Starting Seeds for Transplanting

Recycled plant pots

Well, it's that time again. We are starting seeds for spring planting indoors. We'll be transplanting them in the garden when it warms up a bit around May 1st.

Now, we grow organically, saving seeds from one year to the next. The only vegetable seeds we need to purchase is maybe some red seed potatoes in the fall, but for spring planting, done this week in old tires, we're good. I had enough eyes on the potatoes from fall harvest to plant for spring. The other thing we usually buy is red or white clover and orchard grass seeds. Last year's growing to seed was cut short by fall freezes. But those are hand broadcasted sowing.

assorted plastic ware (unwashed)

How do we start seeds indoors? I imagine it's no different than any other gardener out there. We've been saving plant pots for a while now. Each year we wash them with detergent and bleach to kill any bacteria that may live in them. But that's not the only thing we start plants in. We have a collection of assorted plastic ware from berry baskets to old yogurt cups that we start seeds in too. I imagine you can find oodles of these types of things in your kitchen cabinets too.

Who needs those expensive seed starting kits, we sure don't. Just cover container with plastic wrap with a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage. Every other month I'll splurge and buy a rotisserie cooked
chicken from the deli department at the grocery store. They flame roast these antibiotic free birds and put them on sale for $3.99. I can't cook one for less so it's a good deal for three meals for us. Throw away the container it comes in? Not on your life! Start seeds in it. You can start a lot of lettuce seeds in one container to name just one vegetable.

But we start more than vegetable seeds in these containers. Since we garden organically with no chemicals, we start flowers and herbs indoors also. Flowers such as marigolds, zinnias, and nasturtiums go a long way in deterring a wide array of pests.  Herbs like oregano, basil, parsley,and dill when planted with vegetables can deter critters large and small and actually help your vegetables thrive. Don't take my word for it, do your own research on companion planting. By the time the vegetables are ready to transplant, these herbs and flowers are ready too. it all works together.

Now that our seed potting containers are ready to grow, next is the soil. Starting mix is different than growing mix. Our seed starting mix is 3 parts. The first part is commercially prepared organic seed starting mix. 😀The second part is our nutrient rich compost (finely sifted). The last part is sand or perlite to add extra drainage. Everybody likes a drink, but don't want to drown in the water. All in equal proportions. This will hold enough water for germination and growth, plenty of food to grow healthy roots and plants, and enough drainage to prevent rot.

Sure, I could just use the commercial seed starting mix, but I believe a lot of transplanting shock stems from a different bunch of nutrients introduced during transplanting. By adding my own compost, the plants become accustomed to my plant food that's in my soil. My transplants continue to grow in similar soil.

Next after seeding the containers and covering the tops, we'll place them on a thickly paper towel lined old baking pans. This will do double duty as a liquid draining and self waterer. You just water the bottom of the pan as needed. This way the germinating seeds aren't disturbed and it waters from the bottom up..

I've even made soil block makers out of old prescription pill bottles which would otherwise go into the landfill. To make it faster, I even taped four bottles together.

There are tons of DIY videos on YouTube. They are easy enough to make. I think I've tried them all over the years. I've upcycled toilet and paper towel center cores, newspaper and a host of other things back when I had a full acre to plant. When I run out of reused containers, I'll use some. The possibilities are endless for making seed starting pots with a little creativity and forethought.

How do you mark your seed trays when planting multiple types? We've tried several different things. Tape on pots doesn't last too long. popsicle sticks bleed the writing and the ones that you pick up from the store are expensive. We use cut up mini blinds slats. You can buy them or find them in a second store.cheap enough, but we didn't have to a couple were left in the house when Mel moved here.We upcycled them. One slat will make 4 to 6 labels.  After 4 years we've might have used half of one blind. Another thing we do is save the plant labels that come on plants that you buy for when we move our seedlings outdoors. Most seedlings look alike.

They'll sit and grow happily in our plastic covered screened back porch until transplant time. That's how we do it.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Jo