# Seed Starting, Step by Step

## Why start from seed

Seeds cost a fraction of transplants, offer hundreds of varieties shops never
carry, and let you start the season weeks early. In a self-reliance context,
seed-starting skill plus saved seed is food security you can hold in one jar.

## Easy first crops

Learn on forgiving species before fussy ones. Easy from seed: lettuce,
spinach, basil, tomato, pepper, cucumber, broccoli, dill, cilantro; among
flowers: sunflower, calendula, marigold, nasturtium, zinnia. Some crops
prefer direct sowing outdoors and resent transplanting: beans, peas, root
vegetables (carrot, beet, radish, parsnip), and squash in mild climates —
their packets say "direct sow".

## Equipment that matters

- **Containers:** anything 5-8 cm deep with drainage holes — purpose trays,
  yogurt cups, paper pots, egg cartons (shallow; transplant early). Clean
  reused containers with hot soapy water and a dilute bleach rinse.
- **Medium:** a fine, sterile seed-starting mix — never garden soil or used
  potting soil indoors (weeds, fungus gnats, and damping-off fungus come
  with them). Pre-moisten the mix to "wrung-out sponge" before filling.
- **Light:** the make-or-break input. A south window is marginal at
  mid-latitudes and hopeless in a northern winter; simple LED grow lights
  hung 5-10 cm above the seedlings, on a timer for 14-16 hours (they need
  dark rest too), produce stocky plants. Raise the light as plants grow.
- **Heat:** most seeds germinate fastest at 18-24 °C soil temperature;
  peppers and tomatoes like the warm end (a heat mat or the top of a warm
  appliance helps). After germination, slightly cooler air grows sturdier
  plants.

## The sowing process

1. **Time it from the last frost date.** Packets say "start indoors X weeks
   before last frost" — count backward on a calendar. Typical: tomatoes and
   peppers 6-8 weeks, brassicas 4-6, cucumbers and squash only 2-4 (they
   grow fast and sulk when root-bound).
2. **Sow at the right depth.** Rule of thumb: 2-3x the seed's diameter.
   Tiny seeds and light-requiring seeds (lettuce, many herbs and flowers)
   are pressed onto the surface. Sow 2 seeds per cell for insurance.
3. **Cover for humidity** with a clear dome or plastic wrap until sprouts
   appear, then remove it immediately — trapped humidity after germination
   invites disease.
4. **Water from below:** set cells in a tray and pour water into the tray;
   the mix wicks it up without disturbing seeds or wetting leaves. Let the
   surface dry slightly between waterings.
5. **Thin ruthlessly:** snip (don't pull) the weaker of the two seedlings
   at soil level once true leaves appear. Crowded seedlings all lose.
6. **Feed after true leaves:** seed mixes are nearly nutrient-free; begin
   half-strength liquid feed (fish emulsion, seaweed, or balanced organic)
   when the second set of leaves — the "true leaves" — arrives, weekly
   thereafter.
7. **Air movement:** a small fan on low, or brushing your hand over
   seedlings daily, thickens stems and prevents fungal problems.

## Troubleshooting (the classic failures)

- **Nothing germinated:** soil too cold and wet (seed rotted — dig one up:
  soft and swollen means rot), too dry, sown too deep, or seed too old.
- **Seedlings toppled at the base overnight:** damping-off fungus. There is
  no cure once it strikes; prevention is sterile mix, clean containers,
  bottom watering, and airflow.
- **Leggy, pale, stretched seedlings:** insufficient light, sometimes plus
  too much warmth. More light, closer light, cooler room.
- **Purple leaf undersides on tomatoes:** phosphorus hunger or cold roots —
  feed properly and warm them.
- **Surface mold:** overwatered — hold water a few days, add airflow, or
  repot.

## Hardening off (do not skip)

Indoor seedlings placed straight into sun and wind get scorched and
flattened. Over 7-10 days, move them outside to a sheltered, part-shade
spot for a few hours, increasing sun and exposure daily, indoors or covered
at night at first. A cold frame — any low box with a clear lid — automates
this and extends the season at both ends. Transplant on a calm, overcast
day or evening, water in well, and protect from wind the first days.