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Like many gardeners, oncethe holiday clean up is done, my mind turns to garden planningand seed starting; especially with all thenew seed catalogues arriving in my mailbox each day! However, January is far too early to startmost seedsandsowingseeds too early is just as bad – maybe worse! – than starting them too late. Don’t waste your time, money, and supplies with early seed starting. Here are three pitfalls of planting seeds too early.
3 pitfalls of planting seeds too early:
1) Too little light – Those who rely on a sunny windowsill to start their seeds would be wise to wait until a little longer for seed sowing. Most plants need at least 10 hours of light in order to grow well, and in January, much of the Northern Hemisphere receives less than that. In my Nova Scotia garden, I only get about nine hours of light in early to mid-January. Too little light results in leggy, spindly seedlings, which will never make good garden plants.
Related Post: Best way to start seeds: Grow lights or sunny windowsills
2) An indoor jungle – For grow-light gardeners, lack of light isn’t a problem; as long as the light bulbs are hanging only about 3 inches abovethe plants. And, adequate lightwill eliminate the leggy factor and help produce sturdy, well branched seedlings. But,starting your seeds too sooncan still be a problem. How?Seeds sowntoo early will resultin bigger plants…. which then need to be potted up into bigger containers… which willquickly take over your seed starting area/house and cost you more money is potting soil, organic fertilizer and pots. Plus, you’ll need to be on top of watering, as those sizeable seedlings willneed more frequent irrigation.
3) Big plants can bolt – And those big plants in the big pots? Well, they canthink that they’ve reached maturity and start producing flowers and fruits while still inside your house. In the case of tomatoes, youmay think this gives youan awesome head start to a homegrown harvest, but this is not the case. Tomato plants grow andyield best when they are transplanted before they begin to flower, 6 to 8 weeksfromsowing seed. I start my tomatoes in mid-March, for mid-May transplanting. Bolting can also adversely affect other typesof seedlings like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins. This will reduce or eliminate your harvest, not hasten it.
So, if planting seeds too early is bad, when should youstart your vegetable, herb and flower seeds? Refer to the seed packet, catalogue or company website. They should offer accurate advice on when to sow seeds foreach type of plant. You can also find an excellent seed starting calculator here. Just enter your last average frost date and it will tell you when to seed indoors.
Related Post: A beginner’s guide to planting garden seeds
In the meantime, if you’re still itching to getseeding, try these simple indoor garden projects.
Savvy January sowing:
- Plant up a few pots or trays ofshoots or microgreens. We love sunflower shoots, baby kale, and Asian greens. For best results, sow seedunder grow-lights.
- Organize your seeds! I always have the best intentions to keep my seed boxes well organized. By September however, succession planting and repeated sowings has resulted in seed box chaos. Takethis opportunity to go throughyour seed packets, discarding any that are old, and donating any that you won’t use again. You can also take inventory of what you have, which will help you decide what to order. Keep seeds organizedin a photo box, photo album or other type of storage container.
- Now that you’ve organized your seeds, it’s time to go through your favourite seed catalogues and orderfresh seeds. Besure to check out someof the newly introduced varieties, likethe 2017 All-America Selection winners!
Will you be starting any seeds indoors this spring?
