I, like many other gardeners, enjoy witnessing the growth of my produce from tiny seeds to large yields of carrots, onions, and pumpkins. The nurturing process feels quite rewarding and fosters a deeper sense of mindfulness.
Fortunately, indoor seed-starting is a straightforward process, requires minimal effort, and saves you the expense of purchasing potted nursery plants.
Read on as I get into the steps of how you can set up your indoor seed-starting station.
Steps to Seed Start
Seed starting typically offers a faster harvest and optimizes your planting space. Benefits apart, the process tends to be long.
Here’s an easy step-by-step to get you through it:
1 – Prepare Your Material
The first step you want to do is to prepare your supplies and items. Those can include the following:
- Seeding tray
- Seed-starting soil mix
- Seeds
- Heat pad
- Lighting
- Spray bottle
- Tray covers
- Labels
- Bowl
2 – Wet Your Soil
After prepping your materials, empty your seed-starting mix into a bowl, then dampen the soil using a spray bottle.
Some seed-starting soil mixes come with a wetting solution. If yours doesn’t, you can use regular water instead.
When mixing the water, ensure the mix isn’t dripping wet or clumpy.
3 – Fill the Trays or Containers
Next, grab your seed tray or container and fill each slot with the dampened soil mix. Fill it two-thirds of the way.
Don’t pack in the seed-starting mix. Keep it light and aerated.
4 – Plant the Seeds
Get your seeds and plant them in each slot or container. Note that each seed usually gives instructions on how you should place it in its soil.
As a rule, plant the seeds two to three times as deep as they are wide. If you’re not too sure, keep the seeds at a shallow depth.
Some labels instruct you to pre-soak the seeds or even chill them. Other seeds may have specified lighting requirements to successfully germinate
In terms of size, you might be sowing tiny arugula seeds. In this case, sprinkle them above the soil.
Meanwhile, if you have a larger variety like pumpkin seeds, you can poke in two seeds per slot. After sowing the seeds, cover them with more soil and lightly spray the surface.
When covering, you also need to check the seed’s instructions for how much soil is needed to cover it. For instance, tiny lettuce seeds barely need coverage. So, a light sprinkle would do.
5 – Label the Seeds
Labeling the seeds will help you remember when you planted them and what type of crop they’re yielding.
I like to keep things simple and use tongue depressors and markers. You can then stick the labels near the edge of the seed starter’s soil.
6 – Cover the Seeds
Once everything is labeled and packed, you can cover the tray or container with plastic wrap or leave it under a heating pad.
This coverage will help retain the soil’s moisture. You’ll want to keep the lid on until you see one of the seeds growing.
7 – Monitor Growth
Once the seedlings start to sprout, you’ll need to remove the lid. It’ll help prevent issues like fungal growth, especially in disease-prone varieties like tomatoes and peppers.
After removing the lid, the seedling will emerge with two leaves. These will act as the seed’s main food source until it grows large enough to photosynthesize.
8 – Maintain Seed Care
As soon as your seedlings grow leaves, take the tray to a light source. If your home doesn’t offer a lot of natural sunlight, you can opt for artificial lighting options like LEDs. They’ll require at least 12 to 16 hours of light every day.
As for moisture levels, be sure to check on the seedlings at least twice per day. The surface should remain damp to the touch.
As the seedling grows, you must provide it with supplemental nutrients from potassium and nitrogen-rich fertilizers.
9 – Pot the Plant
At this point, your seedlings should be a few inches tall and have grown multiple leaves. In this step, you’ll need to move it to a larger pot or “pot up.”
Choose pots with a three to four-inch depth, so your seedling has enough room to stretch its roots. Be sure to use soil mix when potting up the seedling.
10 – Harden Off the Seedlings
Hardening off seedlings typically entails gradually preparing your seedlings for the outdoor environment.
You can begin by moving the seedling pot into a shaded outdoor space for longer periods, from one to two weeks.
You can introduce direct sunlight once your plant becomes more acquainted with the outdoor conditions.
After reaching this phase, you can move the plant indoors only at night, particularly if the weather gets too chilly (above 50℉).
As it grows and hardens off, you can leave it out permanently. You can then begin the final phase, transplanting.
Your plant should be healthy enough to move to its new home, your vegetable garden.
Final Thoughts
Watching the seeds you plant slowly grow and eventually make their presence at your dinner table can be therapeutic. Besides, indoor seed starting gives you more versatility and reduces the costs of buying ready-grown nursery plants.
All you’ll need is your indoor seed-starting kit and some patience!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.