Planting Seeds Indoors; Tips & Tricks
What Seeds to Plant and When
One of my favorite guides to planting seeds is the farmer’s almanac. Every year, I pull up their planting calendar, enter my zip code, and determine when I should start planting my seeds; both indoors and outdoors. I don’t like to get too picky about separating my indoor seed planting based on each week. If it is recommended to plant seeds indoors, I plant them all at the same time because I find it easier than planting a few seeds at a time. I usually plant my indoor seeds in March. Last year, I planted March 19th, this year I planted March 23rd. Mind you, I live in Douglas, WY and your indoor seed planting date will vary based on location.
The back of your seed packets is also extremely useful for determining planting dates. I sort through each of my seeds and find which ones say that transplanting is recommended. I set all these aside to be planted indoors.
What Seeds I Planted
This year, I planted all my tomatoes, eggplants, brussels sprouts, watermelon, melons, bell peppers, jalapenos, habaneros, strawberries, and flowers indoors. I planted 5 different types of tomatoes, 2 of each, I also planted 4 seeds each of brussels sprouts, watermelon, melons, bell peppers, jalapenos, and habaneros. I decided to try strawberries from seed this year and planted numerous strawberry seeds in and entire row (10 plugs) of my seed starting trays. Lastly, I planted 10 plugs of each of my flowers simply because I loved my flower garden last year and I wanted it to expand. Last year I planted a lot of Zinnia’s. This year, my flower selection is mostly straw flowers, stock flowers, and eucalyptus for fillers. I chose these because they are flowers that should be great for creating beautiful bouquets.
For reference, I have 5 seed starting trays with 40 plugs in each tray.
Equipment Needed
Seeds
Soil
Water
Plant Labels and a Marker
Getting Started
Once you’ve sorted out the seeds you want to plant indoors, it’s time to get planting! I start by filling all my seed trays with soil. You can buy expensive seed starting soil, but I have found that regular old potting soil works just fine, and it’s cheaper! Once I have all my seed trays filled with soil, I like to plan out how many of each seed I want to plant and make sure I have enough room for everything. Once everything is planned out, I make markers for each type of seed that I am planting. You can mark each plug, but I usually do the first one and then know the other unmarked plants behind the first marker is the type of seed I planted. Once the seeds get bigger and need transplanted, then I’ll mark each one individually.
Planting Seeds
When planting seeds, you should plant them in the soil about twice as deep as the seed is long. For example, watermelon seeds are much larger than strawberry seeds. I will plant the watermelon seeds much deeper than I will the strawberry seeds. In fact, strawberry seeds are extremely tiny. With very tiny seeds, I like to sprinkle them on top of the soil and gently go back and cover them slightly with soil.
Once all your seeds are planted, fill the seed starting base tray with water about 1/2-1 inch deep and place the seed trays inside the base tray. Next, cover the seed tray with the plastic dome. When I am done planting, I clear a space in my house against a south facing window because south facing windows tend to get the most sunlight. I’ll set up a table, place the heat mats on the table, add the seed trays on top, and then place my grow lights directly above the seed trays.
When Will Your Seeds Start to Come Up?
Obviously, this will vary depending on what you plant, but I usually have my seeds begin to pop up 2 to 3 days after planting! It is the most exciting thing to have your seeds start popping up. While some seeds pop early, others can take some time to come up. Just because one thing has sprouted, doesn’t mean that the rest won’t. Be patient and enjoy checking out your seed trays every day to see what has grown!
Once the majority of my seeds have begun to sprout in the seed tray, I remove the plastic dome. I will also rotate the seed trays once every few days to keep the light even on all the seeds.
Watering Your Seeds
I will add water to the base tray once every few days. I like to wait until the base tray is nearly out of water before adding more. This will help prevent molding. Sometimes if the environment is too moist, you may get some mold. That is why it is important to remove the plastic dome once the majority of your seeds have sprouted.
You can also spray your seeds with a spray bottle. I’ll do that a few times a week, but it isn’t necessary. The most important thing is to water your seeds from the bottom because then they grow stronger roots.
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