GARDENING ADVENTURES {seed starting tips}

It has been a quiet week here on the blog but I've been keeping busy coming up with DIYs and tutorials for Easter/Spring decor week. I've been also watching my seedlings grow and today I want to share some tips and tricks for seed starting.

1. Seedlings require warm, moist environment; conditions that are also favorable for mildew and even rot. To avoid mildew growth on seedling containers and soil sprinkle some cinnamon. It is harmless for plants and will keep your environment mildew-free.

2. Provide adequate ventilation for your seedlings; it helps them to grow and prevents mildew.  Some gardeners install a small fan to ensure constant air circulation around young plants. Air movement helps to strengthen stems so if you do not use a fan, make sure to blow on you seedlings once in a while. I know it sounds funny but it helps!

3. You can germinate seeds before planting. This is not necessary but it's fun and allows you to check whether your seeds will sprout. I sprout my seeds using a piece of paper towel and a resealable plastic bag.

If you want to presprout your seeds, cut a small piece of paper towel (5"x5"), mist it with water until moist but not dump, place several seeds, fold it, and put it in a bag.  Do not forget to label it! Check on your seeds every day and several days later you will have tiny seedlings.

4. Be gentle with young seedlings specially when watering. You can make a simple watering can by piercing a cap of a plastic water bottle. I also like to use a spray bottle to gently mist tender seedlings.

5. To speed up sprouting process some seeds benefit from presoaking, scaring, or stratifying.  Presoaking is good for seeds that look dried up and shriveled (like nasturtium).  I am yet to try scaring and stratifying but here is a good post about both techniques.

6. A lot of times seed packages suggest planting seeds directly outdoors.  I havent' been successful with the direct sowing method mostly because I failed to provide adequately moist environment for the seeds.  However lots of gardeners are able to get excellent results with direct sowing and I encourage you to  give it a try.

I hope these tips will help you in your gardening adventures.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions and I would love to know whether you have gardening tips to share!


Previous Gardening Adventures posts:

GARDENING ADVENTURES {seed starting}

Are you excited about starting you plants from seeds? I definitely am; it's such a fun process, probably as fun as picking homegrown flowers or tasting your first homegrown tomato. It is also almost as simple but I will give you a step-by-step of the process.

Here is what you'll need:

• seeds
• planting medium
• watering bottle
• containers/tray
• lights

PLANTING MEDIUM

One of the easiest solution for the first-year seed starting set up is a ready made system (ex. Jiffy greenhouse) - a tray with inserts for pellets.  Most of these systems come with pellets filled with compressed seed starting mix.  The set up is efficient and will provide you with everything you need to begin your seed starting experiments.
There are a couple of things to know about seed starting pellets.  First of all, this is not the cheapest seed starting option.  I try to stock up on Jiffy pellets when I see them on special in our home improvement store but if you are buying them online make sure to compare prices.  Another downside is their size.  These pellets are great for smaller plants that will get transplanted rather soon.  If you are growing plants that need to develop a large root system (like tomatoes) pellets will not do.
If you are looking for a cheaper solution or if you want your seedlings to grow big before being transplanted, consider buying a bag of seed starting mix and use large containers for planting.  You can use any medium sized container as long as it has a couple of drainage holes in the bottom.  Consider planting your seeds in milk cartons, yogurt containers, plastic mushroom containers, or even Styrofoam cups.  Containers made out of toilet paper rolls is another very popular alternative among gardeners - you can find lots of tutorials online.

LIGHT

Next you will need to provide your seedlings with lots of light.  You can try windowsills but I've never succeeded with this method.  Seed starting lights set ups get quite pricey so feel free to improvise with table lamps or other lamp fixtures.  Please remember that light is a crucial element for healthy, successful seedlings.  Weak, tall (leggy) seedlings may not survive transplantation and will die after the first rainfall.

SEEDS

The last thing you will need is seeds.  Your nearby home improvement store or gardening center may carry seed envelopes.  You can also find a broader selection of seeds through seed companies.  This year I have ordered my seeds from:

• TERRA EDIBLES - organic and heirloom vegetables and flowers
• WEST COAST SEEDS - organic and heirloom seeds 
• VESEYS - a wide variety of seeds, including some organic
• I might get a couple of herb seeds from RICHTERS

Most of seed companies share their catalogues online and would even send you a paper copy.

TO PLANT

All you need to do now is get your planting medium ready (moisten your seed starting mix or let you pellets soak up water), follow instructions on seed packets to determine the depth of planting, decide on how many seeds you would plant per container, and cover seeds with soil.  Place your seedlings in a warm dark spot but make sure to check on them daily.  Lightly moisten soil if needed.  As soon as first tiny seedlings appear - place your seeds under the lights.  Keep checking on your seedlings and lightly watering them to keep soil moist but not too wet.
If you provide adequate conditions you baby plants will keep growing and eventually develop the first set of real if tiny leaves.  Most flower and herb seedlings can be transplanted as soon as the second set of real leaves appears, however before planting your plants outside you need to harden them off: gradually expose to outside conditions.  This process takes about a week and I will discuss it in the upcoming posts of GARDENING ADVENTURES.
Meanwhile stay tuned for the next post with seed starting tips and tricks.

In case you've missed previous Gardening Adventures here are first 3 posts:

Let me know if you have any questions; drop me a line or leave a comment.
Anya

GARDENING ADVENTURES {seeds or seedlings}

Last time we've talked about annuals, perennials, and biennials.  Once you've figured out what plants you will be adding to your garden you would need to decide whether you are buying seedlings or starting your plants from seeds.

Both have their pros and cons: seeds are cheaper but not all of them might succeed, seedlings require less work but your selection might be limited... more about it later.  If it is your first year gardening I would strongly suggest you get at least half of your plants, if not more, in seedlings.  This will give you enough plants to fill up your garden while leaving some time to experiment with seeds.

Which plants to choose for seed starting?  Look for easy to sprout annuals and interesting plants that might not be available at your nursery. I have read somewhere that herbs were considered to be difficult to start from seeds but last year I had great success with basil, thyme, cilantro, and parsley.  I was also happy to grow lavender and lemon balm from seeds so I recommend you try any of these.

SEEDS
Starting plants from seeds is an exciting process.  You can choose from a variety of seeds in the gardening section of your home improvement store or better yet, browse through seed companies websites to find specific plants you would like to grow.  The vast selection and the low price of seeds makes seed starting a preferred choice for some gardeners.
Seed starting has several "downsides": first of all it requires some preliminary work - you need to start most of your plants 6-8 weeks before the last frost date in your area (although lots of gardeners, me included, find a great pleasure in extending the gardening season by almost two months).  Not all seeds might germinate successfully - some plants are known to be especially temperamental and seeds that have not been properly stored can die and fail to germinate.

SEEDLINGS
Buying established seedlings is easy and does not require as much prep work as seed starting. Several days before the frost date nurseries and gardening section of home improvement stores stack up on flowering annuals, vegetables, perennials, and herbs.  Although seedlings are pricier than seeds, established seedlings have a very high success rate.
The biggest downside of buying seedling is the choice limit - your favourite nursery might carry only plants "popular" in your area and although for the first year or two it might not pose any restriction on your gardening practices, one day you will want to try some new and unusual plants.  

Here is a fast summary of pros and cons.

Seed starting:
PROs - inexpensive, fun, great selection
CONs - requires extra work, might not be 100% successful

Seedlings:
PROs - easy, high success rate
CONs - more expensive, limited choice

If you are planning on starting your plants from seeds do not miss the next GARDENING ADVENTURES post.  We'll discuss everything you need to know about seed starting!

Anya
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A year ago: WEEKEND COLOURS
Two years ago: NEW PROJECT

GARDENING ADVENTURES {annuals, perennials, biennials}

In the first installment of GARDENING ADVENTURES I've talked about three things to consider before starting a garden.  Now that you've figured out your plant hardiness zone, decided on how much time and space you will devote to your garden and maybe cleaned up a corner for your seed starting experiments, you will need to think about what to plant. All plants, including trees, shrubs, vegetables and herbs, could be separated into perennials, annuals, and biennials.

ANNUALS

Annual plants are the easiest to "understand". An annual starts as a seed at the beginning of the season, turns into a plant, flowers, produces seeds of its own, and then dies off at the end of the season. The lifespan of an annual plant is one year and no matter how amazing your conditions would be you can not revive it after.

PERENNIALS

Perennial plants have a much longer lifespan. Some can live for 10 years or longer (think of trees that live over 100 years). Each spring a perennial plant opens new leaves, in summer it produces flowers, and comes Fall it is usually ready to go dormant, unless it's an evergreen that does not loose its leaves.  All of this, however, is only true when the conditions are right for the plant.  If the winter is too cold the plant might die rather than go dormant and if the summer is too hot, the plant might not be able to survive either.
This is when plant hardiness zones, mentioned in the previous GARDENING ADVENTURES post, become important.  When you look at the description of a perennial plant you will usually see a zone (or a range of zones) indicating optimal conditions for the plant.

If, like me, you live in zone 5 you want to get perennials that are hardy to zone 5 or lower (zone 4 or zone 3).  Zone 8 perennials will not survive our cold winter.  The inverse is true as well and you might not be able to provide enough cool whether and thus dormant period for zone 4 plant if you would plant it in zone 8.

However, it is quite common to plant warm-weather perennials as annuals in cooler climates.  One common example is coleus - a beautiful decorative plant that is often sold as an annual here in Montreal.  As Fall days get shorter and cooler, coleus looses its leaves and dies off, but when planted in warmer climates it continues its life cycle for several years.  In fact, you can "trick" coleus by bringing it indoors for the cooler time of the year; it would continue growing if provided adequate temperature and light.

Lantana is another tropical perennial plant that is often used as a decorative annual in cooler zones.  Overwintering it could be a bit trickier but not impossible.  The plant would still go dormant, when brought indoors, but would get new set of green leaves and flowers comes Summer.

Not all perennials could be treated like annuals.  Some plants need several years to fully develop or they might need extremely warm or dry conditions.

BIENNIALS

The last group of plants - biennials - have a 2-year lifespan.  Most of the time a biennial plant will need a cold time period before it produces flowers.  And just like perennials, some biennials are being grown as annuals in cooler climates.

So here you have it: annuals, perennials, and biennials are not that complex after all.  It is now time to decide which ones you will be buying as seedlings/small plants and which ones you would like to start from seeds.  We'll discuss this next week - stay tuned for more GARDENING ADVENTURES!

Anya
P.S. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions.  Or better, let's discuss your gardening plans right here in the comments!

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A year ago: CLEANING HOUSEPLANTS
Two years ago: 14 DAYS OF VALENTINE ... DAY13

GARDENING ADVENTURES {before you begin}

Last week I've introduced a new series here at SAS does - GARDENING ADVENTURES.  This year I want to share my gardening experience and hopefully inspire you to start a garden of your own.  Today we'll begin with things to consider before starting your garden. I will be talking a lot about seed starting but even if you are planning on buying your seedlings and plants, you need to take space, climate, and free time you have in consideration.

SPACE

First, you need to figure out how much space you have for your plants.  If you are planning on starting your plants from seeds, think about the space indoors as well.
Outdoors: If you are lucky to have a spacious backyard or a nice big front yard you can "go crazy" and "plant your little heart out".  For the first couple of years you most definitely won't need to worry about running out of space, but you will still need to think about the aesthetics and consider sunny and shadowy areas of your yard.
If you are limited to a balcony and container gardening you might want to do a rough estimate of how many plants you will be able to fit.  Another option is to find lots of friends who will be willing to accept your extra seedlings and plants.
Indoors: If you are starting some of your plants from seeds keep in mind that seedlings will need a lot of light.  If you get plenty (and I mean at least full 8 hours) of direct sunlight you can give your windowsills a try.  I've never been successful starting seedlings on a windowsill so my suggestion is to dedicate a shelf or a small table in your house to your seed starting experiments.  There is nothing worse than tall leggy seedlings that did not get enough light and that die after the first heavy rainfall. 
I will show you my seed starting set up in one of the next Gardening Adventures posts.

My experience: I am lucky to have a fairly big yard so this year I am really concerned with the indoor space.  Right now I have room for 50 seedlings under  the lights and I am contemplating getting a second light fixture.  The big questions is where will I put it!

CLIMATE

Before buying plants or seedlings you need to identify your plant hardiness zone and get your frost dates down.  This is especially important for seed starting, since most seeds will need 6-10 weeks of indoor growth before being transplanted outside.  A fast Google search (like this and this) will help you to find answers to these questions.
It might be almost unbelievable to find out that the frost danger in your area is in mid - May (like it is for Montreal).  Last year as I was working outside in a t-shirt in April I was tempted to transplant my tiny seedlings outside before the frost date.  A couple of weeks later, when the temperature dipped unexpectedly I was very happy that I didn't do so. My advice is to always go by frost dates in your area!

My experience: I live in zone 5 which pushes frost date in my area to mid-May.  Last year I was quite successful starting my seedling in March so this year I will do the same. 

 

TIME

Time is probably the most important aspect to consider before jumping into your gardening adventures.  Caring for seedlings seems like an easy task but this is just the beginning of your gardening journey.  Throughout the year you will need to spend quite a bit of time in your garden: transplanting, weeding, watering, and fertilizing.
Gardening is a time consuming activity and it might be hard for a novice gardener to estimate time needed to be spend outdoors.  If it's your first year - start small, because you can always add to your garden by buying new plants throughout the season.

My experience: I am hoping to have plenty of time for gardening this year.  I will need Eric's help in May for hardening my seedlings off (gradual exposure of seedlings to outdoor conditions) since I work most weekdays.

Next time we'll talk about the difference between annual and perennial plants.  Meanwhile, I will be happy to hear your gardening stories and answer any of your questions.  Just leave a comment or email SAS.does(@)gmail(.)com

Anya
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A year ago: FEBRUARY TO DO LIST and BREAKFAST CLUB
Two years ago: VALENTINE'S DAY LOVE BIRDS

GARDENING ADVENTURES 2011-2013

Montreal is under a cold spell.  Mercury dips to -16 and -20 and meteorologists suggest that it feels even cooler.  To keep myself warm I make a batch of my favorite lemon tea and sift through seed catalogues.  Even if I have to wait several months before actually planting anything, the seed starting time is just around the corner.

This will be my third year gardening.  Back in 2011 I decided to clear up our backyard.  I spent one very long weekend weeding the oval flowerbed (the only one we had at that time) and fighting stubborn lilies of the valley that took over most of it.
Once the flowerbed got cleaned I bought some annual and perennial plants, several herb seedlings, and 6 tomato plants.  Tomatoes got planted in containers while the rest of the plants went straight into the flowerbed.  I also tried starting several varieties of herbs and flowers from seeds but my experiments were not very successful.

Planting spring bulbs, on the other hand, turned out to be much more rewarding and spring of 2012 welcomed us  with crocuses, tulips, hyacinths, chianadoxa, and muscari.

The goal for 2012 was to get the garden going. After hours days of weeding the space was ready.  Eric made a nice wooden border, the soil got ordered, shoveled in, mixed with manure, and we were ready for planting!  And planting we did: tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, chives, ground cherries, even asparagus and rhubarb.  Not everything was successful but I learned a lot from the process and my garden will definitely keep growing!
Later in May we also made 2 flowerbeds: one next to the house and another one in a corner of the backyard.  I got a chance to make several containers and ended up getting lots of new plants.

But the biggest success of 2012 was my seed starting endeavor.  Eric made an amazing light fixture for me and with proper lighting I was able to start over 50 seedlings: herbs, annuals, perennials.  Watching tiny seeds turn into seedlings, and later on into big flowering plants was truly amazing!

What are my gardening plans for this year?
1. I want to experiment with vegetable seeds.  I will be starting most of my garden plants from seeds and I will try to grow a lot of heirloom varieties.
2. I will need to reorganize my garden space and turn the long rectangular patch into several square ones.  I am waiting impatiently to get the new Square Foot gardening book and begin planning.  I want to learn more about companion planting and try succeessive planting this year.
3. My last plan is to document my gardening adventures and to share them here.  I also would like to share knowledge and information I've athered over the years of gardening.  If you are planning to start a garden this year I will try to guide you through the process, answer your questions, and share my own successes and failures in the new gardening series: GARDENING ADVENTURES.
We'll begin next week with things to consider for your first year of gardenings.  Stay tuned!

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A year ago: ORGANIZING YOU ONLINE "STUFF"