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Seed Starting Savvy

Something our gardening grandparents innately knew to do has once again become trendy: starting favorite vegetables and flowering plants from seed each spring. Some of us grow our own seedlings because we're frugal, practical, or we like rare heirloom plants that we can't find at big-box garden centers.

The trick is in the timing, knowing when to start what, and equally as important, when to move tender young plants outdoors. Home seed starting can be as fancy or as geeked out as we want, but it's something humans have been doing for eons.

Seasoned gardeners know to pull out the calendar and to heed information on the back of the seed packet. Technology has put multiple seed-starting planning tools at our fingertips. Rodale's online seed-starting plan can be downloaded or printed out from www.rodalesorganiclife.com.

February

Really serious seed starters start their leek and onion seeds, which are incredibly tiny, in February. These need 10 to 12 weeks of growth before transplanting outside. I opt for buying onion starts from specialty seed companies. Check out John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds in Bantam, www.kitchengardenseeds.com.

Cool season crops—the brassicas, or kale, cabbage, broccoli—need to get established outside well before flip-flop season. I know some gardeners who start their cool season crops from seeds indoors in February for late March or April transplanting.

Direct Seeding—When & What

I take the lazy approach of direct seeding sturdy spring greens in my garden in March, as soon as the soil is workable. That means it's still nippy outside, but the ground is not soggy. Most cool season seeds won't germinate below 40 degrees, and prefer soils 45 to 50 degrees. I also save some seed to plant in August or early September for a fall garden.

Don't attempt to start deep-rooted cool season crops as indoor transplants—carrots and beets should be direct-seeded into the garden soil so their roots can grow straight and strong. And, of course, radishes are an easy direct seed project in the spring garden.

March/April

It's the warm season crops we gardeners obsess over. The key words on the seed packet are "sow outside after danger of frost." That includes tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, green beans, squashes. Flowering annuals are warm season crops, too—petunias, impatiens, zinnias, cosmos.

To extend our growing season, these tender fruiting and flowering plants should be started indoors from seed, starting in March or April. The challenge is in making sure they are kept warm enough to germinate, not rot in the seed starting tray. Most of these seeds won't sprout if soil temperatures are below 60 degrees, and do better in 65- to 75-degree soils.

New seedlings need to get enough light to grow sturdy and strong. Grow lights are recommended, and make sure to use a soil-less seed starting mix. Don't use potting soil, which is too heavy and can encourage the fungal disease called damping off.

It's All in the Timing

This is a long-term commitment for eggplants, which Rodale says need 8 to 10 weeks of growth before transplanting. Peppers need 6 to 14 weeks, and tomatoes require six to eight weeks.

My seed starting calendar is also challenged by a week of school spring break in mid-April. Whose children will give up a week at Disney so Mom can stay home to water her tomato seedlings?

And then, the question of, when will be the last frost of the season? I haven't decided if climate change has truly altered the Connecticut adage of "plant your tomatoes on Memorial Day," but it's still a safe bet to wait. Lettuce and spinach can be transplanted or direct seeded outside about a month before last frost.

But don't rush tomato, eggplant, or pepper plants. They can catch up later in summer heat. Remember to gradually introduce them to the great outdoors. If you don't have a cool enclosed porch to set them in for a week before transplanting, give these tender guys daily field trips outdoors to an area with indirect light to avoid sunburned leaves. Don't forget to bring them back in at night, especially if Mother Nature surprises us with a later frost.

Enjoy the bounty!