Overcome Drafty Windows and Start Your Garden Plants Indoors

Seedlings germinate quickly in a warm, humid atmosphere. A small flat of seeds can be enclosed in a plastic bag or under a clear plastic dome-lid until germination, creating a little greenhouse for the seeds. Once the plants are up and growing, they need plenty of light, and the sunniest window in your house is the best place for your seedlings. But a cold draft from a leaky window can cause a setback or even kill the seedlings.

The first thing to remedy is the draft itself. Use some foam or felt window insulation strips to block the draft, if possible. If you still feel air leaking in, use some tape to close the gaps along the sill and up the sides. Simply run a line of tape over each window crack to seal it. You don't need anything fancy here, because it will be gone in a few weeks when you set your plants out in the garden. A layer of masking tape works fairly well to halt minor air flow. The blue masking tape costs a little more than the regular type, but it can be removed from the woodwork without leaving a trace of adhesive behind.

A second step is to insulate the seedlings themselves. Although they are the bane of landfills, styrofoam cups are perfect plant starting pots for cold windowsills. I don't feel guilty about using these, because I wash them and reuse them from year to year, and when they break, I recycle them. Use the smallest size styrofoam cups for small plants. For larger plants that may be top-heavy, use the larger size cup. We had very old double-hung farmhouse windows at one time, and styrofoam cups really saved my seed starting efforts. The only problem I have with styrofoam cups is that they are very lightweight, and they may be tippy. A strip of masking tape across the row of cups makes a handy fence to keep them in place on a windowsill. Run the strip from one side of the window to the other, and just fence those styro-pots in.

Some plants prefer cooler temperatures, and these are the ones you should use in your cool windows. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts will all tolerate cooler temperatures for growing. Start them in a warm place. Then when they have two true leaves and are off to a good start, acclimate them to your cool windowsill. These plants can go out into the garden early, when they are 4-6 weeks old and the soil temperature is about 45 degrees.

Tomatoes and eggplants are very sensitive to cool temperatures. Peppers are native to tropical areas, and they do not tolerate the cold. These should all be kept warm and draft-free.Transplant these plants outside when the soil temperature is at least 60 degrees.

Tip: If you have foam-backed drapes covering a drafty window, don't leave plants in the window at night with the drapes closed over them. Foam-backed drapes are such good insulators that the temperature behind them can become too cold for any plants to survive. Move the plants into the room at night, and then put them back in the sunny window in the morning.

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