Starting Veggie Seedlings Indoors - theHumm February 2022

By David Hinks

I JUST NEED TO PLANT SOMETHING!! After months of winter, gardeners are understandably crazy eager to plant some seeds. But slow down, hombre! This is a case where timing is critical! We’ve all despaired over sprawling three-foot tomato plants that we can’t plant in the garden for another three weeks. We’ve salivated over the seed catalogues and ordered the perfect varieties with all the flavour and disease resistance that we’ve dreamt of — so now let’s give them the patient care they deserve.

The amount of time that seedlings can grow indoors before they need to be planted in the outdoor garden varies considerably. Tomatoes only need six to eight weeks; peppers and eggplant eight to ten weeks; broccoli and cabbage five to eight weeks; onions and leeks ten to twelve weeks; melons, squash and cucumbers four to six weeks.

Transplants of frost-tender veggies such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant and vines will not go into the garden until the last week of May; transplants of frost-tolerant veggies such as onions and leeks and brassicas (cabbage family) can go in the garden in the first week of May.

So if we are exercising restraint, our seeding schedule should look something like this: onions and leeks mid-February; brassicas, peppers and eggplant mid-March; tomatoes first week of April; cucumbers and melons mid-April.

Several vegetables that I have tried starting early indoors and have found virtually no benefit include peas, corn and beans – they are just so much happier growing directly from seed planted in the garden. Also, root vegetables such as beets and carrots do not transplant well. Peas can be planted directly in the ground probably by mid-April; carrots and beets by the first week of May; and corn and beans close to Victoria Day.

The approach to growing seedlings that I am describing is one that has worked well for me for several decades, but many other approaches are possible — plants are pretty flexible.

The key to growing seedlings successfully indoors is lots of light. If plants don’t have enough light, they will be spindly and weak and will not be able to handle the transition to outdoor conditions. I use artificial light as I have found that even a very sunny window is unlikely to provide sufficient light — although I do know folks who have been successful window-sill gardeners.

The set-up does not need to be fancy or pricey. I use utility wooden shelving and suspend fluorescent fixtures by chains between the shelves so that I can adjust them to keep them within a couple of inches of the seedlings. Used fluorescent fixtures are available for next to nothing at garage sales. I use only the cheapest four-foot fluorescent tubes as my results have been just as good as using special “grow” tubes. On the other hand, some gardeners spend many hundreds of dollars on LED full-spectrum lights and nicely built stands, which I fully understand if you are growing plants for bloom in your living room.

I try to do one-step planting; for example, I have plug trays with 39 cells and I put one seed in each cell. The other approach is to put a bunch of seeds in a small container and then transplant into larger pots/cells. There are endless possibilities for containers — plastic trays that berries come in spring to mind. I use a commercial seedling medium that I moisten well before filling the cells.

I turn on the lights first thing in the morning and turn them off when I go to bed. I water only when the growing medium is dry to the touch but before the seedlings wilt, and drain off any excess water that has not been absorbed in a couple of hours — watering from the bottom is preferable.

Seeds contain all the nutrients required for germination. I use a diluted organic fish-based fertilizer weekly after seedlings have been growing for a few weeks.

Seedlings are very vulnerable to certain kinds of viral diseases, commonly called “damping-off”. Seedlings that appear healthy topple over from the base and die. I have found that this is virtually eliminated by using a commercial seedling medium and new plastic cells/plugs and ensuring good air circulation by keeping a fan running constantly. The air movement also produces stronger, stockier plants.

Vine crops such as cucumbers and melons do not like to have their roots disturbed when they are transplanted into the garden, but they do benefit from an early start, so I plant them in biodegradable pots that I can plant directly in the garden. Three that I have used are peat pots, coir (coconut) pots and Cow Pots.

One thing I do after planting the seeds is to maintain charts of what I have planted — both indoors and outdoors — at times I supplement this with labels, but I find that these get lost, move or fade. No job is finished until the paperwork is done!

It is necessary to harden-off seedlings before planting them in the garden. They need to be given gradual exposure to outdoor conditions until they are outdoors full time in a week or so. As I transplant these lush green growing plants into the garden, it always seems miraculous to me that just two or three months ago they started from small, hard, apparently lifeless objects.

Chris Cavan —Rooted to the Sky - theHumm February 2022

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

Almonte artist Chris Cavan’s exuberant watercolour paintings are a testament to the essential role that trees play in her creativity and overall wellbeing. Trees have sustained and inspired her since she was a young girl, and dominate her art, her poetry and her writings. On the advice of Almonte “Energizer Bunny” and fellow artist Neil Carleton, Chris compiled an extensive binder of her art, photographs and original writings to accompany her recent art exhibit at the Corrid......

Starting Veggie Seedlings Indoors - theHumm February 2022