Water Cooler: Starting seeds for beginners

Gardening can be complex enough without the added challenge of starting your own seeds, but doing so comes with many rewards.

Starting seeds is usually less expensive than purchasing young plants to transplant into your garden and it allows you to have control over how the plant is grown, gives you more variety and grants a bit more wiggle room for losses during the growing season. Buying transplants is always a great option for the beginner gardener, but if you’re ready to add a few more steps and variables to your gardening, here are some tips and considerations to get you started.

Starting seeds requires a bit of planning, with the first step being to decide which seeds to start indoors and which to start outside, known as direct-sowing. Most gardeners in the Inland Northwest choose to start select seeds inside because it allows for a few more weeks in the relatively short growing season. With the last frost occurring around mid-May, some plants may not have enough time to mature and produce before the first frost of fall. Starting plants indoors also gives gardeners the opportunity to harden plants, which is the method of gradually exposing young plants to outdoor conditions, such as colder temperatures and direct sunlight.

Not all seeds should start indoors. Plants that do not transplant well, such as root vegetables like beets and carrots, plants with long root systems like parsley or dill, or plants on vines like squash, watermelon and pumpkins, are usually direct-sown. Fast-growing and cold tolerant plants that can mature within a short season like peas or radishes are unnecessary to start indoors.

Plants that benefit from starting indoors are eggplant, tomato, pepper and other tender vegetables due to their low tolerance for chilly and fickle spring temperatures. Vegetables that take a long time to mature, such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and cauliflower can benefit from starting indoors. In the end, however, the choice is yours and is based on your preferences and experiences. It may take a few seasons to experiment and find what works for you.

Another consideration for areas that experience a lot of cloud cover in the spring like the Inland Northwest, is to invest in some grow lights to help your seedlings thrive indoors in those first few weeks. Any lights that provide light waves within the photosynthetically active radiation, or PAR, bandwidth will provide your plant with the wavelengths plants need at various stages of life. They come in a variety of sizes and wattages for various growing needs.

You can start seeds in a variety of containers. Plastic food containers are a great, inexpensive container for starting seeds and only require that you punch a few drainage holes in the bottom. You can also purchase seed flats or trays which offer greater efficiency and convenience. Some plants like pepper and tomato will need to be transplanted to a larger container before being transplanted outdoors, so make sure to have some extra containers and pots handy.

The seeds can be planted in any all-purpose potting mix. A bag of pure potting soil will be too dense for starting seedlings. Potting mixes include mediums like compost and perlite to make the soil finer and fluffier. This is helpful when it comes to watering as it helps maintain oxygen flow to the roots when the soil is saturated.

Research the plants you would like to grow and check the directions on their seed packet before sowing, as some seeds may require specific steps such as soaking, scratching or chilling prior to planting.

Check gardening resources such as the WSU Master Gardener Program website (mastergardener.wsu.edu) and The Old Farmer’s Almanac (almanac.com) to find all the details you need for starting seeds in the Inland Northwest.