Seed starting for beginners
Starting plants from seed can be a great way to save a bit of money, dive into gardening earlier in the year, and enjoy little sprout babies in your home all year.
Here are my 5 favourite products that I use to start seeds at home, and some tips for success to give you a great yield.
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Starting plants from seed has always been overwhelming for me. I’ve had great success buying seedlings from the store and planting them directly into my garden, but starting seeds from scratch has been trickier to get the hang of. Harvesting your own seeds from past crops is an awesome way to save some money and keep that full-circle growing cycle going, and buying seeds to start at home is still usually more affordable than purchasing already established plants. My favourite organic seeds are found through www.westcoastseeds.com
While starting plants through harvested or bought seeds is a great choice for your budget, it can definitely be worth making a few small investments to get a thriving seed-starting setup going. By manipulating light and temperature, I’ve been able to start seeds inside without a greenhouse much earlier than if I had to wait until the last frost date in my region. Surprisingly, the dollar store can be a great place to find supplies at a very low price point, and you may already have a lot of things you need to get started at home. If you’re still getting to know me, head over to the post about Lazy Gardening to check out how I keep costs down, use what a have, and simplify gardening as much as possible.
Without further ado, here are 5 products I use to start seeds in my kitchen (and living room, bathroom, bedroom…sorry babe!)
Seed starting pucks
Seed-starting pucks are little condensed bundles of soil starter mix, peat moss, or other materials based on brand. They come condensed and dehydrated, and once soaked grow to be a couple of inches tall. I find them super easy to work with! Some people aren’t a fan of the mesh-wrapped peat moss pods, but I find these the tidiest and easiest to use. I do peel off the mesh once the seedlings are bigger prior to putting them in a bigger pot or the ground as I find it gives the roots more freedom, but the coverings are technically biodegradable and you could skip this step if desired. I love that I can pop these pods into neat little rows in my seed-starting pan and that I don’t have to fiddle with filling tiny cups with starter soil. Linked below are the ones I use.
2. Seed starting tray
You could use any shallow tray to hold your seedlings, but my favourite starter trays have indents for holding the soil pucks that I use. Most brands are compatible with others, meaning that the size differences are so small that whatever puck of soil starter that you use will likely fit in whatever brand of tray. I’ve also used Tupperware, old takeout containers, or recycled plastic berry containers to hold my seeds. While I love to upcycle home items, the seed starting trays are inexpensive enough that I do find it worth it to purchase them and reuse them yearly. Because I’m starting seeds in my home and not in a greenhouse, I try to keep things as tidy as possible. Pick a tray without holes for drainage unless you are going to place it on a second tray to catch drips.
3. Seedling pots
Once your little sprout babies have popped up and started to grow it will soon be time to either get them in the ground if the weather allows or move them to a bigger pot to give them room to grow and strengthen. You’ll want these pots to have some drainage. I like the biodegradable seedling pots that you can throw right in the ground once it’s warm enough, but I do tear the bottoms off and open a side prior to transplanting so that the roots don’t have to fight their way through. Plastic pots are fine, but you will have to handle the roots more when it’s time to transplant which could potentially upset your seedling. At this stage, I move my seedlings out from under my grow light (see #4) and onto a sunny window sill. Here are the ones I like:
4. Grow light
This is definitely an optional step and a bit more of an investment but for my seeds, it has been an absolute game changer. I live in the Fraser Valley with abundant rain, frost, snow, and many hours of wintertime darkness. Our house also doesn’t have a ton of window space to set up seedlings, so grow lights allow me to grow anywhere in the house (much to my wife’s chagrin). I’ve made do with just one light this year, along with my windows, but next year I hope to have a few more going! I love mine that sits on a countertop, but there are also varieties that hang from the ceiling or even screw into whatever bulb outlets in your home.
5. Household object hacks
Okay so this group is more a collection of items rather than one product, but it’s definitely worth mentioning that there are a ton of things you can use around the house for seed starting and gardening. Before I had my mini greenhouse (seed tray with plastic dome cover) I used upside-down clear Tupperware, or simply cling wrap stretched over pots and held up with toothpicks. Cut up egg cartons can work as little cups of soil for starting seeds, or you could use empty toilet paper rolls filled with soil.
For me, a huge benefit of gardening is the money saved on food. If I were to have some big extravagant setup every year it would definitely cancel out what my family would spend on produce, and selling my produce boxes through the farm stand and markets wouldn’t be worth the money and time put in. The products listed above are ones that I do feel are worth investing in as they have streamlined my seed starting process and allowed me to start earlier in the season, which helps fight away the winter homestead blues. For more winter projects, check out [this post].
I hope this helps you in your seed-starting escapades, and I wish you a happy and healthy germination station! Don’t want to grow your own? Fraser Valley locals can purchase Twine Acres produce boxes at the farm stand or for local delivery. See you soon!
