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81 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
81 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
# Seed Starting, Step by Step
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## Why start from seed
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Seeds cost a fraction of transplants, offer hundreds of varieties shops never
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carry, and let you start the season weeks early. In a self-reliance context,
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seed-starting skill plus saved seed is food security you can hold in one jar.
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## Easy first crops
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Learn on forgiving species before fussy ones. Easy from seed: lettuce,
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spinach, basil, tomato, pepper, cucumber, broccoli, dill, cilantro; among
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flowers: sunflower, calendula, marigold, nasturtium, zinnia. Some crops
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prefer direct sowing outdoors and resent transplanting: beans, peas, root
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vegetables (carrot, beet, radish, parsnip), and squash in mild climates —
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their packets say "direct sow".
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## Equipment that matters
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- **Containers:** anything 5-8 cm deep with drainage holes — purpose trays,
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yogurt cups, paper pots, egg cartons (shallow; transplant early). Clean
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reused containers with hot soapy water and a dilute bleach rinse.
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- **Medium:** a fine, sterile seed-starting mix — never garden soil or used
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potting soil indoors (weeds, fungus gnats, and damping-off fungus come
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with them). Pre-moisten the mix to "wrung-out sponge" before filling.
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- **Light:** the make-or-break input. A south window is marginal at
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mid-latitudes and hopeless in a northern winter; simple LED grow lights
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hung 5-10 cm above the seedlings, on a timer for 14-16 hours (they need
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dark rest too), produce stocky plants. Raise the light as plants grow.
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- **Heat:** most seeds germinate fastest at 18-24 °C soil temperature;
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peppers and tomatoes like the warm end (a heat mat or the top of a warm
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appliance helps). After germination, slightly cooler air grows sturdier
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plants.
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## The sowing process
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1. **Time it from the last frost date.** Packets say "start indoors X weeks
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before last frost" — count backward on a calendar. Typical: tomatoes and
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peppers 6-8 weeks, brassicas 4-6, cucumbers and squash only 2-4 (they
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grow fast and sulk when root-bound).
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2. **Sow at the right depth.** Rule of thumb: 2-3x the seed's diameter.
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Tiny seeds and light-requiring seeds (lettuce, many herbs and flowers)
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are pressed onto the surface. Sow 2 seeds per cell for insurance.
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3. **Cover for humidity** with a clear dome or plastic wrap until sprouts
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appear, then remove it immediately — trapped humidity after germination
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invites disease.
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4. **Water from below:** set cells in a tray and pour water into the tray;
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the mix wicks it up without disturbing seeds or wetting leaves. Let the
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surface dry slightly between waterings.
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5. **Thin ruthlessly:** snip (don't pull) the weaker of the two seedlings
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at soil level once true leaves appear. Crowded seedlings all lose.
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6. **Feed after true leaves:** seed mixes are nearly nutrient-free; begin
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half-strength liquid feed (fish emulsion, seaweed, or balanced organic)
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when the second set of leaves — the "true leaves" — arrives, weekly
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thereafter.
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7. **Air movement:** a small fan on low, or brushing your hand over
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seedlings daily, thickens stems and prevents fungal problems.
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## Troubleshooting (the classic failures)
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- **Nothing germinated:** soil too cold and wet (seed rotted — dig one up:
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soft and swollen means rot), too dry, sown too deep, or seed too old.
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- **Seedlings toppled at the base overnight:** damping-off fungus. There is
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no cure once it strikes; prevention is sterile mix, clean containers,
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bottom watering, and airflow.
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- **Leggy, pale, stretched seedlings:** insufficient light, sometimes plus
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too much warmth. More light, closer light, cooler room.
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- **Purple leaf undersides on tomatoes:** phosphorus hunger or cold roots —
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feed properly and warm them.
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- **Surface mold:** overwatered — hold water a few days, add airflow, or
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repot.
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## Hardening off (do not skip)
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Indoor seedlings placed straight into sun and wind get scorched and
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flattened. Over 7-10 days, move them outside to a sheltered, part-shade
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spot for a few hours, increasing sun and exposure daily, indoors or covered
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at night at first. A cold frame — any low box with a clear lid — automates
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this and extends the season at both ends. Transplant on a calm, overcast
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day or evening, water in well, and protect from wind the first days.
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