Starting seeds indoors is the first sign of spring. There are a few basic steps to be successful at starting your seeds indoors. Here at Midwest Cut Flowers we are deep into seed starting.
We are busy starting seeds and going over lists of supplies that still need to be bought. The busy season is upon us! In no time at all it will be planting time and watering time and harvesting time.
Seed Starting 101
Here is a quick run down on how we start seed here at Midwest Cut Flowers
- We use a seed starting mix to start all of our seeds.
- In a large container pour in the seed starting medium of your choice.
- Moisten the seed starting mix. You want the medium damp, not soaking wet.
- Make sure your seed trays or cell packs are disinfected and clean. We wash all of our cells and pots with a bleach water solution.
- Plant the seeds according to the package instructions. Johnny’s seeds packets have great instructions on the back of the package.
Here is post I did about what not to do when starting seeds.
Here is one on starting seeds.
Starting Seeds
Moisten the seed starting mix. The mixture should be damp and slightly hold its form when you squeeze a handful. Not soaking wet.
Washing trays and cells packs in hot water with 1/4 cup of bleach and some dawn dish soap. I let them soak for a few minutes then wash and rinse.
Put the soil into the trays and then press down moderately to slightly pack the soil in. Then add more soil to refill the trays.
Read the back of the seed packet to see how to plant the seed. Some need light to germinate, some need to be planted at 1/4 of an inch etc.
I mostly use the 72 cell trays with the plastic domes. After the seed is planted put on the plastic dome and move to a sunny window. If you have a heat mat you can put the trays on that. Keep an eye on the germination. As soon as you see some of the seed germinating, remove the plastic cover and move the tray under grow lights. If you do not have lights that is fine. A south facing window is great. Make sure your rotate the tray daily.
If you find that your seedlings are not getting enough sunlight through the window this video shows you a little hack that actually works great! All you need are a few basic items.
What else…
This is my third year growing cut flowers from seeds. I am still learning what to do and what not to do. I am growing approx 3 times as many as last year. Yikes! This amount of seeds requires a lot of planning and space. I am running out of space already and I still have 20 more trays to plant. “Sorry family” I am about to take over some more living space.
A small greenhouse is in the works, hopefully it can come together this summer and fall……..
I took the Online flower farming school class put on by Lisa Mason Ziegler this winter. It was awesome! I am planning on putting what I learned to use this year. Lisa has also written a few books that I am planning on buying. Here they are.
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