Seed Starting 101: What You Need, How To & When to Start
Please Note: I am not an expert or professional gardener, and am sharing my personal experiences with seed starting. (🇨🇦) Denotes a Canadian retailer or product.
Ahhh, seed starting. If you’re new to gardening, you may be slightly overwhelmed by the idea of starting your crops from seed instead of starters, but I’m here to tell you that if I can do it, you most certainly can too! The process at surface level looks like it is difficult, when really it’s mostly just tedious. But there’s no better feeling than watching your little seeds germinate and knowing that you grew your very own crops from seed. In this blog, the discussion is primarily around growing flowers, as that’s what my main focus is on, but these methods are true of any crops that you start from seed, including herbs and vegetables. So, let’s talk about the in’s and out’s of starting from seed.
01. Grow Light (🇨🇦) | 02. Grow Light Bulb (🇨🇦) | 03. Seed Starting Soil (🇨🇦) | 04. Seedling Heat Mat (🇨🇦) | 05. Compostable Pots (🇨🇦) | 06. Seedling Sprayer (🇨🇦) | 07. Organic Soil (🇨🇦) | 08. Humidity Dome (🇨🇦) | 09. Seed Tray with Compostable Pods (🇨🇦)
Tools You Will Need
Starting off with what tools and equipment are non-negotiable when it comes to seed starting. I will start by saying this is a big up front cost, but every item (with the exception of compostable items should you plant them), are reusable, and you will be able to add to your collection as you continue your seed starting journey. Below, I will list the tools that are essentials, and go into the details of their need in the process in the How To section.
The tools you will need include: A grow light (that is ideally adjustable in height) or a grow light bulb that you can put into a lamp, organic seed starting soil, seed trays with pods, a humidity dome and a seedling sprayer. Some, but not all seeds will benefit and germinate more quickly with a seedling heat mat as well, but this isn’t a requirement. As your seeds grow, you will eventually also need compostable nursery pots and organic soil. I highly recommend OMRI-certified organic soil as traditional soil often uses human waste as organic matter (I know, ew), where OMRI-certified organic soil does not.
When to Start Your Seeds
When you start your seeds will entirely depend on a few factors including your last frost date, zone, and what you want to grow! I recommend starting by looking at your grow zone; for my fellow Canadians, the government of Canada has a hardiness zone site you can reference by city here. Once you have your grow zone, you will need to determine your last frost date (and while you’re at it, your first frost date as well!). Again, for my fellow Canadians, here is a great reference source.
Once you have determined your last frost date, and your grow zone, you will reference the back of your seed packets to determine how far in advance you need to start your seeds. For example, my last frost dates are May 1-10, and cosmos need to be started 4-6 weeks before last frost, so I will count back 4-6 weeks on my calendar from May 10 to determine when I should start my cosmo seeds.
How To Seed Start
Now, let’s talk about the seed starting process itself! As previously mentioned, the first thing you’ll want to do is determine how many weeks before your last frost you need to start your seeds to ensure you’re not starting them too early.
01. To begin, fill your seed tray with seed starting soil up to about 60% of the way, and place 2 seeds in each pod/cell. When this is done, cover your seeds with soil. Some seeds will require surface sowing – in this case, fill your pod/cell up 90% of the way, and lightly cover with soil. If you are starting a ton of varieties & colours, I’d recommend ensuring you have a clear and concise labelling system so you ensure that you know what is where (I promise, at some point, you’re going to lose track if you don’t!).
02. Using your seedling sprayer, water the entire tray and ensure they’re thoroughly moistened, but not soaked. Cover your seed tray with the humidity dome, and place under your grow lights with the light as close to the top of the humidity dome as you can safely place it. If you’re using a heat mat, you will also place your tray on top of the heat mat at this point as well. The heat mat will stay on 24/7, and your light should be on timers, turned on for at least 18 hours a day.
03. Water your seedlings daily to keep the soil moist. As your seeds grow, you will notice them starting to pop out of the soil, which is called germination. Once about 50% of your seeds are germinated, you can remove your humidity dome, and heat mat if using. As your seedings continue growing, you will raise the light, keeping it about 1” away from your seedling to ensure that they don’t grow leggy (this happens when the light is too far from the seedling, and they’re “reaching” for the light).
04. Once your seedlings are well established (when 3 sets of true leaves have formed), you will need to “pot up” into larger pots so they don’t get root bound. Fill your pots with your organic soil (not seed starting soil), and loosen up your seedling by gently squeezing the sides of the cell/pod and gently pulling. Place your seedling into the new, larger pot, cover with soil & water with your seedling sprayer. Place your pot back under the grow lights, again, keeping the lights about 1” above the seedling.
Where to Buy Seeds & Flowers for Beginners
If you’re reading this blog, and feel inspired to get gardening, but you haven’t thought about what kind of flowers you’d like to grow, or where to even get them, let me help you out with that!
When it comes to seeds, I like to purchase from Canadian growers and seed sellers as I know that they’re safe to plant, and it supports the Canadian economy! Here are some of my favourite places to get seeds from:
· Whistling Prairie Flowers (🇨🇦)
· Antonio Valente Flowers (🇨🇦)
· Dahlia May Flower Farm (🇨🇦)
· Roam Flora (🇨🇦)
· Ophelia Farm (🇨🇦)
· West Coast Seeds (🇨🇦)
If this is your first time growing flowers, you may be wondering what are some easy-to-grow flowers that are perfect for the beginner gardener. Here are some of my personal favourites:
· Cosmos
· Zinnias
· Snapdragons
· Sweet Peas
· Stock
· Statice
· Dahlias (Grown from tuber, or seed)
· Pansies
There you have it! This blog was lengthy, but I hope it provided a ton of helpful information for your seed starting journey. The next step in the process will be discussing hardening off, and transitioning your seedlings into the garden – sign up for the newsletter to know when that blog is live! One piece of advice that I think is the most important, is do not get discouraged if things don’t go perfect – gardening is a constant learning process, even for those who have been doing it for years! You’re bound to make mistakes, and frankly, you will always be at the will of Mother Nature; all you can do is try, learn and try again!
* Note: Links and linked products featured in this blog post are commissionable links. Should you purchase a product with these links, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.
