Seed Library

Starting plants from seeds can be intimidating for someone who is trying it for the first time. There are several factors that can impact how successful you are from seed. The resources and videos below can help you be successful in your seed starting journey. This Growing Plants from Seed video provides many of the basics needed to get started.

Timing is one key to being successful when starting seeds for your garden. Most of our vegetable varieties will need to be started six to eight weeks and flowers up to twelve weeks before you plan to plant your plants outside in the garden. Most of our vegetables and flowers will need to be held inside till after the threat of frost is over; I usually recommend planting cold-sensitive plants outdoors around the end of April or the first part of May since our average last frost is in mid-April. This gives the ground some extra time to warm up and reduces the chances a late frost will have us scrambling to cover our plants. If we follow the recommended start times we would start planting vegetable seeds the first weekend to mid-March and flowers should be started the first weekend of February. There are a couple of exceptions to the above starting dates, our broccoli, cabbage, etc. can be planted before the frost-free date or the end of March to early April so those would be started the first weekend of February while our vining crops should be started a couple of weeks later so they don’t get too big. Be sure to check the packaging of the seeds to verify what is recommended for that particular variety. The Vegetable Garden Planting Guide can give you an idea of when to plant transplants in the garden and when you can expect to harvest the produce.

Lighting

Once you have figured out when to start your seeds, the next big issue to address is providing enough light. Seedlings need at least 12 hours of light to prevent long leggy growth. Unfortunately, we can’t get that using sunlight from a window alone so some supplemental light will be necessary. Luckily seedlings do not require high-quality expensive light sources to grow successfully. Seedlings need a high quantity of light, but not high quality. I have found that using fluorescent light fixtures with one warm or daylight bulb and one cool light provides the correct light spectrum that seedlings need to thrive. The bulbs need to be positioned four to six inches above the tops of the seedlings to provide enough light to prevent stretching. As the seedlings grow, move the lights up higher. I usually use a timer for my lights to have them on for 14 hours to make it easier to manage the light system. A stand can be helpful to hold the lights above the plants. This Easy to Make Grow Light video can help you make one at home.

Water

It's very easy to kill seedlings and young plants by under watering them. Young plants don't have the root system to search for water in the potting soil and can dry out very quickly. When plants are young keep the soil damp at all times. After they are a couple weeks old you can slowly let the soil start to dry out and reduce the amount of water you are providing.

Fertilizer

Growing seedlings need nutrients in order to thrive but too much can lead to leggy seedlings that won't transplant well. Once seedlings have their first true leaves you can start to fertilize them with the fertilizer mixed at half strength every week till it's time to move the plants outdoors.

Transitioning the Seedlings Outdoors

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when starting their own vegetables or purchasing plants from a greenhouse is they don’t harden the plants off before planting them outside. “Hardening off" is the process of transitioning plants grown in a greenhouse or a protected indoor location to the harsher outdoor conditions with fluctuating temperatures, wind and sunlight. This should be a gradual process that slows the growth of the top of the plant, encourages more root development, reduces the amount of water in the plant and actually thickens the cell wall.

The first step of hardening a plant off actually should happen inside. The first step is to gradually reduce the amount of water you give the plants. You never allow them to wilt, but allow the soil to partially dry out so the plants slow down their growth. At this point I would also add a fan blowing on the seedlings at a low speed to start acclimating them to the ever-present wind in Kansas. On days when it’s above 55 degrees outside move the plants outside and place in a shady, protected location for a couple of hours. Over the next couple weeks, gradually extend the amount of time outside and increase the amount of sun and wind that the plants receive. Be sure to take them inside at night, especially if the temperatures are projected to get into the 40’s. After two weeks the plants should be able to handle full sun and most of our winds.

Troubleshooting issues

Even experienced growers can have issues when starting their seeds. This Troubleshooting Starting Seeds article outlines several common issues and ways to fix them.