How to Start Your Vegetable Garden From Seed

You can plant vegetable seeds outdoors or indoors for later transplanting, and most gardeners take advantage of both options. The main requirements for a seed to germinate are warmth, moisture and air. Given sufficient warmth, once moisture has softened the seed coat, the seed swells and immediately needs oxygen to start respiration. There is just enough stored food energy in the seed to allow the plant embryo to break the surface of the soil and open its first leaves. The seedling immediately needs light to begin photosynthesis and air must be available to newly forming roots between the soil particles. That's why the growing medium for seeds, whether planted in containers or directly into the ground, is so important. It must not be too dense or too wet. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Plan your vegetable garden before you buy seeds. Make sure that the vegetables you want to grow all have enough growing time ahead. For instance, warm season crops like eggplants need four to five frost-free months in order to produce. Cool season plants such as lettuce or spinach will go to seed or "bolt" if they are sown too late and are exposed to higher temperatures. Consult a seed planting calendar to determine the best time in your area to put seeds into the ground or sow them in indoor containers.

2

Purchase the seeds, starter pots or trays and potting soil. Read the seed packages for useful planting information and sort seeds into those you will sow directly into the ground and those you will sow into containers.

3

Start seeds in indoor containers if the outdoor growing season is not long enough for the vegetable to produce successfully, when seeds are slow to germinate and may be eaten by pests, or if they are very fine and are likely to wash away in a heavy rain. Seeds can be planted in shallow trays or plant-able pots, which can be placed directly into the ground when weather permits, reducing the possibility of transplant shock. The seed packet will tell you the recommended planting depth but the general rule is to cover seeds to a depth of two times their diameter. Label containers with the vegetable variety and the date planted. Keep the soil slightly moist, but never sodden.

4

Direct sow vegetable seeds into the ground according to the planting calendar and your own common sense. A late frost or unexpected turn in the weather might delay your planting schedule by a few days or a week. Vegetables with large seeds such as corn, peas or beans and leafy greens are good candidates for directing sowing, and it's a must for root vegetables like carrots and beets. Sow seeds in rows by making a shallow trough to the correct depth with the corner of a hoe. The seed package will tell you how far apart to sow each seed. Plant melons, pumpkin and squash in rounded hills approximately 12 inches across, with three to five seeds in each hill. You will later thin out the seedlings to the two strongest ones. Keep all planting beds slightly moist, especially on hot sunny days.

5

Stay on top of the care and watering of both container and direct-sowed vegetables in the early stages. Young seedlings are vulnerable to too much handling and too little or too much heat, light or water. Outdoor seedlings are also subject to incursions by insects, slugs, birds, rodents, deer and curious dogs.

6

Transplant seedlings you've sown indoors on cloudy late afternoon if possible so that they can recover from the root disturbance overnight. First "harden off" the seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions. Put them in the shade of a porch or under a tree for an hour a day, and then gradually give them more exposure to sun light.