Seed Starting!

This year I decided I was going to save money by starting my plants from seed.  My thoughts were, why spend $3-$10 per plant if you can spend $1-$3 for a whole bunch of them?  I really thought I was onto something!  So in the beginning I planted seedlings in any recycled container I could find, using miracle gro premium potting soil.

Watermellon planted in Mountain Dew bottles with bamboo stake supports.  The edges of the bottles were sharp, and cut the plants when they rubbed, so I added the supports.  These little planters did very well lined up on my windowsill.

Then I tried planting in seed flats, then moved peat pellet seed trays, and finally I have found a method that works best of all!

The wet paper towel method.  I have had amazing success with this!  No more faithfully watering, waiting for 10-20 days for seeds to sprout, wondering what the heck is going on under that dirt.
1.Get a water-tight containter (my favorite was a plastic muffin pan rack).  A styrofoam plate will even work.
2. Fold over a paper towel.  Open it up so you can put the seeds in between the layers.
3. Spread your seeds on top of the paper towel and fold the top layer over so you have made a little pocket with the seeds inside.
4. Label your seeds so you know whats in there, and pour water over your paper towel, submerging the whole paper towel.  You want to keep this pretty wet, but don't worry about your seeds drowning. As long as you plant your seeds pretty soon after they sprout they will be fine.  Place the container with teh paper towle and seeds in a safe, warm place. (warmer than 60 degrees seems to work well)

This is a great method for having high germination rates(meaning more of you seeds will actually sprout)  I have had nearly 100% germination with this method!  Plus if you're anxious, nosey, or just impatient for results, this is the way to go as you can peek under yout paper towel as many times you want to check the progress of the seedlings.  Depending on your seeds, you will see them crack open within a day or so, then a day or two later roots, then leaves.  Once you see you have leaves, make sure you plant them.  I like to transplant them to a shallow, wide mouthed container like a sandwich tupperware or cut-in-half milk jug with drainage holes.  spread your little seedlings out, cover lightly with soil, and water gently.  Check them in another day or two and you will see them emerging out of the dirt.  Once the seedlings are up and have their first set of leaves on them, you can thin them out of the tray, taking the strongest-looking ones only, and plant them into a container by themselves.

Day 3

Day 3 Zinnias

Day 4 Oriental Poppies

Day 4-after starting the paper towel method! Romain lettuce.  Notice these seedlings are strong and upright. 

At this point, you want to make sure they get PLENTY of light!  If not, they will look weak, scraggly, and wimpy.

These seedlings were started too early, and didn't get enough light:

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Two hours of being in the sun outside reduced them to this:

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Make sure when you do start putting them outside they are sheltered from the wind, sun and heat.  Try putting them outside in the late afternoon, where they won't get direct sunlight baking down on them.  And definitely keep the soil slightly moist.  Once they start getting used to the harsh outside world, you can put them outside for longer, with less shelter, with more sunlight.