“Where you always get the help you need”

“Seed Starting & Early Spring VegetableGardening”

February 13, 2010Presented byLeslie Boss

1051 US Highway 202, Ringoes, NJ 08551 (908) 788-2600

Seed starting has many benefits. Not only does it give you the firstopportunity to get your hands back in soil, but it can be a very gratifyingexperience as well. Watching a seed sprout into a seedling, nurturing it untilyou can transplant it outside and eventually harvesting vegetables from yourefforts, or for some, cutting a beautiful flower is a most gratifyingexperience. If you have children, it’s even more exciting for them to plantseeds and watch what happens to them with proper care.

What’s the difference between direct seeding and early seed starting?

Direct Seeding: Seeds that do not require starting early and are best whendirectly planted in the prepared soil outside. Some examples of these wouldbe beans, beets, carrots, greens, onions, radishes, spinach, and potatoes. Allroot vegetables are to be direct seeded.Early seed starting: These seeds are typically plants that are often slowergrowing or need a head start before the season begins. Examples of theseplants would be basil, parsley, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage,cauliflower, chives, leeks, peppers, and tomatoes. Annual plants such asalyssum, cosmos, marigolds, and zinnias. Perennials such as Shasta daises,columbines and hollyhocks, malva are perfect for early seed starting.

When do you start your seeds?

The timing of when to start your seeds is important as you don’t want tostart them too early as it will be difficult for you to manage them oncethey’ve started producing multiple leaves and their root systems need morespace. You will notice that stores will start selling seeds and seed startingproducts by mid-February, as that’s when most gardeners will start thinkingabout starting their seeds. Following the manufacturer’s directions on theback of seeds is a great place to start planning your seed-starting project.

A good gardeneralways plantsthree seeds. Onefor the bugs, onefor the weatherand one forhimself. –

Leo Aikman

Take note of the seed-starting chart I have attached. Next year, whenthinking about when to start your seeds go to this website and change thedate of the last frost-free date in your area, the excel sheet will recalculatethe proper seed starting date for you.http://www.yougrowgirl.com/grow/seedstart_chart_v2.0.xls Take note of some seeds that can take much longer than others togerminate:Parsley – Peppers – Eggplants – Petunia The general rule of thumb is to start seeds six to eight weeks before the lastfrost date in your area. If you don’t need to plant as many seeds as thereare in a package, not to worry, with many plants such as lettuce andcabbages, you can plant in succession. Plant some now and save the seedsfor a later date when you can plant again in the season (the second timewould more than likely then be a direct seeding). Keep your reserved seedsin a cool, dry place.

Is it a dud or is my seed alive?

While there are various things that can happen to a seed once planted thatwould prohibit the seed from germinating there are ways that you can test tosee if the seeds you want to plant are viable. This would more often be in thecase where you have saved seeds from a previous year or were given seedsfrom a friend. With larger seeds such as string beans, moonflowers, etc, youcan place your seeds in a cup of water, if the seed sinks to the bottom, yourseed is alive, if it floats to the top, more than likely the seed is a dud. Seedsgerminate from allowing moisture into its casing, thus if the hard shell doesnot allow moisture to pass through, the seed is more than likely not a viableseed. Typically, this will not work with small seeds as their casing is muchthinner and they are lighter thus they will typically always float.