Growing plants from seeds offers several advantages, including a huge variety of plants to choose from, fully organic gardening, the considerably cheaper cost than buying already mature plants, and the pleasure that cultivation will give you. Fortunately, if you are willing to be patient, almost anyone can manage to grow plants from seeds.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Part 1: Preparing to Grow
Step 1. Select the seeds
One of the many benefits of growing plants from seeds is the fact that you will have a much greater variety of plants to choose from. Visit a local nursery or go online to find the perfect seeds for your garden. Keep in mind that if you don't intend to keep your plants indoors, you will need to choose strains that are well suited to the environmental conditions in which you live. When buying seeds, pay attention to the ideal soil temperature, water requirements, nutritional needs, and light needs for each species.
- When looking for seeds, take into account that there are hundreds of species that you are probably not aware of, being only available in seed (not as cuttings).
- You can buy more seeds than you want to plant immediately, but the likelihood of germination decreases the older the seeds are.
Step 2. Prepare the mixture for planting
The seeds can be planted outdoors, but this way they are much more likely not to germinate as the garden soil is teeming with plant diseases and insects that can quickly decimate them. Then germinate them indoors in a soil mixture for sowing, devoid of the normal "soil". Create your mixture by mixing equal parts peat, vermiculite and perlite, adding half a teaspoon of lime for every 9 liters of mixture. This will produce a crumbly, disease-free substrate in which your seeds will germinate quickly.
- This natural soil-free sowing mix has no nutritional value, so you'll need to add fertilizer to it as soon as the seeds have germinated.
- Peat has a high acidity while lime is basic. Before sowing you can measure the pH of your mixture with a special test to verify that it is almost 7 (neutral) to be more successful.
Step 3. Prepare the other tools
When planting indoors, you will need a few items that will ensure that your seeds germinate well. Get seed pots or small containers; you can use biodegradable containers and you don't necessarily have to buy plastic or terracotta jars. You will also need a source of heat and light of some kind, as windows are unable to give your seeds both. Get a heat lamp or grow light to keep the seeds completely warm and out of the light. If possible, consider purchasing a heating mat to place under the seed pots to keep the soil at the right temperature.
- You can use a fluorescent lamp to heat and light the seeds, but choose it with the special white bulb that reduces the heat and avoids burning them.
- If you plant the seeds well in advance, they may need to be moved to larger pots before moving them outdoors (if that's your intention).
Step 4. Find information about your seeds
Before sowing, you need to learn some important details: the ideal growing conditions for a particular plant, how long the germination period lasts, and from what time it is possible to grow outdoors. This information varies from plant to plant and determines what time of year you will need to start sowing. Usually, seeds need to be planted 4 to 6 weeks before they can be moved outdoors, but this can vary for different seed species. It may also be necessary to plant the seeds indoors a little earlier or a little later than usual, depending on the weather conditions outside.
Method 2 of 2: Part 2: Sow
Step 1. Plant your seeds
Moisten the soil mixture so that it is completely sprayed. Immediately after sowing, the seeds need a little more water in order to start the germination process. Plant the seeds separately, one in each jar, and cover them with about half a centimeter of soil.
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Certain seeds need to be planted in groups, rather than one per container. Check the instructions on the seed packet.
Grow Plants from Seed Step 5Bullet1 - Some species of seeds need a lot more light when planted and do not need to be covered with soil (for example, snapdragons and petunias).
Step 2. Water the seeds regularly
The seeds need a constant supply of water to complete the germination process, thus forming a sprout. Water the seeds regularly so that the soil is always moist but never too wet. When they get too big for the pot and are planted outdoors they won't need that much water to grow well.
Check the specific watering recommendations for each planted seed species; some may need it more or less
Step 3. Keep the seeds warm
You can create greenhouse-like conditions to easily provide heat that helps them germinate, while protecting them under glass. You can cover them either with a small glass container or with a glass panel resting on top of the jars to retain heat and moisture that will help them grow. Or use a heating lamp regularly, in addition to the heating mat under the sprouts, to keep the soil within the optimal range between 21 and 27 degrees of temperature.
Step 4. Expose them to natural light when the seeds have germinated
After a couple of days or a week, you should see tiny shoots on the soil that originate from the seeds. At this point, you should expose them to natural light as well as lamp light. Choose a window that gets a lot of light throughout the day, typically a south-facing window (north-facing windows get the least amount of light, so they should be avoided). Also use the heat lamp or grow light to give the sprouts the heat that is blocked by the window.
If it is very cold outside, you may need to use a mat between the containers and the window. Otherwise, the cold will be absorbed through the window, slowing the growth of the tiny shoots
Step 5. Care and check your seedlings
It should take several weeks before they are ready to be transplanted. Most plants go through a growth phase which makes it easy to tell when they are ready to move outdoors. The first pair of leaves that grow are called embryonic leaves or cotyledons. These are followed by the first true leaves (called nomophylls), which indicate that the plant is mature and ready to be transplanted. You can use some liquid fertilizer to assist with this stage of growth.
Step 6. Get the seedlings accustomed to the outside climate
Acclimating plants is a method that involves their gradual exposure to temperature fluctuations and different external weather conditions, in order to alleviate the so-called transplant shock. A week or two before you move them outdoors, start getting them acclimatized. On the first day, put them outside for only an hour and then return them indoors to their containers. Each day, add an extra hour to the time they spend outdoors, until they can be out for 24 hours straight.
Over the past week, you can add several hours at a time, instead of proceeding in one-hour increments
Step 7. Transplant the seedlings outdoors
Follow the specific instructions for each type of plant, as the growing requirements are very different from each other. Transplant each seedling from the container to its final location outdoors. You can also choose to transplant them into a larger decorative pot to place them on the porch or keep them indoors. Transplanting them usually involves moistening the soil, digging a hole slightly larger than your plant, covering the roots with a little more soil, and giving plenty of water. Freshly transplanted seedlings should always be watered abundantly to avoid the risk of transplant shock.
Step 8. Take care of your plants
It will take a few weeks for the plants to thicken, but they will finally begin to look lush and gorgeous in your outdoor green space. Protect the soil with a layer of mulch to contain weeds and retain moisture. You should weed out the weeds as soon as you see them, or else they will steal space and nutrients from your plants. Water every couple of days (this depends on the type of plant you are tending), and add some fertilizer or compost once a month.
Advice
Identify the space in the garden that you will dedicate to your seedlings long before planting, in view of the fact that you may need to change the nature of the soil or make other preparations while the seeds sprout
Warnings
Heat sources pose a fire risk. Use an aquarium thermometer to check the soil temperature. Observe the recommended temperature range in the instructions. Keep the temperature below 39 degrees for safety.
