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Starting Seeds in Winter

Now that Christmas and New Years is over, the only natural next step is on my brain.  Gardening!  Have you ever wanted to start a garden plant from seed in the winter?  I have a little experience in this and will give you a few tips.

True Statement:  The flowers in the above picture are mine...started from seed!

In the past I have grown both vegetable plants and flower plants in the warm months.  I had a vegetable garden for about 20 years at 3 differents homes, but a couple years ago I decided to switch gears.  Grass seed took the place of my vegetable garden and my focus moved to the flower beds around my house.  I love the colors and options that come with flower beds.

Here in central Iowa, we experience winter until approximately March, give or take.  Both the experts and the hear sayers tell me that it isn’t safe to plant annual plants outdoors until May 1.  That being said, seeds need to be planted indoors in January or the beginning of February.

Last year I learned the hard way when to plant flower seeds.  I bought small peat pots and soil, and planted the flowers seeds in them…in April.  The good Lord blessed them and I soon saw plenty of sprouts, but even the beautiful April sun and rain couldn’t make these sprouts into healthy blooming plants by mid June.  I didn’t see the fruits of my labor, the colorful flowers, until end of July.

Anyway, lesson learned.  I will go back to what I have known from years past- January Gardening, or at least starting my seeds then.  So after that long intro, here is my process.

First, the Pots

I will stick with using the peat pots in January too.  These are small biodegradable pots made from natural products like wood and plant material.  These hold together while your seedlings are growing, but can been planted directly into the ground when you are ready to plant your seedlings outside.  I would recommend these over plastic or clay flower pots, which plant roots can’t penetrate in the ground and which are very difficult to get fragile young plants out of (believe me, I’ve tried many times).  You have a high risk of damaging young plants when trying to dig them out of pots.  I have also tried planting seeds in empty egg shells as so “Nice-and-Crunchily” shown on Pinterest.  The seeds sprout fine, but have very little room for roots to spread, and they therefore die soon after.

Next, the Soil

When choosing soil, it is easiest to buy it from a store.  But if you don’t want to pay for soil, be sure to create a mixture that is light and airy.  Hard, clay like dirt will pack together, making it very difficult for seeds to sprout.  Mix a light filler with your soil, like saw dust, a little sand, foam filler beads, moss, dry leaves, compost, or a little of each of these.

Then Comes…the Water

Follow the directions on the seed packets as to how deep to plant the seeds in the soil.  When it comes to watering, I have had success with regular tap water, but the plants benefit more from adding some fertilizer.  Again, you can buy liquid fertilizer at a store, but there are some household ingredients that work well too.  Epsome salt and baking soda used in small quantities are a great fertilizer (about 1 tablespoon Epsome salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda per 1 gallon water).  Only use this combination once every three weeks or so.  When it comes to watering daily, you could use cooled water that has recently been used to boil eggs. Eggs have many nutrients for plants in general.  Maybe mix the egg water with plain tap water though.   You could even put a few crushed egg shells and coffee grounds in the water that you use on the seedlings daily.

Where Do I Keep These Soon To Be Flower Pots, You Might Ask?

It saves a lot of headache if you put your pots in a shallow container of some sort.  Dirt tends to leak out the bottom of the pots after watering, and if that dirt is caught in the container it can be left alone instead of having to be cleaned up.  You could also pour water in the shallow container instead of watering from above.  This saves the top dirt from being disturbed by pouring water.  The peat pots niceley soak up the water from below, gently moisturizing the small seedlings.  Place the pots indoors in a East facing window if possible.  This direction gives the most warm sun in the winter.  I have had some success in windows facing other directions as well though.

And there you have it, the basics of starting seeds indoors in the winter.  This will work with vegetable seeds as well if you would rather.

Thanks for joining me in by new blog!