To start your own tomatoes, you need to sow seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before the average last frost date in spring. It’s easy to grow strong, healthy transplants. Here are important tips to keep in mind when you start tomatoes from seed. See also: Tomato Seed Starting Temperature Good Products for Growing […] More
Lettuce is easily started in seed-starting trays or small pots. Lettuce started indoors can be set into the garden when plants have about four leaves, usually in three to four weeks from sowing. Lettuce Planting Distance Set lettuce in the garden 12 inches (30cm) apart if you are planting for full heads and closer if […] More
Sprouts are the young shoots from the germinated seeds of vegetables, beans, and grains. Many seeds can be sprouted for eating. Mung beans and alfalfa are the most common seeds for sprouts. Other common seeds for sprouts include adzuki, cabbage, chives, red clover, fenugreek, garbanzo, lentil, mustard, peas, radish, and black sunflower. See the list […] More
When a seed fails to sprout there is usually a simple and easily correctable reason. Here are the most common reasons seeds do not sprout along with troubleshooting solutions. Soil is too dry. Small seeds sown very near the surface often fail from lack of moisture. They may have enough moisture to germinate, but then […] More
Getting seeds started indoors can be as simple as re-purposing pressed-paper egg cartons. Egg carton cups are just the right size for starting seeds and growing seedlings on to size. Half egg shells and newspaper cones set in egg carton compartments will work just as well. Poke a hole in the bottom of each egg […] More
Save seed only from open-pollinated plants. Plants that pollinate naturally without special manipulation are called open pollinated. Open-pollinated plants produce true-to-type seed–meaning their seedlings are like their parents. Open pollinated varieties are the result of the repeated natural selection of superior plants from the same strain or variety. Open-pollinated plants are essentially identical genetically through […] More
Vegetables are pollinated in two basic ways: self pollination and cross pollination. • Self pollinators are plants that produce flowers that are usually fertilized by their own pollen, commlonly when the male and female flower parts are contained within the same flower. • Cross pollinators are plants with flowers that require pollen from another flower […] More
Seed vitality or shelf life is an important concept. If you saved seed from last season or the season before or if you’ve been given seed and are not sure how long it’s been around, you might want to perform a seed vitality test a couple of weeks before you plan to sow. Seeds more […] More
Here’s a quick outdoor seed sowing schedule for spring. These suggestions are on the conservative side. Hardy vegetables can withstand frost and will grow best in cool weather, coming to maturity before the weather turns hot. Tender crops can not withstand frost. If you plant tender crops and frost threatens, use a cloche or row […] More
To get a head start on the growing season, start your vegetable seeds indoors. Cold soil and unsettled weather will challenge seeds sown directly in the garden in early spring. Cool-season crops that are the easiest to start from seed indoors are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, and lettuce. Warm-season crops to start indoors […] More
Starting seed in the garden can be challenging, especially early in the season. Garden soil either too cold or too wet are the chief obstacles to germination in late winter and early spring. The solution: start seeds indoors early in the season. Vegetables that are the easiest to start indoors from seed are broccoli, Brussels […] More
There are three ways to get your vegetable garden growing: Sow seeds directly in the garden. Start seeds indoors and transplant them to the garden when the weather warms. Transplant seedlings purchased at the garden center into the garden. Starting seed indoors will give you: Earlier vegetables allowing you to stretch the growing season. Wider […] More
Stephen Albert