Starting Seeds Using Found Containers

The cold, short days of January are the perfect time to start planning your summer garden. Who couldn't do with a brace of brightly-colored pansies or some delicious vegetables, but sometimes it seems cheaper to buy the plants or vegetables than to grow them. Most of the items for sale in garden catalogs are "nice to have," not "need to have." This article explains the difference.

Begin with your seeds. Don't fear using last year's seeds. If kept safe from temperature extremes or damp they will be fine. It can be a good idea to buy seeds for next year's garden the year before during clearance sales. Certain older seeds are more likely to sprout than fresh batches and seeds with hard, protective coatings like cacti can suddenly start growing in old soil after staying dormant for a full year. This is nature's way of making sure that all seeds don't sprout at the same time and then die when conditions turn adverse. Work with it. Let's assume you need to buy fresh seeds. Thompson & Morgan, George W. Park, Ferris Seeds and The Seedman are excellent choices that have supplied gardeners since before Michael Jackson fronted the Jackson 5.

Each of these companies has its own unique specialty. Browse their websites to decide which is right for you. Some seeds are for experts. You may not want to stick seed flats in the refrigerator to grow fairy roses or file hard shells to sprout ficus, but coleus, impatiens, marigolds and geraniums for pots and outdoor beds are within reach of even the rankest novice.

Some suppliers scientifically match varieties of vegetables for maximum yield in small spaces. It's worth it to buy seed selections that come with plans for using every square inch of a small garden, including the vertical, and which keep vegetables coming for many months.

Once you have purchased your seeds, you will need suitable containers. Before spending scores of dollars on fancy irrigation systems, pre-made cold frames or state of the art planters, survey what you have at home. Your best source of planters is the supermarket.

Planters made from egg cartons and milk containers are cheap and disposable. If you choose Styrofoam egg containers and waxed milk cartons, transplanting in the garden at the appropriate time will require only a quick cut with some manicure scissors and popping the root bound plants into their new homes. Cardboard egg cartons can be cut apart and dropped in container and all. Eventually the cardboard will rot and the roots poke through.

What soil will you use? Select either soil-less mix or pure peat moss. These light, highly acid media provide superior aeration, excellent wetting and natural anti-fungal qualities. I have been very happy with Miracle Grow Potting mix whose a slow-release fertilizer feeds for three months.

If you use this, you won't need to feed the plants until they are well established and outside or planted in their permanent locations. Cornell Mix is another standby developed by agricultural students at the famous Ivy league upstate college. The recipe for this mix is given under below under sources and is also useful for tropical plants and epiphytes.

Avoid natural soils and organic fertilizers when starting seeds because of a serious fungus, damp-off, that destroys seedlings overnight. Afflicted seedlings look as though they were pinched in the middle before they die.

Consider buying organic seeds without mercury-based anti-fungals when choosing seeds for food. While the amount of chemical is minute, mercury is a neurotoxin.

If you use dry peat moss, wet down the mixture before adding it to the containers. One disadvantage of using dry peat moss is that it becomes a fine, lung-irritating dust. If you use this medium, buy a painter's dust mask for protection. If you are using one of the soil-less mixes I recommend, add directly to the container and water until water comes through the drainage holes (poke a few holes in your found containers if necessary.)

Once you have added moist soil to your containers, plant the seeds. The instructions on the seed packets tells how many to plant per container and how deep to plant. You will have to plant extra seeds and thin them later to account for seeds that fail to thrive. If you are using dust-fine seeds such as those of gesneriads, mix them with a little sharp builder's sand and shake them from a salt shaker or out of an envelope to properly space the seeds.

Cover your seeds with plastic wrap to keep them moist and put them in a warm, well-lit place. Don't discard the seed packets because they contain necessary information such the correct time to move the plants outdoors and pictures of the seedlings so you can distinguish them from weeds.

You will know when your seeds need water because the soil will appear lighter in color and there will be no more condensation on the plastic wrap surrounding your seedlings. When it is watering time, remove the wrap and mist the soil surface with a mister. If you do not have a mister, you should pour water gently over a spoon to damp the soil surface without disturbing it.

The zone map on your seeds tells you when to plant outside. This map is also on Burpee Seed's website if you lose your seed packets. Resist the temptation to plant outside early because a late frost will kill your seedlings. If you absolutely must get a jump on the season, protect your delicate plants by planting near a heat-emitting stone wall or house foundation, placing a glass jar over them to serve as a miniature greenhouse or using a cold-frame. The sources below tell you how to make an effective cold-frame.

Cultivate the soil before planting. I recommend that you turn the soil repeatedly over several weeks before putting in a single plant. This serves several purposes: It adds oxygen, reduces the need for chemical fertilization by exposing the soil to atmospheric nitrogen, improves drainage, increases the ability of water to penetrate to roots, kills weeds and exposes insect pests such as cutworms to the eyes of hungry birds.

Organic fertilizers or manures should be added several weeks before planting. If you put them down the year before, so much the better. Fresh manures and chemical fertilization can burn plants. Although I don't believe in using organic fertilizers when starting seeds due to the danger of damp-off, organic fertilizers and composts are essential in an outdoor garden. A garden that receives regular chemical fertilization alone will eventually be a dead garden indeed. Organic material is essential to nourishing healthy soil microorganisms and maintaining fertility, aeration and drainage.

When the correct time for your zone arrives, dig your holes to the depth indicated on your seed packets and then cut away the containers using scissors or place the entire container in the whole if you have used biodegradable materials such as cardboard. Water the new seedlings and then pour yourself a refreshing drink, you deserve it.

For additional ideas and information see:
www.associatedcontent.com/article/1999288/fertilizing_house_plants_a_primer.html
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2013470/tips_to_effectively_water_your_lovely.html

Here is a link to all of my gardening-related articles:
www.associatedcontent.com/user/583548/mary_finn.html
www.burpee.com/
www.parkseed.com/gardening/GP/homepage/page1
www.thompson-morgan.com/
www.seedman.com/
www.backyardgardener.com/soil/soil12.html
www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/sustainable/2009fa_coldframe.html