Seed Starting Revisited by Jodi M Noord- Learning As I Go

Around a year ago I wrote a post entitled January Brings Gardening to the Brain. After last year’s experience with starting flower plants from seeds, I would like to revisit that topic and pass on a few tips I learned. After all, like the rest of the world, I am learning as I go. Why not share?

Last year I started my seeds in mid January. I used small peat pots that could absorb water and keep moisture close to the needy seeds. They popped out of the soil like champs! My excitement soared as I watched them turn from sprouts to seedlings on my window sill.

I watered them with fertilizer included, a little miracle grow or nutrient water that eggs had been boiled in. The sun warmed their fragile green stems. Looking ahead, I anticipated planting the peat pots directly in the ground with sturdy, healthy, small plants inside. I thought I couldn’t lose in this seedling adventure.

But, sadly, I had a hard time keeping the seedlings healthy and strong. They grew well enough at first. But the longer they tried to grow and mature, the more seedlings I lost. One by one they began to look sickly and started to wither. What began with a promising, prolific gardening adventure slowly faded into about one-fourth of the seedlings I started with.

Observations From This Amateur

I am not sure of the exact reason for losing so many. But I can tell you some of my struggles from last January.

As I said, the seeds sprout easily and with a high percentage rate. The very beginning stage has no issues. But after about 4-6 weeks, I find it difficult to master the art of watering. When the sprouts turn into seedlings and have different water needs, they begin to die off. I think watering might be my problem, a problem I have not necessarily solved.

I notice that since the peat pots for starting seedlings are so small, they dry out quickly and easily. A day or two fly by before I discover the soil is bone dry, causing the seedlings to wilt. I change my watering method to filling the pan that hold the pots. If the pots may soak up the water as needed, the seedlings have it readily accessible and never go lacking. But this causes the soil to be always saturated and somewhat sloppy. I worry that too much water made them wither.

Since the seedlings thrive for several weeks before I start to lose some, my solution is to not start the seeds so early in January. If I can sprout the seeds and get them to mature slightly before the warmer weather comes, I have gotten them far enough. I can always put the pots outside during warm and rainy days, taking them in at night. They will have a better chance of getting the sun and moisture they need naturally than they will get from me trying to water them for 3 or more months.

Trying Something Different

This year, I will start my seeds mid February. This way they will sprout at the end of February and have March to mature. Hopefully April will bring a few warmer days that will nurture my seedlings outside. Whether we have warm days or not in April depends on the year of course. After all, this is Iowa. But if April doesn’t have warmer outdoor days, I will re-evaluate and change things up again next year. Live and learn.

A Few Successes

Despite my losing many sprouts and seedlings along the way, I did end up with some beautiful flowering plants last summer, ones I started from seed. Please enjoy these floral plants, ones I nurtured from beginning to end. And happy seed starting!