So I've been very busy with starting seeds indoors and making sure my seedlings have what they need before they go outside in a couple months. Mainly I'll be talking about bell peppers and tomatoes. Tomato seeds need started about 8 weeks before the last frost, and peppers about 8-10 weeks before. You don't need anything fancy to start seeds: I'm using egg cartons and 32 oz yogurt containers that I've cut in half. I'll transplant larger seedlings into larger plastic cups or a 1/2 gallon of milk I cut in half. For starting seeds inside I've learned some things are important:
Seeds need warmth and moisture to germinate. Warmth was difficult to figure out with it still being cold and I don't have a seed warming mat. Placing everything in the oven with the light on did the trick until they sprouted. Keep the soil (use seed starting mix; it's lighter and easier for small roots to grow in) moist but not wet: once sprouted, seedlings can "dampen off" which is a fungus disease that they can't recover from. I also covered them with cling wrap for humidity until they sprouted.
Originally, I was going to keep everything by my kitchen window, but my apartment simply doesn't have the light. I bought a grow light on Amazon for about $20 and it works great! Seedlings need 14-16 hours of light daily. Just keep an eye on them since they can get "sunburned" like we do.
I definitely had some issues along the way (so far...I'm sure there will be more!). I saved some seeds from a bell pepper plant and a tomato plant I grew last year. Peppers are finicky and take longer to germinate so I started them first. After about 2 weeks nothing was happening (they take 7-21 days but I'm impatient!). I tested the viability of my seeds by soaking them in a container of water for 15 minutes. If they float, they're not viable; if they sink, they will germinate. They all floated. I quickly made the trip to a greenhouse to buy seeds and after about a week most have sprouted.
My tomatoes started out strong then had a different problem. I started my tomato seeds and they all germinated (so far, so good). I took them out of the warm oven and set them under the grow light. My cat Luna decided they needed pruning so she ate the tops of 6 plants! I started another set of seeds to make up for the loss. *Tomatoes are toxic to cats, but with these being so tiny she was okay.
The anti-Luna plant fortress! Good thing I didn't take out my recycling yet.
Luna's handiwork...
Later on (about 4 weeks before the last frost), I will be starting lettuce seeds inside as well. Everything else will be sown directly outside because some plants don't do well with transplanting. Ultimately, if you decide to start seeds inside like I am, just do your research on what your seeds need to germinate to give them optimal growing conditions. Some will germinate faster than others (hot peppers can take months!). Always have extra if you have a curious cat or kids, so be patient and have fun!
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