March is Seed Starting Time

If you live in gardening zone 4, now is the time to plant your pepper, tomato, cabbage, brussel sprout, broccoli, and cauliflower seeds.  These crops need a longer growing season that zone 4 can provide so planting seeds directly into the ground at the end of May will not provide a long enough growing season.

Lemon Balm, Quinoa, and Pepper plants

While it is fine to purchase your bedding plants at a nursery, there are a few advantages to starting your own plants from seed.  

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First you have so many options in terms of the variety you choose.  I love heirloom tomatoes for their unique flavors and only the most common heirloom varieties are available as bedding plants.  Heirloom plants have not been hybridized and are grown for their flavor, rather than good looks or the ability to last a long time on a produce shelf.  If you grow heirloom tomatoes you can save the seeds and this can be the beginning of creating your own food security.

• Heirloom varieties in general have a higher nutritional content than hybridize varieties.  If your goal is to get nutrition from the food you eat rather than taking supplements, heirloom varieties should be your first choice.

• Some growers use pesticides in the soil or even on the seeds themselves.  There is no requirement for labeling so you could unwittingly be exposing pollinators (bees) to the neonicotinoids class of pesticides (commonly referred to as "neonics") which many people believe is a contributing factor in the colony collapse disorder that is sweeping our nation.

• Starting plants from seeds is less expensive - especially if you seed save your heirloom varieties.

To start your bedding plants you should assemble the following supplies;

Soil-less seed mix
Containers (cell packs)
Flats (to hold the cell packs) with covers
Popsicle sticks - to label your plants
Full spectrum light source
Seeds
Heat mat (optional)
Fan (optional)

Seedling Heat Mat

Start by putting your soil-less mix in the cell packs.  Soil-less mix helps prevent plant diseases which can quickly kill new seedlings.  Using the eraser end of a pencil, put a small duvet in the middle of each cell.  Place your seed on top and then cover with a very thin layer of the soil-less mix.  Water carefully, add the plastic dome cover to keep in the moisture and then set in a place where the temperature is around 70 degrees.  Different seeds require different temperatures to germinate.  If your growing area is cool, a heat mat will help stabilize the temperature so your seeds can germinate.  When the seeds have germinated the heat mat can be removed.

Plastic dome lid keeps moisture level steady for germination.

After the plants emerge, remove the plastic dome and place under a full spectrum grow light.  The light should be right above the leaves - almost touching.  If the light is too high you will get "leggy" plants that will be unstable and weak.  Keep the light on for 16 hours each day.  A simple timer makes this a breeze.  Water often (I water every other day).  You do not want to let the cells dry out too much as the tender seedling can quickly die due to lack of water.

A fan gently blowing on the plants will help them grow stronger stems, but will also aid in drying out the soil, so be sure to check your seedlings daily.

Four weeks after planting.

About two weeks prior to planting outdoors you will want to begin "hardening off" the plants.  To do this start exposing them to the outdoor weather for a short period of time, increasing the time outdoors until they are strong enough to endure the weather.

Tomato and pepper plants are extremely sensitive to low temperatures and can freeze even if the temperature is slightly above 32 degrees as many "micro climates" exist.  If the forecast calls for temperatures below 40 degrees you may want to put the effort into covering the plants to protect your investment.