This is seed starting season, which helps local gardeners get an early start on veggies and annual herbs and flowers.
Seed starting is the process of growing plants from seed rather than buying established seedlings.
Gardeners sow seeds in containers filled with a light, sterile seed-starting mix and provide warmth, moisture, and strong light to encourage germination and healthy early growth.
Starting seeds indoors several weeks before the last frost gives plants a head start on the growing season, while direct sowing outdoors works well for crops that prefer to grow where they are planted.
There are a multitude of seed starting how-to's out there. One great resource for those just learning the ropes of seed starting is Johnny's Selected Seeds website.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a well-known American seed company founded in 1973 and headquartered in Winslow, Maine. The company supplies high-quality vegetable, flower, and herb seeds, along with gardening tools and growing information for both home gardeners and commercial farmers.
Known for its extensive seed trials and breeding programs, Johnny’s carefully tests varieties for flavor, performance, and disease resistance before offering them to growers. Today the company is 100% employee-owned and ships seeds and supplies to gardeners and farms across the United States and around the world.
Johnny's Seeds offers detailed information on seed starting and transplanting, including guidelines for starting seeds indoors, tips and troubleshooting advice for starting healthy seedlings. Click here to see the Guidelines for Starting Seeds Indoors and numerous other pages of information related to seed starting and plant growing and transplanting.
It's helpful to know that window light is typically insufficient for effectively growing seedlings which need 14-16 hours of daily exposure to full-spectrum light. Supplemental lighting is very helpful - see this video for more info.
Burpee Seeds, another long-trusted seed company, has a lot of great products for seed starting here.
Locally, you can get information and products at Big Tool Box in Parker, and Tagawa Gardens.
Gardeners sow seeds in containers filled with a light, sterile seed-starting mix and provide warmth, moisture, and strong light to encourage germination and healthy early growth.
Starting seeds indoors several weeks before the last frost gives plants a head start on the growing season, while direct sowing outdoors works well for crops that prefer to grow where they are planted.
There are a multitude of seed starting how-to's out there. One great resource for those just learning the ropes of seed starting is Johnny's Selected Seeds website.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a well-known American seed company founded in 1973 and headquartered in Winslow, Maine. The company supplies high-quality vegetable, flower, and herb seeds, along with gardening tools and growing information for both home gardeners and commercial farmers.
Known for its extensive seed trials and breeding programs, Johnny’s carefully tests varieties for flavor, performance, and disease resistance before offering them to growers. Today the company is 100% employee-owned and ships seeds and supplies to gardeners and farms across the United States and around the world.
Johnny's Seeds offers detailed information on seed starting and transplanting, including guidelines for starting seeds indoors, tips and troubleshooting advice for starting healthy seedlings. Click here to see the Guidelines for Starting Seeds Indoors and numerous other pages of information related to seed starting and plant growing and transplanting.
It's helpful to know that window light is typically insufficient for effectively growing seedlings which need 14-16 hours of daily exposure to full-spectrum light. Supplemental lighting is very helpful - see this video for more info.
Burpee Seeds, another long-trusted seed company, has a lot of great products for seed starting here.
Locally, you can get information and products at Big Tool Box in Parker, and Tagawa Gardens.
Can you use old seeds for seed starting? Read our article regarding old seeds here.