Starting your own seeds indoors may seem intimidating or overwhelming. But you can do it with extremely few, inexpensive supplies – many of which are upcycled or reusable. Here is my method for fast, easy, indoor garden seed starting that actually works:
Fast, Easy Indoor Garden Seed Starting
The method I use is common among master gardeners and small nursery growers. It makes the best use of space, soil, seeds and electricity usage. Plus it is just so easy that children can help!
Indoor Seed Starting Supplies Needed:
Below are Amazon affiliate links to products I use and show in my photos
Seed Starting Potting Mix (I happen to use Miracle Grow brand because I like how fine it is)
Seedling Heat Mat sized for 10×20 inch trays (I often need 2 heat mats)
10×20 inch plastic seedling tray or a half-size sheet pan roughly 15×11 inches or larger
10×20 inch clear dome or any clear plastic kitchen lid to fit over the tray or sheet pan you’re using
If you want an all in one seed starting kit with a heat mat, there are some great options!
Upcycled small plastic containers in 3 to 8 ounce sizes (I like using 4 oz yogurt cups)
Grow Light (I’m using the Root Farm brand but any full spectrum grow light will do)
Indoor Seed Starting: Using the Starter-Cup Method
I absolutely love this method of seed starting because it is both easy and forgiving. If seedlings get leggy overnight (looking at you, tomato babies), you have multiple chances to correct it as you pot the seedlings up.
How to Begin:
I pour the dry seed starting mix into a Behren’s bucket and add water to moisten it. I mix with a hand trowel to ensure all of it gets wet. Then I scoop it into the clean, upcycled yogurt containers which hold about a half cup. I fill one yogurt container cup for every variety of seed I want to start. So if I have 5 seed packets for different colored bell peppers, I fill 5 cups – one for each seed type. (Afflinks)
Label the Cup & Add the Seeds
I love how simple this method is. To one yogurt cup I add however many seeds I want to start (usually 4 to 6 for veggies and more for flowers) knowing that 50-80% are going to germinate. I give the cup of seeds a gentle watering and slip in a waterproof label that I make by cutting up aluminum drink cans and writing on them in ball point pen so it etches the aluminum.
Onto the Heat Mat if Needed
Pepper seeds and many other warm weather loving plants will have their seed cup set directly on the heat mat to warm up and encourage germination. The heat mat runs 24/7, keeping the cups happily warm and speeding up germination. Tomato seeds only get 24-48 hours of heat mat time and I pull them off the moment I see one swollen seed beginning to emerge. Flowers, lettuce and many other cool weather garden veggies won’t need the heat mat but peppers almost always do.
Optional: Cover Seed Cups with a Clear Plastic Lid
I have two 10×20 seedling trays with clear lids but I also use a clear muffin pan lid over a simple sheet pan. Covering the seed cups sitting on the heat mat is important because it traps both warmth and moisture so the seeds don’t dry out and germinate more quickly.
A Grow Light Helps
I like to place my seed cups under a grow light to germinate so as soon as the seedling pops up, it doesn’t go leggy looking for light.
Now We Wait for Seeds to Germinate!
It can take 7-14 days for the seeds in the cup to germinate without heat and 3-7 days to germinate on the heat mat. Once you have a few strong seedlings up with leaves unfurled, it is time to pot them up into a larger growing cell.
Prepare Cell Trays for Planting Up the Seedlings
I use the same Miracle Grow seed starting mix to fill the cells of my module trays. Here I’m using the extra thick, long-lasting Charles Dowding CD15 trays which ship from a local Texas company. It’s the perfect size to help the seedlings develop a strong root system for two more weeks before going into a larger pot.
Transferring Germinated Seeds
Using a seedling tool or pencil, carefully lift and pull the seedling from the loose soil. You may need to untangle its roots as you coax it out. Plant the seedling deeply into the cell, burying the roots completely and part of the stem to provide support.
Why Do Indoor Seed Starting This Way?
By starting seeds in a separate small cup, you weed out the duds who won’t germinate and select the absolute strongest seedlings to place into your growing trays. Seed starting space is limited so it is better if every spot in your cell trays are full for the weeks they will need under the grow light. Seeds germinate so quickly that a cup loaded with seeds is a great way to start a lot of varieties and then select the best. This way you ensure you have cell trays full of only the strongest seedlings, which are going to need space and care for the next 6-8 weeks. The starter-cup method is how many small nurseries and farmer’s market growers handle their seed starting.
The Perfect Solution for Leggy Seedlings
Sometimes seedlings just go leggy. If you have started them in a cup, you can fix this by transplanting them “up to their necks” in the cell tray and then ensure they get the bright, full-spectrum light they need to stop them from continuing to reach for light. If they get a smidgen leggy in the cell trays, you can again bury them up to their necks when they are potted up into their final size container to harden off before being planted in the garden in a few weeks. The starter-cup method is what finally helped me manage those always-leggy tomato seedlings.
Give it a try!
If you’ve never used this method of indoor seed starting, try it just once. It is so easy that you may never go back to whatever method you used before!
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