Seeds

A mini greenhouse seed starter kit was a great kick-start to my gardening season. However, this amount was a little overwhelming, so I decided to start small. Sometimes a small step is a terrific beginning to greater things.

I took a few pellets out from the tray, placed them on a small Styrofoam tray, and soaked them with water. I just wasn’t ready to wet all 72 pellets.

An Alternative to a Seed Starter Kit:

An egg carton can be filled with seed potting mix and act as an easy alternative to the store bought kit.

Your Safety Net

Browsing through the seed collection in my garage, I chose a few seeds such as kale, lettuce, tomato, Swiss chard and basil. It’s always a good idea to have seeds of all kinds in your possession. Seeds keep well in dark, dry places and are good for years. During Corona virus, a governor actually disallowed the selling & purchasing of seed. All garden centers were closed across our country as well. Good thing I’ve always got some seed packages on hand.

Small Space

I know these plants are relatively small when fully grown, which make them perfect choices for my small backyard space.

Flowers as well

In addition to the vegetable & herb seeds I chose, I decided to add a few flowers to the mix as well. Cleome, sunflower, lavender, and an anonymous seed given by my neighbor, Marg, made the cut.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda…

The seedlings were popping up! Taking a look at the little guys, I realized the next time I should use tweezers when placing the seeds into the pellets. My clumsy fingers clearly threw in extras by mistake.

Next year, I should place two seeds per pellet, watch if they grow, and then make a decision to thin (pluck the weaker plants out) or divide (which is difficult in their tiny, fragile state). For this year, I kept them all!

Little Guys Outgrowing their Pellets…

Given the height of the seedlings, I placed the pellets into clear home organizers such as shoe boxes. These clear containers allowed light in as well as gave extra height when covering them overnight for warmth.

When the seedlings outgrew their pellets, I transplanted them into larger peat moss pots. I should have thinned at this point, but didn’t have the heart to.

Cut up some garbage bags to protect my floors!

Starting seeds immediately into these larger peat pots is an option as well. I’ll try that technique next year!

Peat Pots & Pellets

It’s said the peat pots or pellets can be placed right into the ground when planting because these container decomposes. Despite the claim, I would still remove the lining or pot, or at the very least cut the bottom off the pot. These safety measures will ensure root growth. After all the efforts of starting a plant from seed, I’d take the safe route.

Summary

  • Always have seeds at home. Refresh stock over the years.
  • Plant seeds in soft soil, water, and keep them indoors in warmth.
  • Pellets or pots placed in clear containers works for small spaces.
  • Larger amounts of gardening might require hothouse environment.
  • ‘Harden’ the seedlings by bringing them outside on gentle weather days. Not too much sun, wind, or anything too drastic.
  • Know when your area’s planting season begins.
  • Plant outdoors & water.