So this Tuesday marks the 6 week mark before Shaker Heights’ frost free date- May 18th! Which means it’s time for seeds. Well some seeds. I put my seeds in two weeks ago. (Most seeds you can plant anywhere from 6-8 weeks before.) Seeds in this category include tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, basil, dahlias, and many flower seeds. However, make sure and check on the back of the seed packet because some seeds are not supposed to go in until 2-3 weeks before. I planted seeds for the first time last year with great success. I didn’t do anything fancy. Here’s what I did.

1. I took plastic cups. (Regular old party cups.)
2. Labeled them.
3. Filled them with potting soil. (I’m doing an experiment this year to see if seeding soil is any better.)
4. Planted seeds according to the directions on the seed packets.
5. Placed them in a very sunny- south facing window and kept a lamp on them. Turning it on first thing in the morning, and turning it off right before I went to bed.
6. I kept the soil moist- not soaked, you don’t want them in standing water. Water lightly.
7. Keep them covered lightly with plastic wrap until they have two sets of leaves. (This keeps things moist.)
8. I checked them everyday. This is my favorite part!

In the end I had nine beautiful tomato plants, three lovely peppers, three eggplants, sage, basil. . .
This year I’ve planted more than 3x the amount of seeds I planted last year. But if this is your first year, I would say keep it small.

(My set up last year)

I think the most important aspect of seeding is getting those little guys LOTS of light. I’m lucky to have a window that works perfectly, but the lamp was also super helpful- it was just a basic night lamp, with a normal bulb. They’re sitting on top of a book case.
This year, as I mentioned I’ve expanded. As a result I invested in this shelving unit, that sits in front of the same window- allowing for many more seeds. (I also have some sitting on a chest in the bay window in my living room. (Yikes, does it mean I’m becoming a plant lady if I grow seeds in my living room? ek!)

(This week I am going to attempt to transplant one of the two into its own pot. Wish me luck!)

Nasturtium seed erupting. Note that some seeds need to be covered, an others like these, are just to be set on top of the soil as they need sun to germinate.
Last year I just used cups. This year I used last years flower containers, as well as bought these seeding containers. The trick with the seeding containers is that if things grow at different speeds it’s harder to decide whether to keep the lid on, but it is much more efficient spacially.

Notice how each seeds leaves are a little different. These are pansies.
Any questions?