seed
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Book. You know where to find the link.
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So last week we talked about seed starting mixes and the
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containers that you can use. Let's talk about how to actually
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plant those seeds. Part of the success of indoor
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seed starting depends on how well you follow the planting
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instructions provided with your seeds.
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OK, it might seem obvious, but the more you stick to those
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instructions, especially when you are first learning, the
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better your germination rate and the better the strength of your
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seedlings. When it comes to seed
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germination and overall plant health, if we deviate from the
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recommended planting depths, it can actually have a very
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significant impact. Seeds require very specific
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conditions for their optimal growth and this includes proper
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soil contact and access to moisture.
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So if we plant those seeds too shallow or too deep, we risk
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inhibiting the germination or stressing our seedlings out
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absolutely unnecessarily. So if a tomato seed packet says
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plant the seed 1/2 inch deep and we shove it down an inch into
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the soil, then that improperly planted seed is going to
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struggle to push through the soil.
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This can cause weak seedlings where if you've got a properly
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planted tomato seed it might pop up super easily within a week
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and then they're off to a really strong start.
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Planting deeper than what's necessary for that soil contact
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can hinder a seeds ability to be able to emerge from the soil
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properly, and this is forcing them to use additional energy
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that would normally be reserved for their first few days of
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growth until their true leaves start to form.
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The other part of this is that there are certain seeds that
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need special attention in order to germinate properly.
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For instance, there are some seeds that benefit from a soak
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before planting, other seeds need light to germinate, and
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then there's other seeds that take an extraordinarily long
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time to germinate. So pay attention to whatever the
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seed packet says in terms of how deep to plant, whether to soak
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or scarify the seeds before planting, if they need light to
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germinate, or if they take an extended period of time to
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germinate. The next thing we need to
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concern ourselves with is moisture.
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Your seed starting medium, whatever it is that you choose
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to use, should be damp but not completely saturated or sopping
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wet. So if you were to squeeze that
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medium very tightly in your fist, you should be able to just
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get like a drop or two of water out of it.
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We don't want like a stream of water and you should be
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thoroughly moistening the medium prior to planting your seeds.
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So this is going to allow the seed to be in contact with the
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moisture and then we're not going to have to disturb those
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seeds by additional watering from the top.
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If the surface of the medium gets dried out, then we can use
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a spray bottle to re wet it, but we shouldn't need to water or
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soak those. That seed starting meeting up
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again, OK, if for some reason it's just not wet enough and you
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realize that it's starting to dry out and you have to water
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from the top because a spray bottle just isn't doing the job.
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Just make sure that you're doing it very gently.
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We don't want to move those seeds around in the medium until
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they actually get a chance to sprout.
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If drying out is a problem for you, you can retain the moisture
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during germination by using a cover of some sort.
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So a lot of the sort of purchased options that are
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complete sets or kits do come with humidity domes.
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You can buy humidity domes separately, but you can also,
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you know, repurpose lids or you can use cling wrap or a beeswax
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coated cloth or something to keep the moisture locked in.
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This is going to reduce that chance that the medium is drying
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out prior to germination. They are not necessary unless
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you are sprouting seeds in a dry environment or you see that your
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seeds starting mix is drying out very quickly between waterings
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and you just need a little bit of extra help.
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But if your mix is staying excessively wet, or you see mold
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or fungus starting to form, and make sure you remove that cover
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right away and then just leave it off.
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The next thing to concern ourselves with is soil
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temperatures. Seeds are absolutely remarkable.
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I had a professor tell me once that seeds are nothing but
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little containers that hold a baby plant and a boxed lunch,
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and I have always loved that analogy.
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What that means is each seed contains enough food energy to
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allow that seedling to push out into the world when the time is
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right, but our seeds need specific conditions to unlock
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them out of that little container.
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One of those conditions is the temperature of the soil in which
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they are planted, or in our instance, the seed starting mix
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right. Different plant species have
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different temperature requirements for germination and
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we need to provide them with the right environment so they don't
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expend more energy than it is necessary to break out of their
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little shells. A lot of your seed packets are
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going to come with planting instructions, so they might
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outline the ideal temperature range for germination specific
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to each plant species and this usually ranges between 60 and
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85°F or 15.5 to 29.4 Celsius. And this is even for your cool
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weather plants, so if it's not on your seed packet, you can
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usually look up the proper temperature online.
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If you get my Seed Starting Essentials ebook, I have
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provided a chart with the germination temperature ranges
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for most of your garden vegetables that are commonly
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started early indoors for transplanting.
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Now in order to achieve these ideal temperatures, we likely
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are going to need some heat. So this can be done in one of
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two ways. Either we can water our seed
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starting medium with very warm water at around 100°F and then
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cover the tray immediately and move it to a warm space in the
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house. You know, like on a fridge or
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something. Or we can use a seedling heat
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mat. This is my preferred method.
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These mats are placed underneath the trays or the pots or
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whatever it is that you're starting your seeds in, and
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they're going to provide a gentle warmth from below that
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encourages that germination and the root development and justice
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is going to help with the overall plant vigor.
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As they sprout. They generally raise the
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temperature of the soil about 10 to 20°F above the ambient room
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temperature. So this is ideally sitting our
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soil temperature is it between 70 and 85.
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So this is kind of the perfect range for the majority of what
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we start inside. OK, heat mats are going to allow
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a consistent soil temperature and so this helps us get more
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uniform germination across all of our seedlings, which leads to
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more consistent seedling growth. This consistent warmth also
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helps prevent damping off. Damping off is a fungal disease
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that affects seedlings and it is usually triggered by cool and
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damp conditions. So you'll see the stem of the
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plant like right where it meets the soil, it just like collapses
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in and pinches off, and of course this kills the seedling.
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If you use a heat mat, you can actually help prevent damping
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off because this is creating an environment that is less
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conducive to that fungal growth. I will say though, damping off
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can still happen even with a heat mat if we're keeping the
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soil too wet. I just had this happen with some
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lavender seedlings. Lavender is notoriously slow to
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germinate. It takes as long as three weeks
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and I had the soil way too wet and I lost half of the seedlings
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as they sprouted because I wasn't paying attention to that
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tray closely enough to remedy the situation fast enough.
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OK, so even though heat mats can prevent damping off, nothing is
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foolproof when we're dealing with living organisms and that
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includes the gardener. OK, some seeds will absolutely
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readily germinate at room temperature with no additional
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heat. Lettuces specifically, they will
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germinate in soils as cool as like 40°F.
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So save the space on the heat mats for like your heat loving
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annuals. So Peppers, tomatoes, but also
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your cool weather crops, you know, broccoli, They, they
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prefer warmer soil temperatures for germination too.
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So the seed starting medium stays at the proper moisture
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level, right? The trays stay at the proper
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temperature, our little seedlings successfully pop out
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of the soil. Yay, great, now what?
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Now we need to uncover those seed trays, take them off the
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heat map, and now we're going to concern ourselves with light and
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air temperatures and airflow. So first we'll talk about
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lighting. If our seedlings don't get
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enough light while they are growing indoors, waiting to head
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out into the garden, they are going to become weak and leggy
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as they stretch towards whatever limited light source is
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available. Your overhead lights in whatever
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room that you're growing your seedlings in is not enough.
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Insufficient light exposure is going to lead to unhealthy
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plants that have poor root development.
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They're going to have weak stems, and they're just going
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to, if they survive once you move them outside, are going to
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have lower overall productivity. So it might seem best to have
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your newly sprouted little seedlings in a sunny window for
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natural light. Just like when we're seed
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starting, it may not be enough. It's usually not enough to get
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them to their best start. You're going to have to rotate
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them to give them equal access to that sort of filtered light
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that's coming in through the window, and that's still likely
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not going to prevent them from stretching to get more.
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You can help with this a little bit by putting up some aluminum
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behind the seedlings so it reflects some of that light back
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in. And if you're in a more southern
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area or you have a lot of southern exposure, this might be
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enough. But for the rest of us, this is
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where we want to give them a hand with some artificial
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lighting. What we're concerned with for
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plant growth is visible light, and the color of that light
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varies. Plants absorb red and blue new
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light primarily for their photosynthesis.
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So blue light is necessary for vegetative growth and red light
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promotes flowering and fruit production.
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So obviously when we're looking at vegetative growth, that's
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what we're concerned about for our baby seedlings.
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This is the kind that we get from the blue color spectrum.
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We talked last week about how the color temperature of a light
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source is measured in Kelvin and what that means.
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The Kelvin scale ranges from 1000 to 10 thousand being
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the warm or red side and 10 bling the cool or blue side.
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And light bulbs usually sit on one end of the spectrum or the
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other. But you also have lights that
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are full spectrum and they emit light across the entire range.
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So once again, we are concerned about vegetative growth for the
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seedlings and that's the kind of light that we get or that's the
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kind of growth that we get from the blue color spectrum, OK.
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So you're going to want to look for lights that are labeled in a
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range of 5000 to 6500 or even 7500 Kelvin.
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Sometimes these are labeled as lumens, but generally you're
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just going to see them in terms of like 6500 K This is generally
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referred to as a daylight bulb. A full spectrum light would be
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fine too, but they're generally more expensive so that's up to
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you. Fluorescent lights super popular
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because they are affordable and they are suitable for most plant
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species during their early growth stages.
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Fluorescents do tend to put off a little bit of a of heat
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though, so keep this in mind. It might be good for you because
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if you're starting season a very cool area that needs a little
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bit of of help in that, then that might be good.
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Or it also could like dry your ceilings out more quickly in the
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early stage because we're keeping that lights very close
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to those ceilings. So just be aware that the
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fluorescence may put off a little bit of heat.
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If you're looking for more efficient lighting options that
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also have higher intensity levels, then you might look at
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LED lights. These are a little bit more
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expensive initially compared to fluorescent lights, but they are
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definitely more energy efficient and they definitely have a
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longer lifespan. All of my old fluorescence as
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they burn out, they are being replaced with LE DS and LE DS
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come in a wider range of kind of styles of how you can use them
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so you can flip them on or you have tabletop versions that have
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like multiple arms on them. You've also got just, you know,
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standard shop lights. They're they're more accessible
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and they're easier to use for gardeners than they used to be.
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And if we only need to light up a small space, you have a bunch
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of different versions with the LE DS now.
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OK, there are also ready made systems for starting your
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seedlings indoors and they have lights that are built in and
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generally some sort of adjustable shelf to be able to
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raise and lower the plants, or a pulley system to raise and lower
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the lights or whatever. They're fancy, and fancy systems
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generally come with a But hey, no shame if you want to spring
00:16:07
for an all in one system that's easy to set up and it totally
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takes the guesswork out of it for you.
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But just know that you can absolutely DIY a system in a
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wide range of sizes for a lot less money.
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It's totally up to you. OK?
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It is not necessary to purchase lights that are labeled
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specifically as grow lights if you are only starting and
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growing seedlings for just a few weeks before moving outside.
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OK, you want to move your seedlings to the light or the
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lights to the seedlings, whatever works for you.
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As soon as they Sprint. So if you're waiting for more of
00:16:39
the seeds to pop up through your seed starting medium, then you
00:16:42
might need to move those those lights over your heat mat
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temporarily. Or wherever you're keeping your
00:16:47
seedlings warm or your seed starting mix warm.
00:16:50
Or move the seedlings earlier and just allow the remainder of
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the seedlings to pop up and germinate off of the mat.
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Either way, the proximity to the light for seedlings is very
00:17:02
important. They will begin to stretch for
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that light within just a few hours after they germinate.
00:17:07
I actually have lights on over top of my heat mats as my seeds
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are germinating, so I know if I miss them sprouting, nobody's
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going to be going without light while they're waiting for the
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rest of the trade to germinate. And then once they're about 75%
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germinated, I move them from the mat to a different set of
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lights, and then I start the process all over again.
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No matter which way you do it, however you get your seedlings
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under light, you're going to want to aim for those lights to
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be about two to four inches above your seedlings initially,
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and then just adjust it as they grow taller.
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If the lights are too far away, once again, those plants are
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going to stretch and they're going to stretch excessively,
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and that's going to make them become weak.
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And this is when you start to see seedlings just sort of flop
00:17:52
over on their side. So you can either adjust the
00:17:55
height of the light up and down or use books or boxes or
00:17:59
something else to raise your seedlings up to the light and
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then lower them as they grow. You want a distance of no more
00:18:07
than 6 inches between the lights and your plants throughout their
00:18:11
growth stages and this is going to prevent that stretching.
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I also recommend setting your lights on a timer and aim for
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about 12 to 16 hours of light per day because this is going to
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mimic the natural daylight cycle.
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So once we have about 50 to 75% of our ceilings germinated, it
00:18:31
is time to move them from the heat mount.
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If you continue having those warmer soil temperatures after
00:18:38
germination, it can not only dry out the soil more quickly, but
00:18:41
it can also damage the sensitive roots as they grow deeper into
00:18:44
the medium. At this stage, now we're going
00:18:47
to consider the ambient air temperature in your growing
00:18:51
space. So plants need a certain range
00:18:54
of temperatures to thrive. If the temperature is too cold,
00:18:58
the seedlings may grow slowly or they may become stunted.
00:19:01
If the temperatures are too high, this can also be
00:19:04
detrimental and this can lead to leggy growth into weak stems.
00:19:07
Depending on your ambient air temperature in your seed
00:19:11
starting area and the type of plants that you're starting, you
00:19:14
may need to use either a space heater or a fan to heat or cool
00:19:18
your growing area you're growing.
00:19:20
Your little seedlings are going to want to be an ambient air
00:19:23
temperature that is appropriate for their species.
00:19:25
So cooler air for your cool weather crops, warmer for your
00:19:29
warm weather ones, right? The balance comes when you're
00:19:33
starting both types of plants in the same space.
00:19:37
I often have some overlap with all of my brassicas.
00:19:41
My early, early stuff just still started kind of hanging out in
00:19:45
my seed starting room and waiting to go outside while I am
00:19:49
starting all of my warm weather stuff like to my tomatoes and my
00:19:52
Peppers, my eggplant. So an ambient air temperature of
00:19:56
between 65 and 70 Fahrenheit is kind of that happy medium for
00:20:01
most vegetable plants and herbs. So pay attention to the ambient
00:20:05
air temperature, especially if you're starting your seedlings
00:20:08
in an out of the way area like a basement or a garage.
00:20:11
And then finally, we need to consider the air.
00:20:13
Flow. So soil temperature is essential
00:20:16
for germination. Air temperature is near.
00:20:19
Proper air temperature is needed for optimal growth, but proper
00:20:22
air flow around the plants is just as important.
00:20:26
Stagnant air can hinder plant growth, and it can create an
00:20:30
environment that is perfect for fungal diseases.
00:20:33
So to avoid this issue, you may need to incorporate something
00:20:37
into your setup to promote proper air circulation.
00:20:41
Without this air circulation, we are more likely to see stunted
00:20:45
growth and we are increased susceptibility to diseases in
00:20:49
those little baby seedlings. That stagnant air around your
00:20:52
seedlings is going to create a micro environment that
00:20:55
encourages that fungal growth. The other thing is excessive
00:20:59
heat from the lights that we have to place really closely to
00:21:02
those plants can also cause the air temperature to heat up
00:21:05
around the seedlings. So if we have proper airflow,
00:21:08
that's going to help to cool the air immediately around the
00:21:10
plants. If you have a window nearby,
00:21:12
then you can just pop it open slightly and create a gentle
00:21:15
cross breeze that's going to aid in that air circulation.
00:21:19
But if you are starting seeds while it's still winter, like
00:21:23
most of us pay attention because we don't want the air, you know,
00:21:27
exposing the seedlings to too cold of temperatures or like
00:21:30
really wildly, you know, fluctuating conditions.
00:21:33
So another way that you can enhance airflow is just by
00:21:36
strategically arranging your seed trays or your pots.
00:21:40
Just give them some space, some space from each other, avoid
00:21:43
overcrowding so that we're not restricting that sort of
00:21:47
ventilation between the plants or increasing the humidity
00:21:49
levels too much. So if you have enough lights,
00:21:52
you can space out your seedlings enough to allow air to circulate
00:21:56
freely between the seedlings. And this is going to help reduce
00:21:59
that risk of fungal diseases. Of course, my favorite and
00:22:03
recommended way honestly, to provide proper airflow is with a
00:22:07
fan. That gentle movement of air is
00:22:10
not only going to help prevent those fungal problems and
00:22:14
overheating, but it also stimulates stronger stem
00:22:18
development as those plants respond to the gentle swaying.
00:22:21
I said it before, your plants like to dance.
00:22:24
Having air blowing directly at your seedlings helps promote the
00:22:29
strong stems by forcing the plant to hold itself up against
00:22:33
the flow of air. We're just aiming for a gentle
00:22:36
breeze here, not gusts of wind that could damage our seedlings.
00:22:39
So you can place a fan at an angle or use an oscillating fan.
00:22:43
That's my favorite approach and that's going to help distribute
00:22:46
the air evenly around the space. So for successful indoor seed
00:22:52
starting, we are concerning ourselves with proper planting
00:22:55
techniques, soil moisture and soil temperatures, lighting, air
00:23:00
temperature and air flow. By bringing all of these
00:23:03
together, we're basically creating a framework for
00:23:07
successful indoor seed starting. So following the planting
00:23:10
instructions and using the proper starting mediums and
00:23:13
containers make sure that we are off on the right foot.
00:23:16
Using heat provides the optimal soil conditions for termination.
00:23:21
We monitor the air temperatures that's going to support healthy
00:23:24
growth. We're maximizing the light
00:23:25
exposure, which is giving our seedlings the energy that they
00:23:28
need to grow. And then we're just ensuring
00:23:30
that we have adequate airflow to prevent issues like fungal
00:23:34
growth and strengthening our seedlings in preparation for
00:23:37
them moving outdoors. All of these things combined
00:23:40
basically create an environment where our seeds have every
00:23:43
opportunity to reach our full potential.
00:23:46
It is not foolproof. Again, we are dealing with
00:23:49
living organisms, so it's going to take some practice, but
00:23:53
practice makes perfect plants, and you will be giving your
00:23:56
plants the best possible chance at success.
00:23:59
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
00:24:01
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.