Yesterday I kicked off the 2016 seed starting season. I sowed seeds for early plantings of arugula, lettuce, parsley, mizspoona and kale. I’ll be starting more seeds as soon as the new seed orders arrive, but yesterday I was able to use leftover seeds and get some things going.
128 cell plug flat filled with Pro-Mix
I am a fan of using plug flats for most of my seed starting activities. I have them with several sizes of cells, and I have found they help me conserve space under the grow lights and let me grow a large number of young plants that way. Yesterday I used one with 128 cells which is a good size for salad greens and herbs. I got all my plug flats from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, and they usually last me for four or five seasons of heavy use before I have to replace them. I’m using Pro-Mix potting soil as the growing medium.
128 cell plug flat showing size
Since parsley usually takes a longer time to germinate (sometime up to two weeks), I sowed those seeds separately in 3.5 inch plastic pots. Then I covered with plastic film to help keep the soil moist until germination. I will remove it once the seeds are up and growing, and eventually transplant the seedlings into individual pots.
container for parsley seeds
Back in 2013 I covered the basics of seed starting in my Seed Starting 101. And last year I shared a look at my indoor Seed Starting Setup. For the general timetable I follow every year check out my Seed Starting and Planting Schedule. I’ll be back with more updates on my seed starting activities as they happen.