How to Start Garden Seeds Indoors

When it comes to starting garden seeds indoors you’ll hear so many varying points of view.  Doc goes over some alternatives to traditional indoor seed starting. How deep to plant seeds, how to water new seedlings, grow lights, and adding nutrients. More tips below. 

Garden Seeds Indoor Video

Garden Seed Starting Products

Dirt Booster Compost Maker

DirtBooster will be available on Amazon soon. It contains everything you need to create an active compost pile. It can also be tilled into your gardens.  

Large 6″ Seed pots

Seed Starting Heat Pad

Warming Mats

Seed Watering Bottles

Seed Starting Grow Lights

Indoor Seed Starting Tips

Seed Depth – Most people plant seeds too deep. Plant all seeds 2-3 their height. So if the seed is 1/8″ plant it 3/8″ deep. 

Water Top Down – Just like nature water your seeds gently from the top down. Do not leave in a pool of water.

Add DirtBooster Compost to the lower layers.  As your seeds grow they want nutrients. 

The more sun and light the better. 

When do new seedlings Need Nutrients

Plug researchers have identified four stages of seedling growth and have developed guidelines for fertilizing each stage (Table 1). Fertility is not a critical factor for most species during Stage 1 because most seeds have enough stored nutrients to carry out germination. Also, many germination media have a starter charge of fertilizer which is effective at supplying nutrients as the root emerges and elongates.

The most important factors for germination are temperature of the growth medium and a proper balance between moisture level and aeration. Beginning in Stage 2 a dilute fertilizer program is normally started and the rate of application is gradually increased as the seedlings grow larger and approach transplanting. 

Stage 1: Germination and root emergence. — No fertilizer

Stage 2: Opening of  the cotyledons. —25-50 ppm N

Stage 3: Development of 1^st set of true leaves. —50-100 ppm N

Stage 4: 1st set of true leaves to transplant. —>100 ppm N