Grow Your Plants Indoors for Earlier Planting and Harvesting

1. One way we save on seeds is to purchase them during sales.  Be sure to find non-hybrid seeds, sometimes called heirloom.   However, these are not always open-pollinated (non-hybrid). In this way, you can save seed from year to year and not have to keep purchasing them. 
   
2. Also, you can save leftover seeds by vacuum packing them in vacuum bags or jars.  Last year we used seed saved from 1992 and they all sprouted!  You can also trade heirloom seed with friends and neighbors.
   
3. We purchased the little round peat “coins” that can be soaked in warm water.  After they grow to proper size, which takes only a couple of minutes, we place them in the plastic clamshells that fancy lettuce leaves come in.  We use the larger 1 lb.-size for larger crops, say tomatoes.  And, the smaller-size clamshell for smaller crops.  These clamshells do not have drain holes, so they are perfect for this. 
   
4. Fit each peat coin into the clamshell snuggly, so that when they are watered, they won’t move around. 
   
5. Mark each clamshell with the contents and date of planting for easy identification.  Each little “coin” can hold 2 or 3 seeds.  We like to cover each planted coin with a little bit of organic potting soil to help give it a good start. 
   
6. When watering, only water the bottom of the clamshell, do not water the tops of the coins.  This could make them too wet and cause rot.
   
7. A friend of mine happened to find a 6 ft. shelving unit made by a company called Elfa at a garage sale, which has wire racks. Each rack slides in and out.  This shelving unit has no back or bottoms to the shelves, only wire, so light can flow through the entire unit.
    
8. We purchased 2 garage-type, florescent-light fixtures and 4 plant/aquarium lights.  Both of these items are not expensive, about $6 each for the fixtures and a few dollars each for the lights (60 watts each).  We hung the light fixtures vertically on the front and back of the shelving unit and attached both plugs to a multi-plug switch with toggle to make it easier to turn off the entire set-up.  The light flows through the unit and gives enough glow to keep the plants happy all day.  We turn the lights off at night.  If you like, you can purchase a timer to turn your lights off and on.
   
9. Because the shelves can be moved around, we are able to give each type of plant the space it needs. The fact that the shelves slide in and out makes it easier to water the plants.  Each unit can grow 100+ plants. 
   
10. If you cannot find this particular unit, others similar to it can be purchased.  I have seen these in sportsmansguide.com and many gardening magazines and catalogs.
    
11. Don’t forget to hard-off your plants before placing them in the direct sunlight.  You can do this my placing them in an area, like a porch, where they will get a little more light, but not direct sunlight.  Slowly move them closer to the sunlight for a few hours a day until they can stay out all the time.  Don’t forget to keep them watered.
    
12. Please be sure to check your planting calendar for your area.  We back up about two months as our time from planting seedlings in this area of the country.   We put our main garden in the ground around the end of April or first week of May.  Therefore, our seedling are started around February.

Happy gardening!

Kathie Palladino

www.kitchen2.com