When it comes to planting a garden, there are essentially two choices. You can buy many plants already started, or grow your own from seeds. Contrary to what many “experts” claim, you don’t need an expensive indoor growing area to coax roots out seeds and grow them into productive plants.
To begin, you will need to determine the type of plants you want to grow. I have had success in growing tomato and pepper plants from seed using some simple and inexpensive items. Watermelon, pumpkins and cucumbers have also been grown and planted, releasing a veritable cornucopia in my small garden.
First, let’s look at the growing area you will need indoors. With all the talk about growing lights, the thing to remember is the amount of light needed for plant growth. Seeds will need warmth, moisture and darkness to sprout. Once the vegetation begins to grow, light will be needed to nourish the plants.
Typically, people will spend a lot of money on special grow lights, which, in my experience, are not necessary. I have used a four-foot shop light, available for under $10 and used fluorescent bulbs with a lumen rating of over 2500. I will take three-inch peat pots and fill with potting soil to about an inch below the top, tamping it lightly. I then use a spray bottle to moisten the soil, before placing at least two seeds on top of the soil.
Then, place an additional ¼-inch of soil over the seed, again moistening it with the spray bottle. The light fixture can be suspended with a chain and during the initial phase, should be close enough to the pot’s surface to provide warmth for about six hours a day. Once the seedling have sprouted to about one-inch, the lights can be raised to about two to three inches above the plants and left on for 12 to 14 hours a day.
I use an inexpensive timer so I don’t have to remember to turn the light on an off every day. Watering your new plants can be done with the same spray bottle, offering more control over the amount of water added daily. Keep the soil moist but without drowning the new plants.
For larger seed plants such as melons or cucumbers, you can initiate the plant by coaxing it open before planting it in the ground. This is also easy and inexpensive to do.
I use a 10-inch plate and a small bowl to create an incubator for the seeds. Take a paper towel, the cheap ones work best, and saturate it with water, wring out the excess moisture. Then line the seeds onto the damp paper towel and spray with water to make them moist, without drowning them. Next place the bowl over the seeds and cover with a cloth towel to help inhibit light from getting to the seeds.
You will want to check on the seeds’ progress every day, lightly spraying them water to keep them moist. After a few days, you will see the roots begin to poke out of the seed as it completes the germination process. Carefully place the seeds in potting soil, root side down and take guesswork out of which seeds will germinate and grow.
This germination method will work with any type of seed; however some seeds, such as tomato and pepper are too small to be handled once they have germinated.
Seeds Ready for Transplanting
Once your seeds have grown into healthy plants, they can be transplanted to you garden. One trick that I have had success with is avoiding trauma to the young plants. That is why I use peat pots during the initial stages of growth. Planting them into properly prepared soil prevents them from being ripped out of the pot and put into strange surroundings. I will line the hole into which the pot is to be placed with the same potting soil used to grow them, allowing the plants to acclimate to their new soil.
Planning your garden can also help insure a bountiful harvest. In most parts of the United States, the sun is from the south. By simply looking at the area in which your garden will be planted, you can determine this. Taller plants should be planted near the back, that is away from the direct sun, with shorter ones to the south. This prevents the taller plants from shading the shorter ones, insuring they all receive sufficient sunshine.
Watering is a key effort to insure success in the garden and the tendency for most is to over water their garden. Remember that most plants will require about two-inches of water each week. That does not mean you have to add two inches of water, one day a week. The plants will appreciate having those two inches of water spread out over four or five days instead of all at once.
However, the best rain gauge can be found in most cupboards in the form of a can of tuna. You can place the can in the garden under a sprinkler and when it is full, it equals about two-inches of water. You can also mark the can in increments of ½-inch and water four times a week to insure your plants are sufficiently hydrated.
