Starting Our Plants from Seed
While the weather continues to be unseasonably cold with possible rain and snow later this week here in the Northeast, we’re all preparing for spring at my Bedford, New York farm. My gardeners, Ryan and Wilmer, are busy starting all the many vegetables and flowers from seed.
We start sowing seeds indoors soon after the New Year. We sow thousands of seeds - all those wonderful seeds I enjoy purchasing during my travels, and seeds we order from our favorite sources. Many of this year's seeds, seed trays and other supplies are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds - a company I’ve been using for quite some time. Starting from seed isn’t difficult. They can be planted closely together in seed starting trays, and then pulled apart easily when they're ready to move into larger pots or outdoors.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Seeds are available online, at garden centers, and through friends and family. Many of my seeds are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – a privately held, employee-owned organic seed producer in Winslow, Maine. http://www.johnnyseeds.com
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- Johnny’s offers hundreds of varieties of organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds.
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- Every year, I get a good selection of both flower seeds and vegetable seeds from Johnny’s. Once they arrive, Ryan sorts them according to type.
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- Once they are all organized, Ryan determines what order they will be started in trays depending on how long it takes each plant to germinate. Here is a selection all ready. Ryan places a wooden marker on each seed packet.
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- On each marker, Ryan writes the seed variety, so he’s ready to place it in the trays after planting the seeds. It’s also helpful to include the date of planting.
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- Seed starting trays are available in all sizes and formations. Select the right kind of tray based on the size of the seeds.
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- It’s best to use a pre-made seed starting mix that contains the proper amounts of vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. Seed starting mixes are available at garden supply stores.
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- Because we seed so many plants, Ryan works in a production line manner in order to get as many trays started as possible.
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- Some seeds are very small – be very careful when pouring them out of the packet.
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- These seeds are slightly bigger.
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- Starting from seed and nurturing them as they grow is among Ryan’s favorite gardening tasks.
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- Seeds are usually started about two months before the last frost in the area. If you’re not sure, check online or ask garden center associates when the last frost usually occurs in your location.
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- Here, Ryan drops the seeds into the cells by hand – about two for each cell. Germination is never guaranteed, so multiple seeds are always planted. This provides a better chance at least one will take root.
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- Here, the seeds are easier to drop straight from the packet. Ryan plants these trays with pepper seeds, so on the back of the markers, he places an “R” or a “Y” to indicate the color of the pepper – red or yellow.
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- Once the entire tray has been filled, Ryan adds soil and covers the seeds.
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- And then he lightly pats the soil down, so the seeds have good contact with the soil.
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- Here is a tray all done.
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- Some trays go into our commercial-sized Urban Cultivator. It is kept in the head house of my main greenhouse. It weighs 545-pounds and can hold up to 16-flats. http://www.urbancultivator.net
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- Urban Cultivator provides humidity domes for each tray. The humidity dome remains positioned over the seed tray until germination begins. Each tray receives about 18-hours of light a day. http://www.urbancultivator.net/
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- The Urban Cultivator’s pre-programmed control center adds just the right amount of water, light, humidity and air. I will share more on how these cultivators work in future blog.
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- Other trays go into the main greenhouse set up on heating mats. Once there, the seeds get watered, and covered with tops to create a mini greenhouse environment for the plants. The tops will be removed once the seeds have germinated.
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- Here is another section of the greenhouse where the plastic domes have already been removed. These plants are ready for the next phase – transplanting. Have you started your plants from seed this year? Let me know what kinds and how they’re doing in the comments section below.
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