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Every year you plan that this will be the year you
have pots and pots of lush plants on your balcony or deck. Then you visit your
local nursery in the spring and reality hits -– the cost for your fantasy is
just outrageous! Sound familiar?
But you can have the planters of your dreams at
a fraction of the cost and with a choice of varieties far beyond what the
local garden center offers. How? Start your own flower seeds now.
If you’ve never grown from seeds indoors
before, it’s best to begin with just a few types. Easy starters: Trailing
lobelia and petunias make a bright and simple garden for sunny spots. Licorice
plant and dwarf nasturtiums are also attractive.
Once you’ve decided on your plants, you must
know two things to determine when the seeds should be started: the last frost
date for your area, and the time required before transplanting.
- The last frost date is the date beyond which
there is a low chance (usually about 10%) of temperatures at or below the
freezing mark. This is important because many traditional plants for hanging
baskets are tender, that is, they will not survive when frozen. You may
already know what the frost date is for your area. If not ask gardening
neighbors or your local gardening center. If you are in the USA, visit
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/documentlibrary/freezefrost/Spring32F_hires.jpg
for information from the national Climatic Data Center.
- The time required before transplanting is
different for each type of flower. You’ll see this listed in seed catalogs
or on the seed packet. For example, a packet might tell you to “start
indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost date.” Some seeds such as nasturtiums,
zinnias, or cosmos may be sown directly outside but if you have to wait
after the danger of a frost has passed, you may want to get a jump on spring
by starting those inside too.
Licorice plants and geraniums need 12 weeks
to sprout from seed. So if my last frost date is May 15th, I’ll want to
start them around the last week of February. Petunias, impatiens and lobelia
require 10-12 weeks, so I would start them around the first of March.
Morning glories, which make a beautiful privacy fence from a plain piece of
latticework, need six weeks from start to transplant, but can’t be put
outside until two weeks after the last frost date. This would mean starting
them indoors about mid-April. I’d start nasturtiums and zinnias about then
too.
Your goal is to promote germination (with
heat and water) and seedling growth (with light) while preventing your
seedlings’ chief enemy, “damping-off” (with air circulation and proper
drainage). Here are some tips for successful seed growing.
- Use plastic containers, about 2” deep,
fairly wide and with multiple drainage holes. Growers’ cell packs are ideal
but you can also use yogurt or cottage cheese containers as long as you
sanitize them with a mild bleach solution (one part bleach to nine parts
water) for 15 minutes and then punch several holes in the bottoms.
- Use commercial seed-starting mix. It’s
sterilized and contains the necessary food to aid germination. You might
also want to try using a product specially formulated to prevent
damping-off.
- Plant seeds sparingly. You’ll have to thin
them anyway. Some growers plant only two seeds per cell pot. If you’re
planting in flat trays, place seeds 1/2” to 1” (1 to 2.5 cm) apart,
depending on the seed size, and space the rows 1 1/2” to 2” (3-5 cm) apart.
Make a depression in the soil with your finger or a pencil and plant the
seed about three times as deep as its diameter. If the packet says the seed
requires light to germinate, then put it just on the surface of the soil.
- Set the containers in a water-filled tray.
This allows the pots to draw water from the bottom without disturbing the
seeds. Cover tray and pots with plastic to help hold moisture and heat.
- Place the entire set-up on a heat source
between 75 - 85° F (24 - 29° C). Although a heat mat designed for this
purpose is ideal, you can also use the top of a fridge, or a spot near a
radiator or space heater.
- Once the seeds have germinated, remove the
plastic and put the pots (with the water tray) near a light source at a
reduced temperature. Good light is crucial at this point to ensure good
growth. Fluorescent shop lights within a few inches of the tops of the
seedlings are perfectly suited. You can also try a sunny south window but
ideally the light should be on the plants for 16 hours out of each 24-hour
period. In my climate, we just don’t have 16 hours of daylight this time of
year! Seedlings respond best to daytime temperatures of 60 - 70° F (16 -
21°C) and night temperatures of 50 - 60° F (10 - 16°C).
- Here’s where it becomes critical to prevent
damping-off. One way to do this is to let an electric fan blow gently across
the surface of the soil during daylight hours. There are also specially
formulated products on the market that can be applied to the surface of the
soil when you are planting seeds that will help stop damping-off from
developing.
- When the seedlings have developed their
first set of true leaves (not the round little germination leaves), pull all
but one plant per cell. It’s hard, I know, to pull up living plants but it’s
necessary to prevent overcrowding that will kill all of them.
- When the seedlings have developed their
second set of true leaves, start watering them (from the bottom) with
fertilizer diluted to quarter strength.
- A week or 10 days before you plan to plant
them outside, start “hardening off” the tender seedlings. Stop fertilizing,
and cut the amount of water in half. If possible, keep them in a cooler
space inside and start introducing them to the direct sun and fluctuating
temperatures of the outdoors. Begin by setting the trays outside for an hour
in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon ad gradually lengthen the time to
several hours. Don’t put them out in heavy rain or cold, strong wind and be
sure to bring them indoors at night.
Follow these steps and you’ll have a bounty of
young, strong plants to fill your hanging baskets and pots. This year, you’ll
have the planters of your dreams!
About The Author
Debbie Rodgers owns and operates
Paradise Porch, and is dedicated to helping people create outdoor living
spaces that nurture and enrich them. Visit her on the web at
www.paradiseporch.com and get a free report on “Eight easy ways to
create privacy in your outdoor space”. Mail to debbie@paradiseporch.com
debbie@paradiseporch.com
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