I am going to start "seed starting" in the midwest Zone 4B.

3 years ago

I will be doing both outdoor winter sowing and indoor seed starting with lights and heat mats. Anyone have any tips and tricks they found along the way that could help me out? I heard mixing your seed starting soil with boiling water to moisten will help kill the fungus gnats in it if any. Also heard to cover seedlings to keep moisture in the soil until you see growth. And no fertilizing until true leaves appear which is normally 4 leaves. Our weather is so up and down, my only worry is to not have enough room to grow all I plan too(veggies and flowers). thanks in advance for tips,

Also if anyone in the Red wing, MN area or surrounding would like to exchange some seeds,

I am willing to meet up. Emmy

Featured Answer

kevin9408

3 years ago

I don't really follow many of the rules when it comes to starting plants from seed indoors. I mix different mediums with a few containing fertilizer, I figured outside soils contain nutrients so why not a seed starting mix, and has worked quite well. My mix is usually made from seed starting medium (peat or coconut), potting soil (usually miracle gro) with fertilizer, vermiculite, and a little jobe's granulated plant food. (chicken manure). I tried using a little cow manure and compost but they were full of weed seeds and other potential problem so I use Jobe's now.

I use capillary wicking mats raised off the trays sitting on PVC utility tiles I cut down and with legs made from PVC pipe. This makes watering so easy from below and only requires filling every week or so. I plant the seeds in 1 1/2"-2" cells and transplant into 3" and 4" pots when roots are large enough, and not based on the plants size. My goal is to plant outdoors when roots fill out the 2nd pots without becoming root bound so timing is critical. Root bound plants may never grow right and cause delays so if you're in doubt dump a plant into your hand and check the roots.

Below are the components used for the wicking trays. Standard tray, the white wick mat's bottom, to the right is a mat right side up sitting on a tile. Exposed tile has the lines in it and the PVC legs are visible on the left. I'm not sure if you can get the capillary wicking mats locally.

Below isn't the goal you want, this size should of been in 6" pots. This was from a few years back and I planted to soon. Using heat mats will germinate sooner than what is listed on the package. I didn't want the flowering yet and picked them off, and also slightly root bound which slowed establish after planting. I've had tomatoes germinate in 3 days using heat and wicking mats and over the years have adjust planting times. Peppers grow slower than tomatoes but go out last, so a start date should be selected for each item you want to grow. I also start my determinate processing tomato's like Celebrity and Roma later because of space, and prefer harvest later in the season for canning.

I live 20 miles north of Minneapolis and have some seed packs I don't plan on using in the freezer. but not sure it's worth the drive. I try different seeds every year looking for the best (doesn't everyone?). You can shoot me an email at kevin9408@yahoo.com if interested. One tomato you may want to consider is Mountain Magic, you won't find them in stores and are starting to sell out online because they're so good and hardy. 300 - 400 tomatoes, 2 oz's in size and produce till they freeze out while other plants have turned to dust. They've been the most disease resistant tomato plant I've grown so far, almost fool proof. No more cherry tomatoes for me, I love these things and also grow them for 3 other people. I guess I could give you a couple of seeds but be warned if you become hooked the seeds cost around 50 cents each or in bulk $2700 per ounce!

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Comments (14)

Jeb zone5
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Emmy - my tip would be don't start your annuals/vegetable seeds too soon!! I am sure you are excited to get going - me too, but start your seed (that you aren't winter sowing) six to eight weeks before your last frost. Tomatoes grow so fast that I don't even think about sowing those until Mid April. If you start things too early you will have overgrown seedlings that won't grow out as well as younger, stronger plants.

My second tip would be to sow your seeds thinly! Just remember every tiny seed you sow will grow into a full sized plant. When I sow tiny seeds I barely moisten the tip of my index finger and press it into the seeds - whatever amount of seed that sticks to my finger is usually more than enough to sow! So go slowly and go easy! use a light hand when sowing your seeds.

My last tip would be have fun sowing and growing your own garden plants!
Emmy Husfloen thanked Jeb zone5
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
when is your last frost freeze date?? .. in my MI.. near ann arbor.. its third week of may ...

and when i grew seeds.. that was my target date .. to have healthy stout plants to go outside.. spindly ugly things werent worth the effort ...

so timing is the number one issue.. imo ... i might not start seed until its 6 to 8 weeks prior

when you start ferting ... use a gal milk jug.. with no more than 25% solution of general balanced water sol fert ... and use it with every watering ... the mix should barely change color .. very weak ...

forget boiling water.. but sterilize all you media .. its easier to avoid problems.. rather than solve them later

https://tipnut.com/sterilize-soil/

understand. the most important thing in a seed flat or pot.. is the media .. and nothing else.. its a water management system with predictability ... it can make things much easier in the long run ..

since this is your first time.. i suggest trying just a few of everything .. so you can learn ... do not plant all your seed.. if you can plant them out in the garden in spring ... learn.. but cover your odds ...

give us info on your lights.. understand and figure out.. how far form the plants they need to be.. when i ran florescents .. they needed to be 3 to 4 inches from the plants to mimic the sun ... and run about 16 hours per day ... on a timer ... i am not up to speed on newer types of lights ...

this would severely limit how much usable space you have under any given light ...

start hospital operating room clean ... clean everything with a 10

% bleach wash.. pots.. tools.. water cans.. gal jugs.. etc ... see above re: avoidance rather than cure ...

basic plant cultural needs are.. water.. light... humidity ... get those pretty close.. and the rest will follow ...

contact your local reference librarian.. and see if there are any local garden clubs where you might learn from local peeps ... [or maybe flora will come visit from Britain .. who knows.. lol...]

ken
Emmy Husfloen thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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pennlake
3 years ago
I have limited space so I reserve it for things that are hard to find. Depending how many plants you need it can be more economical to just go buy them. If you just want two Jalapeño plants, those will be abundant in stores and cheap. If you want 20, probably more economical to then buy the seed pack, soil, trays etc and DIY.

The University of MN extension service should have lots of good info on indoor seed starting and timing. Good advice earlier to not start too early, you'll just get an overgrown mess. Target warm season plants for memorial day or so. Cold/frost tolerant plants mid to late April. Of course, watch the forecast and you can adjust accordingly.

Acclimation: Moving the plants outside to gradually adjust to full direct sunlight and fluctuating temperatures. Two things I do is have things on a wheeled cart to push out in the sun during the day, into then garage at night when temps are too cold. I also have a small stake in the ground greenhouse I move flats into to provide extra heat during the day and protect against cold nights. I start by putting the cool season crops out in it. Once those can be planted in ground it's usually safe to bring the warm season plants out and put in the greenhouse.

Not sure about all that sterilization stuff. I use store bought germination mix or potting soil and have not had an issues with damping off or other diseases.
Emmy Husfloen thanked pennlake
User
3 years ago
+1 on don't start too soon! I just started my Profusion Zinnia, the earliest of the early, with everything going out to harden off, on average, on April 25th. Nothing else will start until March 1st at the earliest, and I can wait until the 5th or so on most things. I really only need 7 weeks, and many things will be moving to blossom by the time they go out.

I just use Miracle Gro Moisture Control and don't have gnat problems. If you must sterilize, you can also bake the soil in the oven in a pan at 350 for two hours, but it's overkill for the most part.

Don't Over Water. It's better to water every day than it is to fill the flat and have the plants drown because the flat is full of water. Trust me on this one. Some things may not mind. Most do. Check your flats to assure there's no huge amount of water in there.

Don't over feed, feed at about quarter strength maximum. Flats are a constrained environment. They won't want a lot of feeding and have nowhere to go to get away from it. :-)

Keep an eye out for fungi. Keep Daconil on hand, and spray flats when you seed as a preventative to avoid damp-off fungus. Again, ask me how I know. :-)

Don't panic too much about the lighting. Do the best you can, get the brightest you can, but realize that plants will survive almost anything for a few weeks. I run under 4 T12 fluorescent tubes (2 warm, 2 cool) and the plants do fantastically well. If plants aren't growing, increase your time under lights, up to about 19 hours a day. Even 20. Don't go past that; they do need a night-time period. While fiddling with photoperiod isn't optimal, this is only for a short time until they go outside.

Do harden off carefully and slowly. The flats can go outside when temperatures are appropriate, but need to stay out of sunlight except for an hour to two hours per day for the first day or three. Then slowly move them into more sunlight each day until it reaches full sun (for the plants that will need to tolerate that). If plants shock, move them back into shade and let them fully recover. If there's frost or the risk of frost, bring everything back in--don't take chances.

Do have fun with this. It's such a joy to see your little friends sprout in their trays.
Emmy Husfloen thanked User
User
3 years ago
Oh! And do plan on collecting your own seed next season! You can save a fortune and yes, it's legal in your own home garden as long as you don't resell, give away, etc.
Emmy Husfloen thanked User
mxk3 z5b_MI
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
+3 to don't start too soon. Yes, cover the seeds to keep the moisture in until they sprout, and pay attention to the sowing directions re: which ones to cover with growing medium and which ones to leave uncovered because they need light to germinate. I use a sterile mix of peat/perlite I get from a local nursery, no issues with fungus gnats so can't answer that question -- I just always use regular water, but moistening with boiling water wouldn't hurt in any way. Correct about the fertilizing -- wait until the seedlings have their true leaves. Use dilute fertilizer solution.

Once you get started -- you'll be hooked! I find it very enjoyable to grow from seed, and there is a world of plant material available from seed -- you'll never be limited to the plants you see on the nursery bench again!
Emmy Husfloen thanked mxk3 z5b_MI
Jeb zone5
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I have to disagree with the frequency of watering - do not water your seedlings every day!! If you are needing to water EVERY DAY you aren't giving your seedlings enough at each watering. Overwatering is watering too many times when it isn't needed - when a plant needs water it should be on the dry side, and water enough to thoroughly wet the media the plant is growing in. Plants need oxygen/gas exchange in the root zone and will suffocate/rot if kept wet all of the time. I do agree with never leting your plants sit in water - they will rot and die.

Everyone has their own way of gardening and what works for one person may not work for all situations/conditions.

As a rule of thumb, DO NOT set a watering schedule for your plants or seedlings! Let THEM tell you when they need water by drying out a bit - the soil will become lighter in color and the pot or tray the plants are growing in will become much lighter in weight. Drying out your plants to a degree (not wilted!) will make them stronger and more compact.
Emmy Husfloen thanked Jeb zone5
mxk3 z5b_MI
3 years ago
Ditto what Jeb said re: watering.
Emmy Husfloen thanked mxk3 z5b_MI
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
3 years ago
Great posts everyone....very helpful.
Emmy Husfloen thanked rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
HighColdDesert
3 years ago
I'm not the OP but planning to up my indoor starting game this year, and all this advice has been helpful!
Emmy Husfloen thanked HighColdDesert
cecily 7A
3 years ago
One additional consideration is household pets. Cat exclusion is a major issue with my seed starting.
Emmy Husfloen thanked cecily 7A
Emmy Husfloen
Original Author
3 years ago
I have seen Capillary wicking mats but they look an awful lot like felt, possibly the same? I could try since I have some. I haven't started yet, other than my seedlings of apple tree and avocado. I have heard of Mountain Magic but do not have them - yet.. Last year I had great success with a different variety - it's at home so I can't look right now.. I am already addicted to growing things. We want to build a green house so we can enjoy sitting outside during the winters too. Until I can be a snow bird and fly south to my warm 2nd house each winter(Day Dreaming) Have fun all, Thank You for the suggestions and tips!
Emmy Husfloen
Original Author
3 years ago
My seeds are doing extremely well other than I tried onion seeds just because I wanted to.. I will be continuing with onion starts rather than starting from seed. I have found that I sowed coleus seeds too heavy but they were easily separated. Some of my plants are 8" tall which makes me nervous because they are still inside waiting for that all clear from the weather man.. It has been a fun journey! My husband will be grateful when this seed starting stuff is done he is a bit jealous of the time I need to spend keeping up and he is getting ignored.

Thank you all for your advice, happy planting! Next will be sowing seeds outdoors..

Does anyone cover the area after sowing seeds to keep the critters from eating them?

I am going to start "seed starting" in the midwest Zone 4B.

kevin9408

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I am going to start "seed starting" in the midwest Zone 4B.

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