Starting plants from seed takes both patience and commitment. After dad retired, he walked into the world of seeds, transplanting and the joy of seeing the fruits of his labor. As my dad says, “It’s a seven day a week job!”
During my recent session with dad, he explained that some seeds need to be covered with earth and some are actually not to be covered, like the wave petunia. I will talk more about this plant soon in another post. Dad says they are one of the hardest plants to start from seed.
Dad makes a very fine earth mix to use for his seed starter. He fills small containers quite full and then begins to carefully space and lay out each seed in its assigned container. Once he has them laid out, he very gently adds a thin covering of earth. Next, dad uses a special gardening gadget he made himself. ( I laughed when he showed me, thinking it was pretty neat! )
Using his homemade gardening tool, dad presses the earth down on top, securing the seeds in their earthly home. The gadget he made was simply a piece of wood layered with a smaller piece of wood nailed to the top. It seemed to fit the containers he was using perfectly, so I asked if he made it to fit and he told me he didn’t, it just happened to be a happy coincidence!
These seeds were placed under grow lights he has hanging in his little growing room. In the beginning, he lightly spritzed the earth once a day in the morning to keep it moist. Once germination begins and the seedlings are visible, he switches to a coffee cup of room temperature water to gently water them.
I was amazed how quickly some of these seeds grew. In a mere few days some had popped up through the earth. I love when seeds pop up, still covered with bits of earth and their outer seed shell. Nature really is quite amazing!
Throughout this blog I will be integrating some of “Steve’s Tips”. So I asked dad if he had any tips for starting seeds. He was happy to share!
Steve’s Tips
When starting seeds make sure the earth you are using is warm and not cold.
Use room temperature water when watering seeds.
Dad and I have another photo and informational session scheduled soon. He will be transplanting a few of his seedlings in preparation for their journey to the greenhouse.
Stay tuned for our next update!
Warmly,
Steve and Debbie
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Hi Debbie I enjoyed reading this.I planted some lavender in a pot tonight and the instructions said to put the soil that came with it in lukewarm water until it was all absorbed ,so when i read in your dads tips about using warm soil it made sense why i had to use lukewarm water.