Starting seeds

Step by step

1. 

   Step 1

   Fill the trays

   Fill the little cells with seed-starting mix, not garden dirt. Press it down lightly and water it so it is damp like a wrung-out sponge.Fill cells with a light, sterile seed-starting mix (not garden soil), tamp gently, and pre-moisten until it holds together but does not drip.

2. 

   Step 2

   Plant at the right depth

   Plant each seed at the depth its seed packet lists. A simple rule: cover a seed about twice as deep as it is wide. Tiny seeds barely get covered.Sow to the crop's depth (a good rule is about twice the seed's width); press fine seed onto the surface and barely cover, since some need light to germinate.

3. 

   Step 3

   Put the dome on

   Put the clear plastic dome on top. It keeps the soil damp while the seeds wake up. Take it off as soon as you see the first sprouts, so the air can move.Cover with the humidity dome to hold moisture through germination; keep it on only until the first sprouts break the surface, then remove it to keep air moving and prevent damping-off.

4. 

   Step 4

   Add bottom heat

   Set the tray on the heat mat. Gentle warmth from underneath helps the seeds sprout faster and more evenly. Once they are up, you can take the mat away.Set the tray on the heat mat to hold the mix at the crop's germination temperature; warmth from below is what drives fast, even emergence. Remove the mat once seedlings are up.

5. 

   Step 5

   Light, the moment they sprout

   As soon as they sprout, they need lots of light: 12 to 16 hours a day. Keep the light just 2 to 4 inches above the little plants and move it up as they grow. A windowsill by itself is usually not enough and they get tall and floppy.Seedlings need 12 to 16 hours of bright light a day the instant they emerge; keep the lamp 2 to 4 inches above the tops and raise it as they grow. A sunny windowsill alone usually yields leggy, stretched seedlings.

6. 

   Step 6

   Water from below

   Pour water into the bottom tray, not over the tops, and let the soil soak it up. Let the surface dry out a little between waterings so it does not stay soggy.Water into the tray beneath the cells and let the mix wick moisture up; this keeps the surface from crusting and the stems dry. Let the top just begin to dry between waterings.

7. 

   Step 7

   Pot up when they crowd

   When the plants make their real leaves and outgrow the little cells, move them into bigger pots so they keep growing. Pick them up by a leaf, never by the stem.Once true leaves appear and roots fill the cell, move seedlings to larger pots to keep them growing on without checking; handle by the leaves, never the stem.