Seed Starting Secrets

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Depth: In nature, seeds fall off parent plants and hitchhike or are windborne to a new home. They are rarely buried very deep, if at all. A "rule of green thumb" is to cover each seed type to a depth of about three times its width. Very fine seeds, such as lettuce, can simply be pressed into the soil's surface.

Damping-Off: If you check a flat of seedlings and find that some or all of them are lying wilted on their sides, looking for all the world as if they'd been squeezed between a dirty index finger and thumb, damping-off is the culprit. This fungus attacks quickly, so prevention is the key. I generally sprinkle about one-eighth inch of clean coarse sand over the soil once my seedlings come up. This gives better drainage at that critical area where stem meets soil. A tea made from chamomile or stinging nettle can also be added. These herbal concoctions are said to inhibit damping-off and to give the youngsters added vim and vigor. If compost is used in the soil mix, it should be strictly vegetative, incorporating no manures. Trays, flats, and tools must also be kept clean. You can wash them with soap and disinfect them in a one part bleach to ten parts water solution . . . or leave them outdoors to dry in the sun for a day or two . . . or do both.

If damping-off strikes down only a few seedlings, you can try — as I have with success — picking out the affected plants, washing your hands well to avoid spreading the disease, adding a sand layer, thinning if necessary, moving the whole flat to a sunnier or airier place, and watering with chamomile tea.

Birds of a Feather: Sow seeds with similar requirements in the same flat. When peppers and tomatoes are next to one another, for instance, the tomatoes may come up and be ready to prick out before the peppers have even broken the surface. This leaves half the flat torn up, which is no great disaster, but does make watering uneven and isn't an efficient way to free up growing space. Whether you're using flats or individual growing containers, grouping plants with similar germination rates and requirements permits easy adjustments in light, heat, and moisture.

Presoaking: Don't soak large seeds in water too long or they may split. The moist cloth/paper towel "mummy" method is safer. Dampen a few layers of paper towels — or cloth of about the same dimensions — and lay the presprouting candidates on them, allowing an inch of separation for larger seeds and a half inch for smaller ones. Roll the material into a tube (you can fold over the edges if need be), put the whole thing into a plastic bag, and set it in a warm place. The heat from just the pilot light in my oven is the right temperature. Be sure to check often to see if germination has occurred.

Practice Prudence: It's a good idea, especially when dealing with heirlooms or rare seeds, to never sow all of one variety at once. Instead, hold some back in case the crop doesn't make it for some reason.

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