How to Start Seedlings

Whether or not you're an avid gardener, starting seedlings can be a fun project. If you do garden, you can transplant your sprouts to the outdoors when they're big enough, and save yourself from having to purchase seedlings. If you don't, you could start some potted plants or a kitchen herb garden. Kids seem to have fun with this project too, since there's definitely something exciting about watching plants grow from seeds that you planted yourself.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Seeds
• Peat pots
• Potting soil
• Compost or fertilizer (optional)
• Tray

1. Prepare the pots. Your seedlings need somewhere to start growing, but since they don't take up much space and you might want to plant a lot, planting them in full sized pots can be very inefficient. Peat pots are a good bet, because they are tiny, very inexpensive, and biodegrade when you plant them in the ground. Line your tiny pots up on a tray or other water resistant surface, because they will leak.

2. Add soil. Scoop soil into each pot until it's nearly full, but don't press the soil down tightly. If you want to use (fully decomposed) compost or other fertilizer, you can stir it into the soil first. This isn't strictly necessary, but helps the seedlings get more nutrients.

3. Plant the seeds. Push them into the dirt, using several in each pot because they may not all grow successfully. Read the package to see how deep beneath the soil the seeds should be planted.

4. Water the seedlings generously and leave them in a safe, warm and sunny location.

5. When your seedlings sprout, thin them out. If more than one healthy-looking plant sprouts in any pot, pull some of them out, leaving one (leaving too many can cause undesirable competition for resources, and plants generally don't grow well so close together). Once they're a few inches tall, most seedlings can be transplanted to a garden or larger pot.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have peat pots, try using cardboard egg containers. You can grow one seedling in each cup, then cut them apart to transplant later.
• Make sure the danger of frost has passed in your area before you move your seedlings outside, because freezing can easily kill many types of plants.