---

Starting garden plants from seeds indoors can be an enjoyable project for any gardener. It's a relatively inexpensive way to get a wide variety of plants. Many garden favorites are found in a greater variety of colors, sizes and growth habits as seeds than as started plants. For the price of seeds an adventurous gardener can experiment with raising unusual plants.

Seeds are available from many sources ranging from your local building supply store to garden centers and mail order catalogs. Don't buy more seed than you feel you will use in two or three years; many won't be good much longer than that.

When selecting vegetable varieties, check packets for the number of days until harvest to be sure your choices will ripen before frost. Many long season vegetables must be started indoors in early spring.

Start seeds in cell packs with four or more divisions or use small peat pots. Peat pots are particularly good for raising seedlings that don't transplant well or are known to outgrow cell packs quickly. Plastic cell packs and trays are available from garden centers as well as discount and building supply stores.

Commercial seed-starting mixes are usually composed of vermiculite and peat, without any true soil. They're sterile, light weight and free from weed seeds.

Sow fresh seeds individually into each cell of your plastic packs according to package directions. The rule of thumb is to plant a seed four times as deep as its diameter.

When using older seeds with lower germination rates, plant two or more seeds per cell. Once the seedlings have developed true leaves, cut all but the healthiest seedling off at the ground with scissors. If you try to separate seedlings, you're likely to damage all of them.

Once seeds sprout, move the trays to a brighter growing area. If you're starting only a few plants and have roomy window sills, a south-facing window may be all the growing space you need. But it's much better to grow seedlings under fluorescent lights. Use cool white fluorescent tubes or a combination of cool white and warm or natural daylight tubes.

Hang lights from chains to ease raising them. Keep lights no more than 4 inches above the tops of your seedlings as they grow. Plants need 12-16 hours of light daily.

Seedlings grown in a soil-less mix need a weak fertilizer such as fish emulsion or general purpose water-soluble fertilizer mixed 1/4 strength. Fertilize only once a week. Water as needed the rest of the week with plain water.

A week or two before planting outdoors, start hardening off seedlings by moving them outside for increasingly longer periods each day. If plants are not adequately hardened off, their leaves may be scorched by sun or wind; plants might even wilt and die.

Once hardened off, seedlings can be set out in the garden. Transplant on a cloudy day or late afternoon when the sun has passed its peak. Even hardened off plants may wilt when first exposed to full sun but they generally recover within a day or so.

+++++

It’s not too early to begin thinking about starting plants for next year’s garden. Some plants will need two months or more before they’re ready to be planted outdoors. Learn all about it at a free presentation on “Starting Plants from Seed” by Chisago County Master Gardener Lisa Hunder, Saturday, Jan. 22, from 2-3 p.m., at The Coffee Depot, 11484 Brink Ave., Chisago City, (next to Brink’s Market).

---