How To Start Seeds For Beginners From A Beginner

Seed starting. What a journey it has been.

Last year was my first year starting my own seeds and let me tell you…OOF! What a disaster.

I started seeds indoors and had all these great intentions and grand plans but everything went south.

I read you could use cardboard egg cartons to start seeds and just plant it all right into your garden. Great idea, right?! Wrong. I never accounted for how much drainage I would need, the warmth of the soil, how much seeds actually need water, and the lack of light coming in through the windows.

As you can easily gather, my seed starting was a major flop last year. BUT it gave me some great perspective as to what I needed to do for this year starting seeds. Luckily, trial and error are great teachers and I have plenty to share with you, now that I know better.

Let’s get started!

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How To Start Seeds For Beginners From A Beginner

So far, my seed starting has been a success so I wanted to share with you what I did differently compared to last year.

I already shared that I really over water my seeds and didn’t provide proper drainage. Also, I kept them in a room on our main level of our home and although they were in front of a south facing window, there just wasn’t enough light. I also didn’t know that the soil actually had to be warm enough for the seeds to germinate.

Looking back I always think duh! How didn’t I know this!? Haha! But again, everything is a learning experience!

Here’s What I Did Differently

First off, I researched! I really studied how seeds liked to be kept in order to germinate and grow. I’m talking note taking, Pinteresting, YouTubing, even reading books on how seeds like to be kept in order to germinate. Then I made a few purchases on Amazon.

Seed Starting Kit

So I told you I used cardboard egg cartons to start my seeds as a way to be resourceful with what we already had and be good for the environment. Well, since those didn’t work and actually molded, I decided to purchase trays with lids that would act as a greenhouse and allow the seeds to germinate. Plus I can wash these trays out and reuse them for next year.

I filled the cells with an all purpose garden soil, then planted the seeds, watered, and then placed the dome lids on top.

Heating Mat

At this point I had them on our main floor because I wanted to be able to watch them. Because I knew this room would be too cool for the seeds to germinate, I used a heating mat designated for seed starting to warm up the soil. Do not use just any old heating mat, use one designated for seed starting.

This heating mat I found was actually a two pack that I found super useful so I could have all my trays on mats instead of having to rotate them. These heating mats help the seeds germinate in the fact that they raise the soil temperature 10 – 20 degrees above room temperature. Perfect for when you are starting seeds and it’s still snowing outside!

Grow Lights

I purchased grow lights to provide much more light than the small amount of natural sunlight coming in. The ones I purchased were great because they had a sturdy clip that I could clip them onto the table so they were right above the seeds. Then once I moved the seeds to the basement, I was able to clip them to a shelf above the seeds and the lights hung over the seeds. They also had a dimmer and 3 different timer settings.

The Process

So, once I got all of Amazon orders in the mail, I promptly got to work.

I used a fertilized veggie soil I got from our local feed mill and filled the trays with it.

I made sure that the seeds I was starting was meant to be started indoors versus just sowing right into the ground. So, I started tomatoes – Roma tomatoes, Beefsteak, and cherry, Sweet peppers, cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, and pickle cucumbers. I also started some perennial flowers to plant in my “weed garden”.

Once planted, I watered everything and placed the dome lid on the trays, and placed the trays on the heating mats. I then turned the grow lights on at 80% dim and set the timer for 12 hours.

With this process, I was able to see cucumbers within 3 days starting to sprout. Woo!!

Tips

Once you see sprouts forming and really peaking through the soil you are supposed to take the dome lids off and remove the heating mat. Because I had other seeds not sprouting yet, I left the lids and mats on for an extra day or two just to be sure everything would pop up.

When all of my seeds had popped up, I took the lids off and took the seeds to the basement so I could keep them away from our cat, James. Next time, I will start the seeds in the basement to begin with. I suggest starting your seeds somewhere they will not be disturbed by something like a pet or tiny curious hands!

Also, the heating mats will need to be removed once the seeds sprout so that you don’t essentially burn the plants. If the heating mats are on too long, the soil will be too warm and it will kill the plants. Which of course is the opposite of what we want.

Another tip, you don’t need to water your seedlings every single day. My first time starting seeds, I thought I had to water my seedlings everyday which resulted in molding. So, I learned from my lesson and currently I am watering my seedlings every other day to every couple days depending on how wet the soil is.