How to grow a plant from a seed

Containers can be anything that holds growing medium. Typically people start seeds in ready made peat pots, expandable peat pellets, or plastic flats. Peat pots and pellets can be planted directly into the garden when it's transplanting time. Plastic flats regularly come with 6- or 4-pack plastic containers (these are the ones you usually find at a nursery or garden center).

If you want to save money, you can get creative with your containers and use newspaper wrapped around the end of a glass bottle to form a paper cup, egg cartons, milk jugs, coffee mugs, or any other vessel that will contain your seed-starting mix. You should sterilize any previously used containers with a solution of one part bleach to ten parts water to ward of bacterial contamination.

You're growing medium for starting seeds should be sterile to help prevent bacterial growth. While you can save money by just using garden soil, you're chances of having something go wrong increase because of the organisms present in it and its thicker consistency. You can buy sterile starter mixes at most garden centers or you can make your own from supplies they have available. To make your own mix, you'll need 2 1/2 parts peat moss, a handful of lime, 2 parts compost, and 1/2 part sand.

If you make your own mix, you might want to consider forgoing a container altogether by making soil blocks. A special, hand-held device creates compact chunks of medium to grow your plants in. This allows the roots to go undisturbed during transplanting. Before making the blocks, moisten the mix thoroughly (enough so its sticks together when you squeeze it, and doesn't crumble too much if you throw it on the ground). Then, put some soil out on a table in a pile the same thickness as your soil block maker, and press down into the growing medium to fill up the maker's holes. Place the soil block maker into the flat where the seedlings will grow, then push down on the spring-loaded handle while pulling up on the maker to pop the blocks out.

Once you have your growing medium in your container or your soil blocks formed, you can put your seeds in them. Check the seed packet for information about planting depth. Usually a seed needs to be placed below the surface at a depth equal to its length. Smaller seeds like those of lettuce and mustard should be just scattered on the surface, while the larger seeds of pumpkins, watermelon, and the like should be pushed into the dirt a bit.

Most seeds just need to be set in a warmish, moist environment to sprout. You can pop them on a windowsill, your table, the top of your refrigerator, or set them up in a greenhouse. Once they come up, you can keep your seedlings more evenly heated with mini-greenhouses. These can be anything from plastic zip bags and milk jugs to clear plastic storage containers and plastic two-liter bottles. Some seed starting flats also come with a short, clear greenhouse top. All of these will work to keep your seedlings warmer, but make sure you provide adequate ventilation so it doesn't get too moist in there.

Perhaps the most important element for a newly sprouted plant is light. Your light source can be either the sun (in a window or greenhouse) or grow lights (shop lights fixed with wide spectrum bulbs). If you use the sun as your sole source of lighting, your plants may be a little on the small side. You should also turn them everyday to make sure they grow evenly. Otherwise, you'll end up with lopsided plants as they grow towards the light!

Providing more intense lighting makes healthy, thicker-stemmed, stronger plants, so you might want to invest in an inexpensive grow light set-up. It should set you back only around $20 for a couple small fixtures and four light bulbs (make sure you buy lights specifically designed for growing plants, since fluorescent bulbs only provide some of the needed light waves for good growth).

After you have the seedlings up and growing, you'll want to make sure their environment fosters vigorous growth. You should place a fan near the plants for good air movement, which has proven helpful in preventing damping off (an infection that causes the plant to die at the base, where it meets the growing medium).

You also need to provide just the right amount of moisture. Seedlings can be swamped by the flow from a regular watering can, so buy a small spray bottle. Use the spray setting to water, and the mist setting to add moisture to parched leaves. Remember, just as too little water can kill a plant, too much moisture leads to damping off and mold, so keep an eye on things as the weeks progress.

After weeks inside a perfectly controlled climate, your plants would be quite shocked to simply be plopped into the garden outside. To ease this big move, you need to get your plants used to the outdoors through a period of what is called hardening off. Start by placing your plants outside in a shaded area for just one hour a day. Gradually increase both the time outdoors, and the exposure to the plants future home until you finally reach have them outside all day and night. Hardening off usually takes one to two weeks depending on what conditions are like outside (for instance, you can't leave vulnerable seedlings outside in scorching heat or drowning downpours). Waiting too long to start the hardening off process can lead to a plant becoming pot or root bound, too. Plan your hardening off to begin two weeks before your plants are to be set outside, which would be your last expected frost date.

Once you're plants are accustomed to their new growing environment, it's time for transplanting. Carefully remove the plant from its container and set it into a well watered hole the same depth as the root ball of the plant. You can add a little compost in the bottom of the hole to give the plant a boost, too. Then, you can fill the hole up, firming the soil gently around your tender seedling.

Direct seeding

Planting seeds directly into the garden isn't much different from starting them indoors except that you don't need a container, of course! Many short-season plants such as lettuce, radishes and peas can be planted right in the garden.

When direct sowing, you'll need to pay attention to the planting instructions on the packet for spacing the seeds, and sowing depth. Make especially sure to follow the depth advice since seeds at the surface are more susceptible to being eaten by hungry birds.

To plant, make a hole for the seed with your finger or a dibble (a small hole-creating device - an old screwdriver will do the trick). Move along the row until all the seeds have been dropped into place. Then, gently cover and firmly pat down the soil over the seeds, making sure to only get enough soil on top of the seed to meet the necessary sowing depth.

Once planted in the garden, you'll need to keep the soil moist just as you did for your indoor seeds. A simple watering from a can or light misting with the hose should do the trick. Once the seedlings have sprouted, you can mulch over the row lightly with grass clippings (if they are pesticide free) to help maintain moisture and minimize weeds.

Speaking of weeds, how do you tell the difference between your little seedling and unwanted invaders? You should watch for the seedlings to sprout (anywhere from a week to three weeks after planting), then note whether the offending plant you want to pull matches others in the row. Usually you can tell what is weed and what isn't simply by checking to see if the plant is indeed in a straight line with others. Otherwise, have a little patience, and soon the weeds will be big enough to distinguish from your crop.

With a little time and energy, you can easily start your whole garden from seed. It's very satisfying to plant a seedling you have nurtured from seed. Try it this summer, and you won't be disappointed.