Starting Seeds 2

A Master Gardener Notebook

By Dr. Larry Dowell

“Whoever loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.”  William Cowper

It isn’t necessary to have a green house to raise seeds indoors, but at some time you may be tempted.  My wife and I went to a garden show recently, found a metal and fiberglass greenhouse, and were tempted.  Then we saw the price and I went home and put together another cold frame.  Since we don’t do year-round gardening, the cold frame is adequate.  Some sort of shelter is desired for the process of raising plants indoors.

What are the basic needs for raising plants indoors?  First you need to plan what you want to raise and obtain the seeds.  A seed-saver couple gave me a package of Marigold seed from their plants.  I purchased some hard-to-obtain “Millionaire” tomato seeds (so named because the originator became wealthy) and have collected some other packages of seeds that I want to start.  Potting soil is available in a variety of sizes.  Trays with individual compartments are available in several sizes.  There are many variations on the planting process depending on your imagination, but these are the basic requirements.

Next you need to plan what you are going to do with the plants.  If the compartments in your trays are too small or if you have planted in a try without compartment, you may wish to transplant.  Peat pots are an easy container since they can be planted directly into the garden.  Paper cups or reusable plastic cups are economical, but need to have holes punched in the bottom. With the expanding crop, the windowsill becomes overloaded and a cold frame or other protection (such as a sunny, sheltered porch) is needed to keep the plants from cold temperatures and frost until soil warms.  A cold frame is essentially a box with slanted sides and a clear top.  The cold frame lid should be lifted during the day to prevent high temperature and to allow the plant to “harden off” or become acclimatized to the wind and sun before setting in the garden.

Next time we will describe the planting and transplanting process.