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Backbone Mountain Garrett County Maryland A Step-By-Step Guide to Starting Your Own Seedlings The type of plant, whether annual, biennial, perennial or pot plant, that you are going to grow determines when the seeds should be sown and how they should be handled. Annuals are plants that grow, flower, set seed and complete their life cycle the same year the seeds are sown. Biennials have a two year life cycle; seeds sown this year will flower the next year, and then set their seeds and die. Most herbaceous perennials die to the ground each winter and come back eack spring, living for a varying number of years depending on the genus and or species. There are many locations throughout the house suitable for starting seeds. The two critical factors are the amount of light and the soil temperature. Generally, a consistent temperature near 70-80 is ideal. This can be achieved on top of the refrigerator, a heating pad, or a radiator. For adequate light consider the area under fluorescent lights, a window sill, or on the floor of a solarium (Covered porch on days above freezing; for many reasons, read below). Annuals are started indoors or in seed beds outdoors, depending on the type of plant. Most are frost tender, and should not be set in place outside until all danger of frost has past. Some annuals (like pansies) are hardy, which means they mat be sown in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked and they are not killed by the frost. Biennials and perennials are started in spring or summer up to two months before frost so that the plants will be of sufficient maturity to be transplanted into their permanent location before cold fall weather sets in. Hardy perennials and those requiring stratification (keeping seed cold and wet for a time) are often sown outdoors in late fall or early winter for spring germination. Should seeds be covered? Most seeds will germinate well if they are covered with a thin layer of soil, unless they are very small seed. This soil provides moisture and darkness which is required for good seed germination. Seeds that need absolute darkness, especially very small seed, should covered just with a dark garbage bag to block all light. Upon germination, all seedlings will stretch looking for light. Check your pots daily for emerging green stems or roots. This is the beginning stages of germination. Change the dark cover to a clear plastic one if more than 40% of the seeds have germinated. A small group of plant seeds must remain uncovered in order to germinate well. They require light to trigger germination. Some of the annuals that are in this group are: ageratum, begonia, brachycome, browallia, coleus, sweet alyssum, mimulus, nicotiana, petunia, portulaca, salvia, dusty miller, and torenia. When sowing these seeds, scatter them on the soil surface. Gently press them down into the soil so that they have good contact but are still exposed to the light. A clear plastic cover will keep the humidity high near the seeds and increase germination time. A few annuals need to be lightly covered with soil to have the best germination results. They have to be as close to the surface as possible for exposure to light and they have to have a thin covering of soil to maintain humidity and moisture. Keep the soil surface moist. Some of the plants that should be lightly covered are: amaranthus, Madagascar periwinkle, cleome, dianthus, heliotrope, impatiens, melampodium, nierembergia, marigolds, verbena, and pansy. Why start seeds indoors? Many annuals and vegetables have such a long growing season that they won't flower or fruit if they don't get a head start on the season. Others may not need to be started indoors, but will flower or be productive for a much longer time with early starting indoors. Start your gardening season early by growing your own transplants - flowers and vegetables and herbs - indoors. By starting your own plants you have a far greater choice of flower and vegetable varieties, along with the addition of several weeks to your gardening season. It may seem strange to think about petunias, geraniums, pansies or impatiens in February, but that is the time you will want to begin thinking of starting your own seedlings from seed. Other seeds, such as peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli, for example, will not have to be started until early spring. Seeding can be timed to ensure that your plants will be just the right size when you want to set them out. Other plants that should be started early are: Ageratum, begonia, coleus, geranium, impatiens, lobelia, African marigold, petunia, salpinglossis, salvia, snapdragon, and verbena. Marigolds, geraniums (takes a long time), nasturtiums, sunflowers, morning glory (soak the seeds overnight), and sweet peas (rub the seed with sandpaper then soak the seeds overnight before sowing) are excellent suggestions. Sow more seeds than you need for the garden. The average germination rate is between 60 and 70 percent, except for big fat seed which is even lower, so plan to sow 50% more seed than you require as plants. If you end up with more plants than you can use, donate them to a freind or gardening society or give them to your neighbours. If you need another reason for starting transplants, it’s a good feeling to work with soil when winter winds still howl, and to see the first fragile leaves unfold indicating the signs of new life. To begin, you will need a seed kit: These have quality seeds for the plants you wish to grow. Purchase an artificial soil mix(sorry we can't ship this item as inexpensive as you can purchase it locally) such as A soiless growing mixture that contains a mix of peat moss, vermiculite and plant nutrients. Artificial soil mixes are light and retain moisture. Your planting containers are Flats with inserts... which we do ship!. Flats or trays with individual cell packs are ideal. Try (Our "Seed Kits" if you're reading this for info... Our Seed Kits Are great!) Window Greenhouses or Mini-Greenhouses, which come with a plastic dome (A plastic Dome comes with our Seed Kits), cells and all. Jiffy Pellets or peat pots are great for larger seeds or for seedlings that do not tolerate transplanting well. Many plant containers may be reused, but be sure that they are clean. Sowing the seed. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket, is our policy for sowing seed. We normally do not sow all of the seed from a packet just in case something goes awry and we have to start all over again... We think this is a good sugestion! Larger seeds may be sown, one seed at a time, into your insert's individual cells. For small seeds, we usually make a small shake packet, or crease a peice of paper and transnfer the seed to it. For a packet we put a teaspoon of common table sugar (you can use colored sand also) into the seed packet and mix the seed with it... This makes seeing the seed fall easier to see, especially if you are planting a row you can watch the sugar or colored sand fall and know that the seed are distributed evenly. Very lightly cover the seeds with additional soil mix, unless seed are dust like. If the seed is small, dust like, just press lightly into the surface of the soil, or simply sift and leave at the surface of the mix...roots will find their way down into the medium. A good rule of thumb for large seed is to cover to a depth of twice the thickness of the seed being sown, but many small seed need light to germinate, these we list as light required for germinating (and there's a small list above). Watering Your planted trays are now ready to be watered. Use a water bottle with a fine spray nozzle and mist gently...some seed , especially the small seed can be pushed too deep to germinate... mist gently. After seeds have germinated (see #5), regular watering is very important so that the newly germinated seedlings do not dry out (see our Seed Kits...They come with Humidity Domes). Labeling Using small wooden stakes, popsicle sticks or something similar, mark the variety and type of seed in your tray. Also record your planting date-you may think you have a good memory but chances are you won't remember what's what after weeks have gone by. Germination Germination days (number of days until a seed sprouts and emerges) will vary drastically with different types of plants. Most seeds prefer a steady, warm temperature, about room temperature to germinate well. Some can be quite slow taking over a month, where others may germinate in two or three days. Germination is best when your seeded trays are covered with a plastic dome or wrapped in plastic to retain the heat and moisture and placed in a warm location or under artificial light. The top of your refrigerator is a good spot. Check the flats every day and as soon as seedling emerge from the soil, remove the plastic dome and place tray in a sunny warm area. Light is essential for good growth and a shortage of light will result in long leggy plants ( tall and stringy). As your plants will lean towards the light, keep turning the tray once a day to keep them growing straight. Move away from the window at night to avoid chilling. Don’t forget to water regularly with a fine spray watering can. If you are using artificial light, plants will require 12-14 hours of light every day. Keep plants at a distance of 5-6 inches from the light source.  Transplanting Seedlings When the tiny seedlings have developed two pairs of true leaves (if direct sown into a seed kit insert, transplant when plants are begining to go root-bound in the inserts), it is time to transplant into larger containers such as individual pots or, if you've done rows into insert packs. Transplanting in this way is important to allow the plants space to develop and grow healthy, stocky plants. Larger plants such as tomatoes, peppers or geraniums may be planted into individual peat or plastic 3-5 inch pots. Growing While plants are continuing to grow indoors, try to maintain an average, constant temperature of about 60-65 F, unless you've started too early or your plants are getting leggy, then it's time to lower the temperature and raise the light brightness. Water and fertilize regularly with 20-20-20 fertilizer. Soil surface should be allowed to dry between waterings (but not the entire volume of your soil), as a damp soil may cause disease in the plants. As the plants grow they will have to be transplanted again into larger pots before planting outdoors. Hardening Off/Transplanting Outdoors Be sure to harden off plants before transplanting them in the garden. This can be done by placing plants outdoors in a cooler and sunnier location for a few hours each day for approximately a week. Plants should not be transplanted outdoors before the danger of frost is past and days have warmed up. June 10 - 15 is a good time for transplanting flowers, tomatoes, peppers (peppers do not like any cold what so ever, and will not grow if planted too early to your garden), cucumbers etc. Plants such as broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce will tolerate cooler conditions for transplanting, but the cole crops too can button if left too cold too soon. Plant Growth During the Season Once your plants have established themselves in the garden or flower bed you will still have to provide some additional care to ensure maximum production of flowers and vegetables. A side dressing or a foliar application of instantly soluble liquid fertilizer during the growing season will provide the plant with essential nutrients for strong growth and development. For vegetables, a side dressing of 6-12-12 will encourage the production of blossoms and fruit. Flowers should be fertilized during the growing season, with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer. Whether you are fertilizing your garden or flower bed, the results will be the same...lush green foliage, plump and tasty veggies and a profusion of blooms. Harvest from your garden all season long. Some varieties such as cucumbers and squash need to be picked regularly so they will continue to produce. Flowers, particularly annual flowers, will also have to have their spent flowers pinched or deadheaded to ensure a continual bloom all season long. Some of these annual flowers will include petunias, geraniums, and marigolds. Generally, all flowers will benefit from a regular pruning to remove dying leaves and/or stems as well as spent flowers.

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