Starting plants indoors for spring – things to know

Consider starting plants indoors  to get a jump-start on spring

It’s not an old wives tale. If you live in a colder zone where you really only get 5 or 6 months of frost free weather, starting plants indoors before the planting season starts can really make a big difference. If you’ve ever looked at the back of a pack of seeds and thought “holy crap how many days till maturity? What am I supposed to do, carve watermelons for Halloween?!”, then this guide might help. If not, read it anyway because you already started, it’s really not that long, and the light-hearted humor might brighten your day ?.

Most of the seed packs mention starting plants indoors too

The seed companies don’t want you to have a bad time with your garden and complain about how few peppers or tomatoes you grew, or worse, switch back to buying pre-started hot house plants (it’s okay we don’t judge… Much). Most resources for starting plants from seed will give you two planting dates. One for starting indoors in containers and another for direct sowing. They also usually give harvest dates for both. What you’ll eventually learn later (out on the street, like sex education in the 70’s), is that, soil preparation and soil temperature have an impact on how fast your leaf babies will grow. So, starting indoors gives you an extra edge of homogony (it is so a real word!), mother nature just doesn’t give.

There’s tons of reasons for starting plants indoors

…And only a few obstacles to overcome. Let’s have a look at some pros and cons of starting plants indoors

Pros

• Extend the growing season
• Harvest a little earlier
• Bigger healthier plants with potentially bigger yields
• You can grow plants that will grow in zones that typically don’t grow the type of plant you want to garden

Cons

• Takes up space you might not have
• Dirt in the house
• …

OK look, still not judging, just educating. [Steps up on soapbox] First of all, we don’t call it dirt, it’s soil, mulch, compost, peatmoss or planting media. Second of all, we had to list that “dirt in the house” as a “con” to call out this sort of opinion we heard somewhere that plants are dirty. Plants can be messy, sure, they drop the odd leaf or petal, water can drip a little on watering day, but “dirt” ?… Only makes a mess when disturbed, and for a gardener of any kind, is a mess we really don’t mind, because it means change, growth and progress (Happy New year by the way ?). [Steps down from soapbox]

What plants should I be thinking about starting plants indoors… And when?

It really all depends on what you like and where you live. No, no, that’s not a cop out, hear us out. What you like to grow and eat are personal decisions. We like broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, and beans… Other people, may not like those so much, or prefer changing crops from season to season to help maintain healthy soil (which coincidentally may be a future article).

But okay, here’s a quickie table that will give an idea. This is generally good for zone 6 (actual mileage may vary). It only covers a handful of veggies. Check out below for resources on other sites that can help you with  finding your zone and starting plants indoors.

So what do you need to get started

Time

It doesn’t take much time to keep on top of your indoor starts. Keep an eye on how much water, warmth and sunlight they’re getting before the seeds sprout.  If you see anything weird like mold, its not always a lost cause, you might just be over-watering. Don’t micromanage. Seeds have been growing a very long time, all over the world without our help. In fact, if we didn’t manage them, they’d overgrow our cities…. and take over the world!

Seeds

You need to figure out what and how much you’re going to want to plant outdoors, to be able to figure out how many seeds you need, and of what kind, before you know what kinds of planters and how much dirt you’re going to need. Get it? Thought not.

Okay. look, that cutesy little flat our leaf babies are in was re-purposed from a garden center flat someone gave us last spring. It’s nice for about a dozen plants. We started our winter tomatoes in it back in August.  So now’s the time you need to think about what you want in your garden and how much space you have for it all (inside and out). That little flat is about the size of a sheet of paper. It’s good to be a little prepared with some extra room.  By March or early April, those leaf babies will need transplanting and their size needs will change.

Tools

Given the chance, most plants will grow in just about anything. Egg cartons, tomato cans, whatever, but, if you hit the garden center, over by the seed packets, they should have a display of starter flats. Some of the fancy ones come with water trays, planting media and lids.  You can also ask the garden manager if they have any left over flats or pots from last spring… Sometimes they do, but it’s more rare.  They also have pressed paper trays and pots (jiffy pots) that work really well too.  There’s no special trick, and nobody judges.  Most of the plastic trays last many seasons if taken care of. so don’t worry if you spend  little extra.

Oh did we mention you’re gonna need “dirt” and probably a small garden spade, Oh and since you’re at the garden center anyway some gloves wouldn’t hurt, AND some fertilizer. Starting out, don’t get too hung up on what’s in your potting soil. You can do pretty well with a name brand indoor potting mix. The main thing is to check on the bag to see if its okay for indoors (some are recommended for outside only), and if they are pre-fertilized (which means you can probably get away without fertilizer until you get outside).

Space

Planning space is important. Most leaf babies like to start out in damp, room temperature soil, with a few hours of bright light every day. Most, but not all.  Check the back of your seed packet or look on line for specific instructions for the type of seeds your planting.  So, where you’re going to germinate your seeds is important. In the picture shown, we’ve set up some very bright work lights in our basement. it stays between 60 and 65 down there all winter and the lights are on a timer. Everything is run by a timer (think cheap-o Christmas tree timer and you nailed it).  If your seeds need warmer soil (this should be fine for us for now), you can use a heating pad on low.

Remember, they won’t be little pads with dirt for very long, and you will likely need to move the sprouts out of their flats into slightly larger pots before planting so just remember to account for the extra room and don’t pressure yourself to fill out all of your existing space right away.

Finally, it’s okay to grow more than you can plant.  Some plants won’t make it, just happens that way sometimes, it’s not your fault. But, if they all work out, you can give some away to family and friends.

Online resources to help starting plants indoors

USDA zone map

National Gardening Association Planting Calendar (by zipcode)