Spring Comes Early When You Start Your Own Seedlings.
All you need is a pot, a seed and a growing medium like potting soil; light, water and the seed will do the rest.
Why grow seedlings? Why not just plant the seeds directly in the ground? There are tender plants and hardy plants. Some need warmth to germinate and flourish and others can tolerate and even prefer cool temperatures. Hardy plants such as peas, spinach, onions and many others can be sown directly in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked. But tender plants like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and cucumbers can’t be planted out until all danger of frost has passed. These plants take a long time to produce fruit so we give them a head start by growing them indoors.
When Do I Start? Count backwards from Last Frost. Everything is measured by the last frost date. In Toronto last frost is May 9th. Plants like tomatoes and peppers can be planted out 2 weeks after last frost so that means around May 23rd. Tomatoes and peppers take 8 to 10 weeks to grow, so counting back from May 23rd means you can start those seedlings Mid March to Early April. So get growing now. It’s not too late.
To figure out the last frost date in your area consult The Old Farmers Almanac for a handy dandy chart.
http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-canada
To figure out when to start which seedlings consult one of our favorite books, The Organic Gardeners Handbook by Frank Tozer. Check your local library. Toronto Public Library has 15 copies plus 11 copies of his other book The Vegetable Gardeners Handbook.
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca
The Garden Plan I know, I know, you just want to get going but a garden plan will save you a lot of time, money and agro. It doesn’t have to be complicated or take a long time to figure out. A simple plan will help you organize what you want to grow and where you want to grow it. It will also help you determine how many seedlings you will need to start. Some things to ask yourself when creating a garden plan: What do I (and my family) like to eat? How much space do I have? How much sun does that space get per day? There are many ways to plan your garden and many different books and online articles that can help you on your way. I like the square foot gardening method because it’s efficient, easy and it works.
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
Where To Get Those Funky Heirloom Seeds In your garden plan you’ve decided that you want to grow those colourful heirloom tomatoes with fascinating histories and funky names like Brandywine, Old German, Pruden’s Purple, Mrs. Botts - but these seedling varieties may be difficult to find in your neck of the woods. Big box stores and local veggie markets have limited supplies of the same-old-same-old hybrid varieties of plants and even fewer options for organic heirloom seed. Our favorite suppliers are Matchbox Garden and Seed Co., Urban Harvest and West Coast Seed.
http://www.westcoastseeds.com/
West Coast Seeds has an excellent web site with a glossary of terms for more insight into different seed varieties. Plus you can order The Organic Gardeners Handbook by Frank Tozer!
What’s the Dif? Heirloom vs. Hybrid Simply put and generally speaking, Heirloom varieties are Mother Nature’s seeds that have been saved for generations and breed true to the parent plant. To be an Heirloom, the variety has to be at least 50 years old. Hybrids have been produced by humans and are not ideal for seed saving since they don’t breed true to the parent plant. So if you want to save your seed, which is a great way to keep control of your food supply, choose heirloom varieties.
What the Heck is Open Pollinated? Now it gets a bit confusing but again, simply put, there are plants that reproduce through open pollination, closed pollination and controlled pollination. Open means the birds, bees, bugs and wind do the pollinating. Closed is when the plant self-pollinates and an example of controlled pollination is when humans intervene to create hybrids.
Enough already. Let’s Get Growing! The following is a list of supplies we like to use for starting seedlings but there are many other materials on the market. You can even make your own pots with newspaper if you’re feeling crafty. Start your seedlings in 1” pots but they will outgrow them in about 4 weeks so you will then need to “pot them up”. Take note, one tray holds 72 one-inch pots or 15 four-inch pots. Count the number of 4” pots you will be growing and buy the appropriate number of trays and lids you will need after potting up.
Supplies
- Masking tape and pen for labeling your pots
- 1” Pots, trays and tray covers. Get small and large covers to accommodate the growing seedlings.
- 4” pots that you’ll need in a few weeks for “potting up”
- Seeds
- Growing medium: We like organic potting soil combined with vermicompost (worm castings)
- Water
- Light
- Spray bottle for watering
- If you really want to get fancy: A seed spoon, rubber gloves and set up a fan to keep the air in your growing space circulating.
- Music to get into the groove. I’m loving CBC Radio 2 streamed from my computer. I LOVE Tom Allen who is so smart, funny and knowledgeable but all of the hosts are fantastic and play great Canadian music.
Lighting and trays can be found at hydroponic stores like Grow it All or Bustan or any Canadian Tire, Rona or most garden centers. And of course there is always Lee Valley for most supplies including the cute little seed spoons.
Step by Step You’ve got your seed and your supplies. Now what? Wash up!
Clean your space and materials especially if you are using your pots from last year. That way you’ll keep the risk of pest infestations down.
Set up a potting station to fill your pots with soil and seed your plants. I use my laundry room and office. My file cabinet doubles as my potting table and my adjustable desk chair gets the soil up off the ground. They’re the perfect height!
Set up a light, it’s worth the effort. Windowsills are okay but you risk getting leggy and weak plants that stretch sideways to reach the sun. It’s better to light the plants from overhead. We use banks of florescent tubes hung from the ceiling on adjustable chains. That way the light can move upward along with the plants as they grow taller. Remember, the seedlings will outgrow their 1” pots and will be “potted up”. One tray holds 72 one-inch pots but only 15 four-inch pots. That means your one tray of seedlings will expand to 5 trays. So either increase the amount of lights you hang or reduce the number of seedlings you grow. Not to sound like a nagging mother but that’s another reason to do a garden plan.
Label the pots. Do this first so you don’t get confused and the labels don’t get too dirty.
Mix your soil. We mix organic potting soil and vermicompost (worm poo). We buy our vermicompost from a wholesale supplier but you can make your own with the help of Cathy’s Crawlers.
http://www.cathyscomposters.com/
Next, fill the pots with soil and sow the seeds. For sowing depth the general rule is plant at a depth of 2 to 4 times the diameter of the seed. One or two seeds per pot will do.
Spray with water. Keep the soil moist but not soaked. A watering can may lead to accidental overwatering.
Cover the tray. Most seeds don’t need light to germinate so don’t turn on your lights until the plants germinate.
Check the trays every day for signs of soil moisture and germination. Most plants germinate in 5 to 20 days. Spray with water if the soil needs it. Look for mold, which is not uncommon. Simply pinch or scrape it off and discard it in the city compost.
Let there be Light – As soon as the seeds begin to sprout, that’s the time to turn on the lights. I like 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Make sure the lights are very close to the seedlings otherwise they get leggy and weak and may fall over. The first two leaves to show are called Cotyledons.
The next two leaves to show up are the first true leaves. Pot up when you have a least 2 pairs of true leaves. This will likely be in 3 or 4 weeks. Potting up plants gives the roots more room to grow and the fresh soil gives them an added infusion of nutrition. The seedlings may experience a little transplant shock and look a little floppy at first but don’t worry. They will bounce back and they’ll love you for their new improved growing conditions.
Common problems and solutions:
Mold. If you see mold it’s likely you are overwatering. Pick it off the surface of the soil and discard in city compost.
Fungus gnats are little black flying bugs that lay eggs in the soil. They are a nuisance more than a threat, unless they get out of control. Use yellow sticky paper or tape to trap adults. You can treat the soil with BTI, which is a natural bacterium, or use beneficial nematodes to destroy the eggs. Both are available at hydroponics stores. If you’re interested in bugs there is a fabulous book called The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control edited by Barbara W. Ellis. It’s a must-have in any organic gardener’s library.
Growing your own seedlings is a great way to learn about the magical process of bringing plants to life. Not only are you taking back a little control over what you eat, you’re also able to enjoy rare and delicious varieties of vegetables that you just won’t find in a supermarket.
