ELi ON EARTH: East Lansing Starts Its Spring

Above: From left, a paper seed-starting container made from scrap paper using the wooden press shown behind it; a dish of commercial seed-starting mix; a commercial peat pot like those the author uses for starting seeds.

It may not be spring-like outside yet, but it is time for East Lansing gardeners to be thinking about summer planting. For those interested in starting their flowers, vegetables, and herbs as seedlings indoors, this is the season for getting organized.

The idea of starting seeds indoors is attractive to northern gardeners for several reasons. First, gardening work can start in January rather than having to wait until the ground is ready for planting. Second, there are a large variety of plants that are much less expensive to start by seed than to purchase as seedlings. Third, starting one’s own seeds in winter can allow a gardener to obtain produce, greens, and flowers sooner than if she or he waits for warm weather to start work. Plus, it can be enjoyable.

Planning ahead is important to successfully germinating seeds, i.e., having them turn from seeds into seedlings that you can plant outside. Here are a few key steps:

1. Know your seeds. To germinate, some seeds need to be in soil with minerals (e.g., redwoods), some seeds need light (e.g., lettuce), some seeds need periods of cold (e.g., Rudbeckia, also known as “black-eyed Susan”), and some seeds just like a bit of damp warmth (e.g., basil). If a seed package doesn’t tell you what you need to do, nowadays the Internet makes it easy to look these things up.
2. Allow enough time for what the seeds will need, especially if a seed needs a bit of “stratification,” i.e., to be moved through various steps, such that you meet its requirements for germination. Stratification is required for some seeds to activate the enzymes that break the seed out of dormancy. For example, some seeds will need to spend time in a cold, damp place (like the garage or refrigerator) before they can be planted. Most stratification protocols are as simple as putting the seeds in damp dirt in a sealed sandwich bag and putting the whole thing in the refrigerator for the required number of days. If you live with others, don’t forget to label your bag, lest some well-meaning housemate toss the thing out. (Not that has ever happened to me. Ahem.) [Editor's note: In my defense, I found in the frig a mushroom container apparently containing nothing but dirt. I thought we had reached a new low—accidentally composting food in the frig.]
3. Get your hands on some good seed starting mix. You can mix your own (compost or coconut husk, perlite, vermiculite, and a bit of lime—the mineral, not the citrus) or you can buy a mix. I buy a mix because it is more likely to be sterile, less likely to have stray seeds than my compost, and it is easier and more convenient. (I get mine at Van Attas’ or Horrocks’.)
4. Collect planting containers. You can use anything that is 1-3 inches deep. You can buy devices for making your own newspaper cups; you can use cardboard egg cartons; or you can purchase premade plastic or peat trays/pots. (Both plastic and peat come with environmental downsides.)
5. Dampen the seed starting mix and put it in the containers.
6. Laydown the seeds. I recommend you plant at least a few basil seeds, because basil always works.
7. Most seeds should be covered in about an eighth-of-an-inch of seed starting mix, but a few seeds need light to germinate, and those should be left uncovered.
8. Spray down the whole thing with water using a spray bottle. Buying a good spray bottle is worth the money if you’re going to grow seeds.
9. Cover the whole thing with kitchen plastic wrap to keep in the moisture. All seeds need water to break dormancy and start germination. The water allows the seed’s amylase to break starch into the sugar the seed needs for germination. (Fun fact: Amylase is an enzyme that we also make in our bodies. We have it in our mouths and guts.)
10. Arrange light and warmth. You can use a windowsill or simple fluorescent lights. Your set-up just has to be functional and need not be fancy. For most seedlings, I use an old shop fluorescent lamp fixture outfitted with full spectrum bulbs, and it works fine. For others, like the garlic sprouts shown below, I used our south-facing windowsills.

Keep in mind that seeds need oxygen. Until a young plant has enough leaves to begin to photosynthesize, all of the seedling’s energy is coming from the seed, and the seed and sprout will need oxygen to grow. As a consequence, some airflow helps, although even just gentling brushing the seedlings now and then will help them.

Here are some of my preferences that you might consider if you are a budding East Lansing gardener:

I use peat pots for seed-starting because they are easy to transplant directly to the outdoor garden.

I put my peat pots in plastic trays. Once the seeds germinate, they need to be watered, and compostable trays just don’t hold up to the watering. Plastic trays are reusable and you can sometimes find good trays at MSU Salvage.

I try to water without getting the leaves wet to avoid “dampening off,” which Wikipedia describes as “a horticultural disease or condition, caused by a number of different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate.” If seedlings “dampen off,” they will not grow well. To water without wetting leaves, I pour water into the plastic trays and let it seep into the peat pots from the trays.

As you succeed, don’t forget to thin your seedlings to one plant per pot. The seedlings of edible greens (e.g., lettuce, basil, etc.) can be eaten as micro-greens. They are often packed with the flavor of coming summer.

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