When starting seeds indoors, make sure your soil comes from a sealed bag, or has been sterilized. Do not transport dirt from your outdoor garden, you will bring in all sorts of critters, possible diseases, and weed seeds!
I suggest buying "seed starter" at your local gardening store:
Thank you Vanna.
You can make your own mix, but I find this time consuming and expensive.
A few tips on dirt and planting your seeds:
- Pack your dirt down in your container, this will give the roots a more firm structure to grab on to, despite the soil being generally light and fluffy.
- Plant your seeds according to the directions on the back of your seed packet.
- Remove the large white "pebbles" from the top of the dirt, this is most likely perlite, which is great for allowing air to circulate underneath the soil, but can be difficult for seeds to sprout past.
- Place your trays in about an inch of water to start. Always water seeds from the bottom up to avoid drowning your seeds.
- Spray the top of your seeds with a water bottle to keep the seeds moist, not soaked. Do not let the soil on top dry out!
- Add heat! 70 degrees is ideal. You can either place the seeds next to a heater, place your container on a heating pad on low (be careful! water and electricity do not mix well), or I have splurged and bought heat mats that I set under my trays and can use each year:
No comments:
Post a Comment