Starting Plants from Seed
by Sharon Carr, Rideau Lakes Horticultural Society
Many gardeners shy away from starting plants by seed thinking that it will be too complicated to get all the conditions right or too expensive to get all the special equipment. Well, you can put that thinking behind you …
I always say that there are no failures in starting seeds, just experiments so don’t expect every seed to germinate or every seedling to grow into a beautiful healthy plant. The fun of starting plants from seed is keeping track of what you planted, and how, to see what has worked and learn from that.
Direct Sowing Outdoors - If you’re new to growing plants from seed you might want to try picking some plants (perennials, herbs or vegetables) that are known to grow easily from seed outdoors. One of these is the purple coneflower (echinacea). Follow the seed packet directions carefully for when to sow and how deep to sow and keep track of when they germinate (show the first set of “natal” leaves”) and when the true leaves begin to appear (now you have a seedling).
The toughest part of sowing seeds outdoors is knowing what’s coming up and if it’s the plant you want or just a weed. One way to make this easier is to sow the seeds in some kind of pattern that will be obvious when they come up and are all looking alike. Many seedlings will transplant easily once they’ve got several sets of true leaves if you want to move them to another spot in your garden.
