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Starting Seeds



If you plan to start your seeds indoors, make sure they have enough sunlight or the seedlings will grow tall and weak. I start mine outdoors in trays when the weather starts to warm up.

Soaking seeds before planting can make them germinate faster. Soak them in warm tap water for at least 12 hours or overnight. Soaking bean seeds is not recommended. The seeds may crack and germinate poorly.

There are several ways to plant seeds:

Seed Starting Mix-This mix is light and fluffy so more seeds come up. Use it inside of a greenhouse tray for best results. The mix can get messy so it’s best to plant outside.

Peat Pellets-This method is cleaner. The pellets are flat. You soak them in water for a minute or two and they grow to an inch in size. You plant the seeds in them and put them inside of the greenhouse tray. When the seedlings are ready to be transplanted, the entire pellet gets planted in the ground.

Potting Mix-Just sow the seeds directly into your flower pots filled with potting mix. Not as many will come up but sometimes you get lucky and they will all come up.

Use a spray bottle to water your seedlings until they look strong enough to withstand a blast of water from a small watering can. Water gently.

If you started the seeds indoors you will need to harden them off before placing them outside permanently. This means that you need to place them outside for short periods of time each day and then bring them inside again. The entire process should take from one to two weeks.

Start by placing them outside in a shady spot. Wait at least three days before putting them in the sun for half a day. Gradually increase the amount of time you leave them outside before taking them in for the night. After 7-14 days they can be left outside permanently.





seed starting mix and trays
peat pellets and greenhouse tray

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Linda Nicastro
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