Starting Seeds Indoors – Part 1

This year we have big gardening plans. This coming weekend, weather permitting, we are going to build some raised garden beds. I’ve ordered a variety of seeds to plant in our new garden but some of them have to be started indoors. I haven’t had much success starting seeds indoor. The one time I tried, the soil got mouldy (too much water?) and the plants were too spindly (not enough light?) and eventually my seedlings rotted away.

I did some research before starting seeds indoors again and decided to try some new things. I purchased a PotMaker so that I could make environmentally friendly seedling pots that will eventually decompose in the ground. It does take more time to assemble than using plastic, peat or coir pots but it was a process that my children enjoyed being part of.

Another investment I made for starting my seeds were heating mats and a thermostat. Some seeds need consistent warm soil to germinate and my house isn’t always that warm especially at night. The hope is that the heating mats will help the pepper and tomato seeds to germinate more quickly and consistently. A little trick I learned with the heating mats is that if you plug them into an extension cord and then plug the extension cord into the thermostat you only need one thermostat. This might be an obvious tip but it didn’t occur to me that this could be done until someone suggested it.

When was planting the seeds into the paper pots I used some seed starting soil then attempted to water them just the right amount. Now I just have to wait and seed if they sprout.