GO-3.0/tools/qortino-knowledge/docs/gardening/seed-starting.md

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.