Tag: bioregional seed companies

Stuck at home? Now is a great time to start your edible garden. Many people buy small plants at the nursery, but if that isn’t possible right now, try seeds. Seeds can be started indoors and transplanted out or transferred to larger pots as they grow.

Here are tips on starting seeds.

• Many seeds can be started in pots indoors and then transplanted out. Try salad greens, peas, broccoli and other brassicas, tomatoes, peppers and squash. Don’t try root crops like beets and carrots—they need to be “direct sown” into the soil.
• It’s best to use a light seed-starting medium rather than plain garden soil. You can buy it, or make your own with a mixture of compost, peat moss, coco coir, sand and soil—whatever you have available that will be lighter weight than soil. The goal is to make it easier for the seeds to push out of the soil.
• Plant in very small pots, like “six-packs” of nursery cells, one inch wide by two inches deep. Or use small yogurt containers or take-out food clamshells. Try to have at least two inches of depth.
• Sow small seed just under the surface of the soil. Bigger seed like peas can be planted deeper.
• Keep the seed bed consistently moist but not soggy.
• Keep the seed tray in a warm place while seeds are germinating. A seedling heat mat is a great tool for the avid gardener.
• Place the seed tray in a sunny indoor spot once the seedlings appear.
• Be careful when watering. Use a bike water bottle or small watering can to gently water at the soil level.
• Cool-season crops like salad greens and peas can be planted in the garden when they have two or three sets of “true leaves.” (The first leaves to appear are called the “seed leaves.”)
• Warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers should be “potted up” to larger pots and kept indoors until the weather is warmer, with nights consistently at or above 50 degrees F.
• Before transferring any seedlings to the garden, they need to be “hardened off.” This is done by setting the seed tray outside for an hour one day, two hours the next, etc., for 5 to 7 days. This gets them used to the weather so they will survive better in the open garden. If planting in a warm raised bed or under cover, this step is less important.
• Water consistently once the seeds are in the garden to help them set their roots and get off to the best start. The surface of the soil should just start to get a bit dry before watering again.

Order your seeds from one of our wonderful bioregional seed companies. Be patient as they are probably experiencing a high volume of orders.

Here are some seed companies to try:

• Adaptive Seeds
• Ed Hume Seeds
• Irish Eyes Garden Seeds
• Kitazawa Seed Company
• Nichols Garden Nursery
• Renee’s Garden
• Resilient Seeds
• Territorial Seed Company
• Uprising Organics
• Victory Seed Company
• Wild Garden Seeds