by Steven Karback
February is the longest month in the year - at least so it seems to the winter weary gardener impatiently waiting to plunge his hands into the good earth. That's probably the real reason so many seedlings are started in sunny windows, though there are practical aspects, also.
If you are a new gardener, you may not realize that there are "long season" annuals species that take many months from seed to bloom and hence need to be started indoors in your region of the country if we are to enjoy their flowers by early summer.
Theres the matter of economy, too, for the few plants you start to buy will soon mount to dozens, and the garden budget will be wrecked before the season is fairly begun.
Furthermore, by raising your own plants from seed you can choose just the colors and varieties you want instead of the ones usually raised by most commercial growers. So its no wonder that February finds most of us scurrying around collecting flats, pots, milk bottles and all sorts of receptacles that will soon preempt the sunniest window in the house, be it in kitchen, living room or hall.
Simple Process
If this is your first attempt, dont be discouraged by directions that seem complicated, for once you understand the underlying principles, youll work out a method suited to your own conditions and convenience.
Most seeds need warmth and moisture for germination, and usually darkness. But no food. Nor does the new sprout even need soil until it develops its true" leaves (often very different in appearance from the first ones). Thus the top layer of the planting mixture can be either vermiculite or sphagnum moss.
Both are easily obtainable at garden centers, but do not confuse sphagnum with peat moss, for it is more fibrous and millions of years younger.
Like peat moss, both of these materials hold water like a sponge, and also afford sufficient support for the little roots of the sprouting seed. Furthermore, they are sterile, so theres less danger the tiny plants will suddenly die from the dread damping-off disease often carried in the soil.
This top layer need be only half an inch deep, but should be placed half an inch below the top of the box for ease in watering, and to give space for the plants to grow a bit if you favor the method of covering the box with a pane of glass to seal in moisture.
Below the sphagnum or vermiculite will be an inch-deep layer of the real growing medium: equal parts of good potting soil; sand to make the mixture porous enough to let water drain through readily; and peat moss to hold moisture in storage, for the roots to absorb as needed.
The initial watering of the soil before seed sowing can be done in any way you wish. If you oversoak it, wait a few days for it to dry out sufficiently, Soak the sphagnum moss or vermiculite in water, then squeeze out the surplus before spreading it. Moist but not soggy is the ideal you should strive for through the entire operation.
Though watering from the bottom is often advised, I think its a messy method, and Ive never washed out seed or harmed tiny plants by applying water in a gentle spray.
Sewing the Seed
The seeds should be sown in straight rows one inch apart, the smallest kinds merely pressed in, the larger ones lightly covered usually about as deep as their diameter. The edge of a ruler is good for making the depressions, and a sheet of tissue paper or even of newspaper as a final cover will prevent washing out the seeds.
Dont forget to remove it as soon as the little plants begin to emerge. If you cover the box with a pane of glass, you will have to raise it slightly each day if too much moisture condenses on its under side. The temperature of an ordinary room, or slightly less, will be right for germination, and if theres a drop of ten degrees at night, all will be well.
After the plants begin to grow they will need all the sunshine you can give them, and as they stretch toward the light youll have to turn the boxes each day, to equalize the growth.
If you are using one large box, heavy and awkward to handle, you can save work by making a triple screen of three pieces of cardboard, hinged together with Scotch tape and covered on the inside with white paper for maximum reflection, then placed around the long side and the two ends of the box.
And don't neglect to move the boxes back from the window at night, or lay a heavy piece of cardboard against the window. If the plants begin to crowd each other before they are large enough to be transplanted (usually when they have their second pair of true leaves), you can snip off some of them with scissors and leave them where they fall. Thus the roots of the others will not be disturbed.
When transplanting time comes, before the plants have become tall and spindling from too close quarters, you'll need every receptacle you can find, as well as another sunny window or some plant lights. Even so, youll have many plants to share with your neighbors.
Again you will use good garden soil, sand, and peat moss, and again you will give careful attention to watering, and protection from drafts and from cold temperatures at night.
Petunias, verbenas, dwarf marigolds, ageratum, wilt-resistant asters, and bedding dahlias are some of the flowers that will brighten your garden much earlier if theyre given a head start in the house.
Heavenly blue morning glories, too, but plant them in individual pots, for they dont stand transplanting well. Tall marigolds and zinnias are heat lovers, and seed sown outdoors after warm weather has arrived will give blooming plants almost as soon as if sown inside.
Most plants will not flourish much longer than six weeks under ordinary house conditions, so dont start the seeds too far ahead of the safe outdoor planting date for your region. But getting the paraphernalia together, poring over the catalogs, and then waiting for the post office or UPS to bring the seeds, will consume several weeks - almost the happiest of all the year.
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