Growing Seedlings

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Container Gardening Essentials 

Containers may be a fallback option for those would-be gardeners who don’t have a garden, but they’re also essential tools for the dirt gardener. Unless a plant grows from seed sown in the ground (or somehow magically appears there as a volunteer) or is transplanted from elsewhere, chances are it started its life in a pot.

Propagation, particularly seed germination, is a subject dear to my heart, so let’s start with a short sales pitch for those who have never tried it. Growing new plants from seeds is satisfying on many levels. The do-it-yourself approach is far less expensive than buying potted herbs from a reputable garden center, with more variety available to you, and you can end up not just with a new plant to try, but with as many as you want and some to trade or give away. Starting with seeds can be surprisingly easy and can produce sturdy little plants that have a better start on life than those spindly herbal specimens at the corner discount store ever got. Your starts won’t have endured the hardships of wilting from neglect, struggling for light or being transported across the country.

A less tangible benefit of seed germination is the wonder of it all. After your careful attention and material support, that moist seed opens up and a cotyledon — the first leaf or pair of leaves to emerge — lifts itself up and reaches for the light. The process might make you feel like a kid again.

Let There Be Light

Probably the most important requirement for success in growing seedlings is a steady source of strong light. If a windowsill is all you’ve got, go for it, but artificial lighting is your best bet because of the amount of control it gives you. An inexpensive, utilitarian 4-foot workshop light with fluorescent bulbs from a hardware store works splendidly, but many more kinds of fluorescent and wide-spectrum grow-lights are available, including some that can be installed in regular lamps.

The ability to position the light exactly where you want it in relation to the plants growing beneath it is invaluable. A workshop light, for example, can be suspended by lightweight chain, letting you raise the light as the plants grow. The light source should be close to the top of the seedlings (without actually touching, which can burn them).

Find a place in your home where you can set up a grow-light (or as many as you want). A basement is ideal because it can spare you the trouble of worrying about making a mess, and the cooler temperatures there can help ensure slow, steady growth rather than the more rapid growth that occurs in the warmth of a house. When I was germinating lots of seeds for a large garden, I hung banks of lights and turned my basement into a greenhouse each spring for the seedlings, but I didn’t move them down there until they had sprouted, as the warmth upstairs aids germination. If you don’t have a basement, try a spare bedroom or an extra closet; look around and you probably can find some space even in cozy quarters.

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