Garden Starts
DIY tips for successfully starting your garden indoors in spring.
If you are gardening with a short growing season, plant starts are a smart way to expand your harvest potential. Here are a few tips to succeed in growing healthy starts and transplanting them into your outdoor garden.
1. Soil:
Start with a light and moist soil. Use a seed starting mix which is light and makes it easy for plants to grow their root systems. Mix water into the soil, then fill your pots and then plant the seeds. Follow planting instructions on the seed packets.
2. Moisture:
Water the seeds with a spray bottle to allow moisture to absorb into the soil without disturbing it. Cover the seeds with a plastic top, which you can buy to fit a plant tray or use your own recycled plastic.
3. Nutrients:
Once the plants have emerged, remove the plastic. Once they have set out their second set of leaves, start adding nutrients to their water. You can use compost tea, kelp or any other organic plant food.
4. Grow Lights:
If you don’t have good solar exposure for you plants indoors or you want to maximize their growth indoor, install full spectrum grow lights above the plants providing them with about 12 hours of light a day. I personally don’t use grow lights but I do have an open sun room with lots of southern light.
5. Sunlight:
When the temperatures outdoors are well above freezing or the tolerable temperature for your plants, it’s time to acclimate them to outdoor sunlight. Place them outside in a shady spot for one hour a day and increase the amount by 1 hour each day until they have been outdoors for a whole day. The sun and wind will both stress the plants and make them stronger. This acclimation is just what they need to thrive outside in your garden.
6. Transplanting:
On a cloudy day or in the late afternoon, prepare your garden for your transplants. The garden soil should be prepared ahead of time; read my article on Gardening for more information about soil preparation. This step is stressful for the plants, so move quickly and gently. Try to keep the roots out of the sunlight for an extended period of time. Check the spacing requirements for the plant which should be on the back of each seed packet. Dig the holes so that they are the same depth as the start but twice as wide. Place the plant in the hole and surround it with dirt. Make sure none of the stem is buried as water and bacteria can rot the stem of the plant. Compact the soil around the plant by pressing the soil down with spread hands. Water well and say good night and good luck to your new garden!
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