Last updated on March 30th, 2021 at 11:58 am
Transplants
Depending on what zone you live in there may be some vegetables that you will need to be transplant to your garden. This means you will need to buy started seedlings or learn how to start your seeds indoors. The time of year you start seeds depends on what zone you are in, and there are many different ways to do it. 2017 was the first year that we decided to start our own seedlings and later transplant to our garden.
I had no idea what would work so I went through the seed aisle at Meijer and bought a Jiffy Seed Starter Green House and Jiffy Natural Seed Starting Mix. So our experiment began!
It worked great; all the seeds sprouted successfully! There were a few things I didn’t like though, one being the amount of space in the greenhouse containers. The seeds grew quickly and the growing sprouts soon ran out of room. The growing plants had to be transplanted to larger containers before being transplanted to their place in the garden.
That seed starting experience gave me the idea to skip the greenhouse trays and go straight to the cups. So, in 2018 I gathered all the supplies and began the seed starting experiment that I am sharing with you.
How To Start Seeds Indoors
What is needed for your seed starting:
- Styrofoam cups or other recycled containers
- A Medium Clear Tote
- Saran Wrap
- Tape
- Sharpie Marker
- Small Screw Driver
- Seed Starting Mix
Seed Starting Steps:
- Start by labeling all the cups/containers with the names of each vegetable.
- Poke a few holes in the bottom of each cup using the small screw driver (I made 5 holes). The holes are there so you don’t flood your cups with water.
- Fill each cup with seed starting mix
- Soak the mix with water and let the extra drain out
- Once all the extra water is gone plant each seed in correctly labeled cups.
- After each seed has been planted place all he cups into the clear tote.
- When all cups are placed into the tote take the Saran Wrap and cover the top to create the greenhouse effect.
- Tape the Saran Wrap to the tote so it doesn’t come off.
Within a few days the seedlings appear!
My seeds were started at the beginning of April, the tote and Saran Wrap greenhouse worked just like the Jiffy Greenhouse trays. The seedlings sprouted within a few days of being planted and grew until it was time to transplant them outside. One thing that I found useful about having the plants in a tote, is that it is easy to move them around to different places in the house. The ease of moving them will help when I the plants need to be taken outside to harden the them off before transplanting.
This method of seeding starting is what I chosen to use year after year to prevent the need to transplant the seedlings multiple times .
How do you start your seeds indoors? Please comment as I am always happy to hear other’s experiences and perspectives!
