Move over winter, spring is coming

Old man winter has been rough on us this year. After dumping about 2 feet of snow just a couple of weeks ago, it is hard to believe that in about a month, the daffodils will be blooming and their trumpets blaring to welcome the start of spring.

After taking inventory of my remaining seeds, perusing through my favorite online catalogs, and of course, drooling over everything that is new for this year – it is finally time to start my vegetable seedlings.

As I have done in years past, I used my APS seed starting containers and a mix of sphagnum peat and a commercial seed starting mix (AKA: germination mix) to start my seedlings indoors.

The APS containers have large holes in the bottom of each cell that need to be temporarily “plugged” to prevent the germination mix from falling through.

To fill the cells, first cover the bottom of pegboard platform with a piece of aluminum foil, then firmly hold the planting cells against the platform and scoop handfuls of the pre-moistened peat/seed starting mix over the cells until just overflowing.

  

 

Gently compact the “soil” in each cell. The “soil” should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch below the top of the cells once compacted. If you lift the container up off the foil, you will see there is very little “soil” that fell through the holes.

 

Keeping the cells on the foil, plant the seeds according to the recommendation on the seed packet (remember to mark what seeds are in which cells). Gently tamp the soil down to make sure the seeds have good contact with the soil.

 

Remove the foil from the pegboard and assemble the APS seed starting container as shown by the vendor and fill the reservoir with water. And then wait. In about 3-21 days, seeds will begin to show signs of life. Typically, the smaller the seed, the faster it will sprout. Patience is key as not everything will germinate at the same time.

Once some of the seeds germinated, I moved the seedlings under fluorescent lights so the seedlings could grow into strong stocky plants. I will remove the clear humidity dome once all the seeds in a tray have germinated. Doing so will help prevent damping off of the plants.

So far, I have planted a variety of herbs, hot and sweet peppers, onions, and hardy, cool weather vegetables such as celery, lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli. With the exception of the peppers, these vegetables will likely be transplanted outdoors around the end of March, beginning of April…well, as long as we don’t get any more snow. In a few weeks, I will start the warm season vegetables (tomatoes, melon, and squash). 

Move over winter, spring is coming!