Seedlings Garden Nursery Landscaping Guide
Planting Seedlings Tips
By Suzzie T Franklin
With a just a little bit of effort and attention to small details,
you can germinate your vegetable seeds and flower seeds into seedlings.
The process is simple and provides incredible self-satisfaction.
When you harvest your tomatoes from your very own heirloom seeds,
you will be bursting at the seams with pride and accomplishment
when they are ripe on the vine. Though this is a simple process,
a few problems can crop up. If you are careful though, it is easy
to avoid them or fix them, whatever the case may be.
Treat Your Seedlings With Extra Loving Care
When you are tending your seedlings it is good to remember that
they are very delicate. A seedling is a fragile young plant, and
needs extra tender loving care. They usually require a more intense
light than is available at the time you plant them.
Though natural sunlight is best, many times the days are still
short and the sun is still weak. When you start a seedling indoors,
the plant thinks it is warm enough to germinate, but soon discovers
there isn’t enough light. This lack of light can restrict the
plant’s growth and health. Consider artificial light.
Twelve Hours Of Light
Typically, seedlings thrive with cycles of 12 hours of light
and 12 hours of dark in one twenty-four hour period. It all depends
on the plants you are growing. Be sure to turn them every now
and then, as they will bend towards the light.
Keep your seedlings moist, but not wet, when caring for them,
as they can be very susceptible to mold. An overabundance of water
can cause mold to grow. Outside, of course, spring usually comes
with rain, but that doesn’t mean plants outside stay saturated,
and neither should yours.
Skip The Fertilizer
Don’t fertilize your seedlings unless you are using the hydroponic
method. The seed and the soil you use supplies all the nutrition
the plant needs. Fertilizers can kill your plants, if they are
overused. They create a situation where the plant cannot get water
from the soil, and without water, there is no photosynthesis.
As outdoor planting time nears, young plants raised indoors are
not used to outside weather. They need to be toughened up or as
some call it, hardened off. Set your plants outside in a sheltered
spot, preferably in the shade. Set them out for a half a day to
begin with, and gradually leave them out longer.
Introducing New Seedlings Into Your Garden
You can slowly move them into windier and sunnier spots to get
them used to life outside. Follow this routine for at least a
week or two before you transplant them into the garden. When they
are finally outside to stay, protect them on cooler nights with
a sheet or some type of covering.
By taking the time to start your seeds indoors and to nurture
them into lovely little seedlings can only be described as a labor
of love. The satisfaction you gain from such an activity cannot
be measured! Seed starting is a simple process that only requires
a tiny portion of your time, yet will reward you with an abundance
of vegetable and/or flowers.
About the Author:
Suzzie T Franklin has written a number of articles on gardening
and landscaping including
Cherry Blossom,
Tole Painting,
Lady Slipper Flower,
Bamboo Plants,
Zen Garden,
Wire Topiary Frames,
Flower Seeds,
Gardening Vegetable, Container
Gardens.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles on this website.
Little Known Seeds Facts....
Do all plants produce their own seeds?
No, actually some do not produce their own
seed. It depends on the type of plant. Some propagate through
cuttings. A cutting is when a part of the mature plant is cut
off and is then planted.
There are also some plants, such as hybrid
plants that will not produce a seed because it has been genetically
altered and the seed is sterile and will not germinate. It really
depends on the type of plant that you are thinking about as to
whether or not it will produce a seed that will eventually grow
into a plant like the parent plant.
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