Tips from the Potting Bench

We have been busy cleaning and resurfacing the green house this winter. Of course, this meant taking everything in it out of it and that included an old fish tank that has been sitting near my potting bench for 9 years. Those of you who have visited know that in the spring that tank is home, mating ground and nursery to the cutest little frogs. Each afternoon as the sun is moving behind the hill the frogs start their mating calls, they come from all over the green house and especially the tank area. Their croaking drowns out any civil conversation with their desperate pleas for a mate.

When we got the floor done, the benches were sterilized and put back into place, but I have been slow at getting everything else back in, including the frog tank.  I didn’t think too much of it, although I was kind of remembering that frogs will come back to the body of water that they were born in to mate and lay their eggs, and they were starting to call for mates. Then yesterday, after a day at the potting bench, I was cleaning up and putting things away when I moved a hand truck that was parked right where the tank should have been.  There, all scrunched up under it, was a frog looking all lonely and confused. Of course he was looking for his body of water so he could get on with his springtime business! I dropped everything, called Laurie to the greenhouse to help me and we moved the tank back into its place…later that evening he could be heard calling away from behind the water iris planted in the tank!

Last week I gave you the timing of when to start which plants, this week let’s look at how to start those seeds. Veggie and annual flower seeds are some of the easiest seeds to start, meet their needs and you are on your way to a bountiful garden. Their needs are much like ours;  water, air, soil, light and warmth.

Let’s look at soil first. Soil for seedlings should be light, have lots of air space but also be able to hold water well. There are special seed starting mixes you can buy, I have never used them so I can’t make any comments about them. I do know they tend to be expensive for what you get. We make our own here by taking a good organic potting soil, lightening it up with perlite or vermiculite and adding a bit of coir to hold water. You could just as easily use sterilized garden soil mixed with  good compost and lightened up with perlite. I say sterilized garden soil because there are many pathogens in the soil that could kill your baby seedlings. To kill these bad guys fill and seal a turkey bag with moist soil, use a thermometer , poking a hole in the bag, and monitor the temperature. You want to heat the soil to 160-170 degrees and keep it there for 30 minutes. You don’t have to use the bag but the smell of  heated soil is really strong. Let the soil cool, then add some good compost to re-inoculate it with good critters, add some perlite for air space and some coir, mix it all together and fill your containers.

Providing good strong light is easy using a shop light fitted with one warm and one cool fluorescent bulb. These two bulbs together will provide a full spectrum of light for your young plants. Of course you can buy a special plant light and pay all kinds of money for it, but for seedlings it just isn’t necessary.

Seeds will only germinate once all their requirements have been met and heat is a crucial one. This is where buying a heat mat with a thermometer is a good investment. They provide constant and even warmth to the soil. We keep our heat mats set for 72 degrees and we monitor that with a soil thermometer.

Now that all these things are in place it is time to sow your seeds. Read the instructions on the packet,  there is a lot of good information there and usually some tips on germination. Scatter the seeds on the surface of the soil making sure not to plant too thickly. Next cover the seeds with a sprinkling of soil,  just enough so no light reaches them,  many seeds need darkness to initiate germination. Water the seeds in gently and place the pots on the heat mat positioned under your lights. Once the seeds have germinated, position the light (this is only for fluorescent lights) about 2 inches above the top of the plants. As the plants grow raise the lights so that they are always 2 inches above the foliage.

Next week we will look at pricking out, or stepping the seedlings into their pots.