Inviting spring in: a guide to starting seeds indoors

May 08, 2014

by Dale Odorizzi, Lanark County Master Gardeners

Growing your own vegetables is the most rewarding form of gardening—the plants are beautiful and you can eat the results. Starting your vegetable transplants from seeds kicks all of these rewards up a notch. Every time I pick up a tiny tomato seed and imagine the bushel of tomatoes it will produce, I am amazed. Also, starting your own vegetables indoors lets you get your hands dirty sooner!

To grow seeds, you need growing medium, containers, water and light. I typically purchase a soilless mix to start my plants. You can make your own using equal quantities of good garden soil, clean, coarse builders sand and peat moss. The garden soil should be sterilized by spreading in a shallow pan and baking at 275F (135°C) for 30 minutes. Moisten your growing medium before planting. When watering is required, stand each container in a tray of water to dampen, until the medium is moist but not wet.

I like to start my seeds in seed trays or flats. I can start all the tomatoes I want in one tray and they come with a handy clear dome cover. Be sure to label the type of tomatoes. They will all look the same in a few weeks. While the trays are quite flimsy, if handled carefully they will last a long time. Once the tomatoes have germinated, I transplant into small pots—3” (7.5 cm).

Tomatoes and peppers love to be transplanted. Each time I move them up a pot size, I plant them as deep as I can. Roots will form along the planted stem, making the plants hardier. They also like to be tickled. Every time you walk

by your seedlings, wave your fingers through your plants. Your fingers will smell like tomatoes—bliss!

Seedlings can be grown in a sunny window. If you decide to grow more seedlings than your window will hold, you may have to resort to using fluorescent lights. You can purchase tiers of grow lights or create temporary shelving from planks stacked on bricks with your lights propped on top. Special “GroLight” tubes are available but are very expensive. They add little to the health of your plants. We have found that using one “warm” tube and one “cool” tube ordinary fluorescent provides the full light spectrum at a much reduced cost.

The back of your seed package will tell you how deep to plant your seeds, when to plant and anything special you must do to get the seeds to germinate. They often refer to “the average last frost date for your area”. In Eastern Ontario, that is May 5th. A rule of thumb is seeds should be covered to three times their diameter.

Damping off is one problem with starting seeds indoors. To avoid, sterilize all seed containers. Use only sterile growing medium and sow seeds thinly. Do not allow your containers to be overcrowded. Water the seed trays from below. Damping off can be stimulated by nitrogen so make sure your seedlings develop 3 true leaves before fertilizing.

You will recognize damping off if your seedling flops over. If this happens, remove it and its neighbours mmediately. If the soil appears too moist, move the container away from other seedlings. Although not scientifically proven, many gardeners have had success watering their plants with chamomile tea or sprinkling cinnamon on the soil. For years, I have started my own peppers and tomatoes from seeds indoors. For all other vegetables I have simply planted seeds in the ground where they are to grow.

This past autumn, our Master Gardener group visited a local greenhouse that grows greens for local restaurants and one of the presenters at our Technical Update indicated that they start all of their plants indoors to transplant out. Their rationale is that they have better plants, they can germinate cool weather crops (such as lettuce) all year long and they can plant what they need each month.

When To Start Transplants

by Dale Odorizzi, Lanark County Master Gardeners

Vegetable Start Transplant Direct Seeding

Basil Start May & June. Transplant out June & July Plant June & July

Bush Beans No need to start indoors Plant late May to Mid-July, every 2 weeks. Plant for Thanksgiving late August

Dried Beans Plant Late May

Pole Beans Plant Late May

Beets April to June. Transplant out April-July May & June

Broccoli April to June. Transplant out May to early June May & June

Cabbage May. Transplant early June May

Carrots Direct Seed in May

Cauliflower April to June. Transplant out May to early

June

May & June

Coriander April to August

Corn Mid May to June

Cucumber Early May, transplant in June Late May

Eggplant March, transplant in June

Garlic October

Green Onions March to July April to July

Kale June and July June and July

Lettuce March to July. Transplant April to August. April and May and then Late

July

Melons Early May, transplant early June

Onions February to early March. Transplant Mid April Onion sets in April

Peas April and May

Peppers Start early March, transplant June

Potatoes May and June

Radish April and May and then August

Rutabaga Mid May, transplant early June Plant in May

Salad Greens April to September

Spinach Start March, April and July. Plant in April, May

and August

Plant April, May and August

Swiss Chard April, transplant May Plant in May

Tomatoes Late March, transplant in June

Turnip April, May and August

Winter Squash Early May, transplant in June Plant Late May or early June.

Zucchini Start May, transplant in June Late May