Every year you plan that THIS will be the year you have pots and
pots of lush plants on your balcony or deck. Then you visit your
local nursery in the spring and reality hits -– the cost for
your fantasy is just outrageous! Sound familiar?
But you can have the planters of your dreams at a fraction of
the cost and with a choice of varieties far beyond what the
local garden center offers. How? Start your own flower seeds
now.
If you’ve never grown from seeds indoors before, it’s best to
begin with just a few types. Easy starters: Trailing lobelia and
petunias make a bright and simple garden for sunny spots.
Licorice plant and dwarf nasturtiums are also attractive.
Once you’ve decided on your plants, you must know two things to
determine when the seeds should be started: the last frost date
for your area, and the time required before transplanting.
•The last frost date is the date beyond which there is a low
chance (usually about 10%) of temperatures at or below the
freezing mark. This is important because many traditional plants
for hanging baskets are tender, that is, they will not survive
when frozen. You may already know what the frost date is for
your area. If not ask gardening neighbors or your local
gardening center. If you are in the USA, visit
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/documentlibrary/freezefrost/Spring32F
_hires.jpg for information from the national Climatic Data
Center.
•The time required before transplanting is different for each
type of flower. You’ll see this listed in seed catalogs or on
the seed packet. For example, a packet might tell you to “start
indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost date.” Some seeds such as
nasturtiums, zinnias, or cosmos may be sown directly outside but
if you have to wait after the danger of a frost has passed, you
may want to get a jump on spring by starting those inside too.
Licorice plants and geraniums need 12 weeks to sprout from seed.
So if my last frost date is May 15th, I’ll want to start them
around the last week of February. Petunias, impatiens and
lobelia require 10-12 weeks, so I would start them around the
first of March. Morning glories, which make a beautiful privacy
fence from a plain piece of latticework, need six weeks from
start to transplant, but can’t be put outside until two weeks
after the last frost date. This would mean starting them indoors
about mid-April. I’d start nasturtiums and zinnias about then
too.
Your goal is to promote germination (with heat and water) and
seedling growth (with light) while preventing your seedlings’
chief enemy, “damping-off” (with air circulation and proper
drainage). Here are some tips for successful seed growing.
•Use plastic containers, about 2” deep, fairly wide and with
multiple drainage holes. Growers’ cell packs are ideal but you
can also use yogurt or cottage cheese containers as long as you
sanitize them with a mild bleach solution (one part bleach to
nine parts water) for 15 minutes and then punch several holes in
the bottoms.
•Use commercial seed-starting mix. It’s sterilized and contains
the necessary food to aid germination. You might also want to
try using a product specially formulated to prevent damping-off.
•Plant seeds sparingly. You’ll have to thin them anyway. Some
growers plant only two seeds per cell pot. If you’re planting in
flat trays, place seeds 1/2” to 1” (1 to 2.5 cm) apart,
depending on the seed size, and space the rows 1 1/2” to 2” (3-5
cm) apart. Make a depression in the soil with your finger or a
pencil and plant the seed about three times as deep as its
diameter. If the packet says the seed requires light to
germinate, then put it just on the surface of the soil.
•Set the containers in a water-filled tray. This allows the pots
to draw water from the bottom without disturbing the seeds.
Cover tray and pots with plastic to help hold moisture and heat.
•Place the entire set-up on a heat source between 75 - 85° F (24
- 29° C). Although a heat mat designed for this purpose is
ideal, you can also use the top of a fridge, or a spot near a
radiator or space heater.
•Once the seeds have germinated, remove the plastic and put the
pots (with the water tray) near a light source at a reduced
temperature. Good light is crucial at this point to ensure good
growth. Fluorescent shop lights within a few inches of the tops
of the seedlings are perfectly suited. You can also try a sunny
south window but ideally the light should be on the plants for
16 hours out of each 24-hour period. In my climate, we just
don’t have 16 hours of daylight this time of year! Seedlings
respond best to daytime temperatures of 60 - 70° F (16 - 21°C)
and night temperatures of 50 - 60° F (10 - 16°C).
•Here’s where it becomes critical to prevent damping-off. One
way to do this is to let an electric fan blow gently across the
surface of the soil during daylight hours. There are also
specially formulated products on the market that can be applied
to the surface of the soil when you are planting seeds that will
help stop damping-off from developing.
•When the seedlings have developed their first set of true
leaves (not the round little germination leaves), pull all but
one plant per cell. It’s hard, I know, to pull up living plants
but it’s necessary to prevent overcrowding that will kill all of
them.
•When the seedlings have developed their second set of true
leaves, start watering them (from the bottom) with fertilizer
diluted to quarter strength.
•A week or 10 days before you plan to plant them outside, start
“hardening off” the tender seedlings. Stop fertilizing, and cut
the amount of water in half. If possible, keep them in a cooler
space inside and start introducing them to the direct sun and
fluctuating temperatures of the outdoors. Begin by setting the
trays outside for an hour in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon ad
gradually lengthen the time to several hours. Don’t put them out
in heavy rain or cold, strong wind and be sure to bring them
indoors at night.
Follow these steps and you’ll have a bounty of young, strong
plants to fill your hanging baskets and pots. This year, you’ll
have the planters of your dreams!
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