Seed Starting 101
February, March, April and early May are the months to start seeds indoors for planting out in your pots or garden in the spring and early summer. Growing your seedlings from seed is relatively easy to do, offers a wider variety of seedlings, and can be MUCH less expensive than buying nursery grown seedlings. This process is best for fruiting and flowering plants. Root crops and peas are best direct-seeded outdoors when conditions are right.
To get started, you need some pots: small yogurt cups, or other paper or plastic cups or containers will work just as well as store-bought pots. Some people make their own little pots out of newspaper. You can also reuse the 4- or 6-cell seedling packets from the nursery; just be sure to wash them out thoroughly to avoid passing on any mold or disease to your new seed starts. Punch a few holes in the bottoms of the cups for drainage and watering.
Now, mix up your organic potting soil (avoid peat moss, it’s generally not sustainably harvested) with enough water to hold its shape when you squeeze some into a ball. Fill your pots nearly to the brim. Plant the seeds to the depth recommended on the seed packet. Put 2 or 3 seeds in each cup (they won’t all germinate). Place your seed cups into a tray to catch and hold excess water.
Most seeds germinate best and most quickly at a temperature in the range of 70 to 90 degrees. Until the seeds sprout, a shelf above a radiator or above the refrigerator can work well even if the lighting is not good. A special heating mat for starting seeds will cost about $40. To keep the moisture level consistent, water lightly-daily if necessary, and cover your seed tray with a plastic cover. You can also purchase a special seed starting tray-a bit expensive-but it can be reused for many years.
When the seeds sprout, move them to an indoor, sunny location. Your seedlings will do best with 12-14 hours of light per day. An ordinary fluorescent light will work just about as well as a specialized grow light. If you are able, adjust and lower the light or raise the seed tray so that the light is always about one inch above the tops of the seedlings. Keep the soil slightly moist. You can simply pour water in the tray rather than into the individual pots—easy! Be sure to allow air to circulate around your plants to avoid mold and fungus from developing and harming your seedlings.
Most of your seedlings can be planted outside after the danger of frost has passed—typically, after May 15th in our area—but you know how unpredictable our weather can be! Many garden experts recommend “hardening off” your seedlings before planting them in the ground. To do this, put your seedlings outside daily for about a week before you’re going to plant them in the ground. Keep them out of direct sun and bring them back under cover each night or if it’s cold and rainy.
More information about when to start to start seeds can often be found on the seed packet, on the U of I Extension Service website (web.extension.illinois.edu/state/publications.htmlCached – Similar), or at your local nursery (ask for the info when you buy the seeds). The information is also included in many seed catalogs. Here’s a partial list of vegetable starting times:
February:
parsley, onion, leek
March:
broccoli, brussels sprouts,
cabbage, eggplant, lettuce, pepper, tomato, tomatillo
April:
okra, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, tomato, tomatillo, basil
May:
pumpkin, squash, okra
Starting your seeds early will give your plants a longer growing season, and you’ll likely be able to harvest more throughout the season. A couple years ago, I started my tomatoes in February; put them into a cold frame in April; and was harvesting tomatoes about 3 weeks earlier than usual!
“It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.”
– Rachel Carson, Biologist, Writer, Ecologist
Feed The Birds
The middle of winter might seem an odd time to start thinking about and planning the garden, but I can think of almost nothing better to drive away the winter doldrums than dreaming (drooling) over the seed and gardening catalogs that have started to arrive in my mailbox. I’ve been thinking of the many birds that visit our yard throughout the year. Bright and colorful, they bring cheer to our dreary grey and brown winter landscape.
The cost of bird seed has risen exorbitantly over the past few years, and since most of the neighbors who also fed the birds have moved or passed on, it’s hard to keep our feeders full. Birds need fuel, not just in winter, but also during the fall and spring migrations. That could get pretty expensive trying to feed them all with store-bought seed. Over the years, we’ve planted a number of trees and other perennial plants in our yard to benefit us and the birds. Most years, we leave some fruits along with most of the echinecea for the birds’ winter feasting. We’ve hardly room for another tree without giving up our little garden space entirely.
So I’m going to recommend that YOU help out the birds by creating some bird-friendly yard and garden spaces. Besides creating habitat for our feathered friends, the plants I’ll recommend are mostly low-maintenance and low cost, require little watering beyond their first season of growth, help clean the air and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2-a “greenhouse” gas), and may provide some edible treats for you. This is a win-win-win situation.
The fruits of the Crab Apple, Mulberry, Cherry, Peach, Plum and Serviceberry trees are good food for birds and for people. In addition, birds also enjoy the fruits/seeds of the Cedars and Pines which are naturally available to them in winter. These trees vary in height, width and water requirements. Be sure to carefully select trees that are appropriate for your yard.
Wild (Fox) and cultivated Grapes, Blueberries, Raspberries-both red and black, Blackberries, and Elderberries are treats for us and the birds. During the summer, collect most of the fruits before the birds gobble them up (while other wild foods are readily available) but in the fall, be sure to leave a good amount of the berries for the birds to eat through the winter.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends shrubs such as Northern Bayberry, Staghorn Sumac, and Viburnums along with Virginia Creeper vines for both habitat and fall-winter bird feeding. I think these are particularly handsome plants. Planting annual and perennial seed-bearing flowers such as Echinecea, Sunflowers and Mums brings both color to your yard and (free) seed for the birds.
And here’s a really great benefit to me and my garden–the birds eat bugs–lots of them. Sure, they get a few of our apples, pears and tomatoes, but in the long run, our garden is much better for their presence. Indirectly, they also help keep the resident mouse population in check–the hawk that comes around will settle for a mouse or a squirrel for its lunch when it fails to nab a bird.