Starting Seeds Indoors
UT Assistant Professor of Horticulture Natalie Bumgarner shows how to start seeds indoors and talks about what items to use. Starting seeds indoors allows starting the garden earlier which results in quicker harvests. Also, starting seeds indoors can give plants ideal germinating and early growing conditions. There are a number of containers available to seed into. You can use a small tray and then transplant the seedlings up to larger containers. The seeding container can be divided or just one large area. You can use a store-bought container or use your own. Make sure they are clean and offer good drainage. You can also use singe use containers like peat pellets.
Planting media (soil) holds water and drains well. There are several textures of media available. Some mixes are very fine for planting small seeds. Others are coarser for larger seeds or transplanted seedlings.
Air movement is very important. The media should dry out a little between watering and this is caused by the air movement. A small fan in the room with the plants is sufficient.
Natalie then plants some pepper seeds and some lettuce seeds and explains what she does. The pepper seeds have a fungicide coat on them to reduce the chance they will rot before they germinate. The lettuce seeds are pelleted. The are covered in a layer of clay to make them easier to handle. The pellets dissolve or break open when the plant germinates.
Mist the soil after the seeds are planted to water them in. A stronger stream of water will blow the growing medium out of the tray. In a few weeks the plants will be ready to transplant to larger containers.
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Planting media (soil) holds water and drains well. There are several textures of media available. Some mixes are very fine for planting small seeds. Others are coarser for larger seeds or transplanted seedlings.
Air movement is very important. The media should dry out a little between watering and this is caused by the air movement. A small fan in the room with the plants is sufficient.
Natalie then plants some pepper seeds and some lettuce seeds and explains what she does. The pepper seeds have a fungicide coat on them to reduce the chance they will rot before they germinate. The lettuce seeds are pelleted. The are covered in a layer of clay to make them easier to handle. The pellets dissolve or break open when the plant germinates.
Mist the soil after the seeds are planted to water them in. A stronger stream of water will blow the growing medium out of the tray. In a few weeks the plants will be ready to transplant to larger containers.
Related Videos:
Related Resources:
Starting Seeds Indoors
Starting Plants Indoors From Seeds
Starting Vegetable Seeds Indoors