When you start your plants from seed indoors, you control each plant’s early growing conditions… and you don’t have to worry about an unexpected frost. It’s very important to know when the average last frost date is for your area.

You’ll start your seeds indoors four to eight weeks before the last expected frost, depending upon the type of plants you’ll be growing. Read the directions on the back of each seed packet. It should tell you everything you need to know about how to seed, when to plant, planting conditions, germination time, and when and how to transplant the seedlings.

If You Want Successful Seedlings

To get your plants off to a good start, make sure you have the following:

• Plenty of light: Either put your seed containers by a window where there’s lots of all-day light, or create a space where your plants can be under fluorescent light (6 inches above the plants) for 16 hours a day. If your plants are getting long and spindly, increase the light they’re getting. If your light source comes from only one direction, turn the plants every few days.
• A container that drains well: You can purchase inexpensive seed starting trays at your local nursery. If you reuse your containers, make sure you disinfect them with a sterilizing solution: dilute 1 oz household bleach in one gallon of water, then add 1 oz of 5% distilled white vinegar. Rinse well. Vinegar alone will not totally disinfect.
• Good seed starting mix:  You might want to consider using a soilless mix, such as sphagnum peat moss, for starting your plants. It’s free of disease and other contaminates. Mix thoroughly 1/2 sphagnum moss and 1/2 vermiculite. Or if you want to use soil, a good mixture for growing transplants is: 1-part high-quality garden soil mix, 1-part shredded peat moss, and 1-part sand. Always use soil that is free of contaminates. Your planting mix should be light and fluffy to prevent compaction. Add vermiculite or perlite for good drainage, water retention and air space.
• Consistent moisture: Keep your seedlings moist but not soggy. Do not let the planting mix dry out (check daily), or you will lose your plants. Overly-wet soil prevents oxygen from reaching the roots, and drowns the new plants. Bottom watering is best because it prevents over-soaking. Spraying can dislodge the plants, and water on the leaves could cause fungus.
• Consistent warm temperature:  Most seeds will germinate at room temperature, 65-70º degrees F.
• Air circulation:  Good air circulation indoors will help prevent damping-off fungus, which causes the seedlings to get spindly and fall over. A small fan placed by the seedlings will also increase the strength of their stems.

Tips for Planting

• You can get hard, woody seeds, off to a healthier start by gently rubbing the seeds with sandpaper or scraping them with a knife. The idea is to make it easier for the soaking media to penetrate the seed's coat to get to the embryo of the seed. Be careful not to damage the embryo. Soak the seeds overnight in a solution of 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 cups warm water.
• Keep the seedlings in a bright location… moisten the soil regularly… and fertilize lightly after the first true leaves develop.
• Damping-off disease thrives in cool, dark (or cloudy), and wet conditions. The disease is airborne and can spread quickly from one seed tray to another. It’s fatal to young seedlings, cutting them off at the soil level. Use sterilized starting soil and growing containers, provide plenty of gentle air circulation and lots of light, and gently stir the top of the soil around the seedlings.
• If there’s nitrogen in your fertilizer, it can promote rapid growth of damping-off disease. Do not over-feed seedlings.
• Perlite and vermiculite improve soil aeration while retaining the moisture and nutrients necessary to feed roots, cuttings, and seeds for faster growth. Both are clean, odorless, nontoxic and sterile. They will not deteriorate, turn moldy or rot.

Steps for Planting Indoors

1. Before sowing the seeds, fill your planting container to overflowing with your growing medium so the air will flow across it. This helps prevent damping-off disease.
2. Moisten the soil by placing it in a pan of room temperature water until it is thoroughly damp, but not soaked.
3. Add the seed and just barely cover it with soil. The sowing instructions on the back of the seed packet will specify the correct spacing, planting depth, time to sow and any other pertinent information for that particular seed variety.
4. Keep the planting tray in a warm airy place. Most plants will germinate at 65-70º degrees F.
5. Don’t let the soil dry out!
6. After the new seedlings have formed 4 true leaves, they can be individually potted or spaced (1” or more apart) so there’s room for them to develop naturally. Water both the plants and the new potting flats prior to thinning or transplanting. Always handle fragile seedlings by their leaves and NEVER by their stems. Even a little pressure can permanently damage the stem. Some wilting will occur after transplanting. The plants should recover quickly.
7. When the plants reach 3 to 4 inches, you can water and feed them from above. Fertilize the plants using a 1/2 strength mix of all purpose plant food (keep nitrogen levels very light) once a week. Excess nitrogen can cause excessive foliage growth with very few flowers or vegetables.
8. The plants should be "hardened-off" for two weeks before planting them in the garden. "Hardening-off" is the process where the plant is toughened to withstand the outside environment. Set the plants outside in partial shade to receive lower temperatures during the day and bring them in at night. The transplants should be left outside longer each day during the hardening-off period. Keep close watch on temperatures and weather conditions.
9. When the outside soil temperature reaches 60-65º degrees F and there is no longer any danger of frost, set the plants into your garden and protect them from the wind.

Happy Gardening!