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Starting seeds indoors can extend your growing season, especially if you live in colder climates. Many gardeners prefer this homegrown method over buying seedlings, not only for the fact that it is cheaper, but because this way they know the full history of their plants such as whether pesticides were used or not.
Contrary to popular opinion you don't need any special equipment to start your own seeds, except a decent growing medium and a sunny window. For growing mediums, commercial potting soil works great but if you have a good garden soil you can use that, too. If you use your own soil you should sterilize it first in order to kill off organisms that can cause disease. To do this bake it in a shallow baking pan until the soil temperature reaches 180 degrees. A meat thermometer can be used to check the temperature. Commercial peat pellets work great. The plant grows in them from seed to garden so there is no transplant shock and they already have vitamins and minerals in the soil.
Almost any container will work for starting seeds. You can buy them from garden centers or you can employ containers that you will find around your house. Some samples of these are:
Styrofoam egg cartons cut top from bottom. Poke a hole in bottom of each egg cup for drainage, and place lid of carton under cups to hold water flow.
Milk carton cut milk carton in half and then cut sides down to 2 inches high. The carton can hold peat pellets or soil.
Plastic milk jug cut almost in half horizontally, leaving 1" of jug without fully cutting top off. The top acts as a greenhouse and the base can be used to hold peat pellets or soil.
Foil pan a foil pan is best for peat pellets.
When planting seeds plant 3 together. When leaves have appeared, snip off all but the healthiest seedlings. It is best to cut them off because if you pull them up you could damage the roots of the good plant also.
To start seeds the soil should be warm, moist (but not wet), and dark. A good place to set seed trays until they sprout is the top of the refrigerator. The low dose of heat that comes from the motor tends to keep the soil at just the right temperature. A sheet of plastic laid across the top of the seedling container also helps keep moisture in.
Once the seeds have sprouted you can remove the covering and place them in warm, direct light. You must continue to make sure, however, that the growing medium remains moist.
Don't start seeds indoors any sooner than the recommended times, as they can be stunted if they grow indoors too long without transplanting. Before actually putting them into the ground put them outside for a few hours a day until you leave them out overnight. After a week, you can put them into the ground, if the danger of frost has passed of course.
Once seedlings have at least 4 leaves, but no more than 8, they are ready to be transplanted to the garden.
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