Start Seeds Indoors In The Winter - Heating and Caring for Seeds

Starting Seeds
Source: boboroshi, cc-by-3.0, Flickr

Starting your seeds indoors during February or March is a simple way to get a head start on spring gardening. Starting seeds inside has several advantages over purchasing plants, including the ability quite a bit when you choose seeds over sprouted seedlings from the local nursery. You will need some basic supplies to help sprout your own seeds inside before spring begins.

Soil and Containers

The soil that you choose is perhaps the most important aspect of starting seeds inside. Most gardeners prefer a combination of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite for optimum growth. You will definitely want to avoid standard potting soil because it lacks the nutrients and characteristics seeds need to begin growing well. You can also use a basic combination of sphagnum peat and perlite. Peat moss disks are a super easy option. You just need to put the pellets in your container and add seeds and water for an excellent growing medium.

You will need to have enough containers for your seedlings before you can begin. An easy, and affordable, option is to use old egg containers. Paper egg cartons are ideal because they are often biodegradable. If you are using plastic or styrofoam egg cartons, line each cup with newspaper then carefully pull the peat moss, plant and paper out together when it is time to transplant the seedlings. The newspaper will disappear after the seedling is planted. When you don't want to use egg cartons, opt for small, biodegradable planters from your local garden store.

Heating and Caring for Seeds

Seeds grow best with an average of twelve hours of sunlight per day. Providing this much sun is impossible for most of the United States during winter. Try installing a heat lamp and florescent light to provide your new plants with enough warmth and light to thrive. You should place the lamps about eight to twelve inches above seeds to help them grow efficiently. Along with warmth and light, you will need to provide seeds with enough water to grow.

Your soil should be moist but well drained. Try using a small soda bottle with a slit cut in the cap to water seeds. This type of container will prevent you from over watering but is a little faster than misting plants with a spray bottle. Keeping your seed containers on a tray can help reduce any excess water runoff. After gathering your tools, you will want to make sure that you read the seed packet for each type of plant that you want to grow. Each seed packet contains specific information for the plants that you are growing, including how often to water plants, the ideal time to plant the seeds in the outdoors and how long it takes the plants to produce fruits.

Timing

Timing is an important factor when you start seeds indoors. You will generally want to start most types of plants about six to eight weeks before the last frost. You can determine the right time to start your seeds by looking at your local hardiness zones and freeze charts for your region.

In the United States, frost charts are available to help you plan a spring garden. Frost charts show the last date that freezing temperatures occur in cities across the nation. Choose the city that is nearest you to estimate how much time you have before you can transplant seedlings to the outdoors.

American Tree Masters LLC is a full-service tree trimming and removal company in Gilbert, Arizona.