We’ve been starting seeds for the past couple of weeks. Isn’t is exciting to watch them sprout and develop? I find myself checking on them five times a day or more, waiting for the surprise arrival when those first seedlings pop out of the soil.

The paper towel-baggie trick

One of the tricks I’ve used a lot with seed starting is by placing them between layers of moistened paper towels in a ziploc-type bag — take a look at this earlier post which has a lot of great details – I won’t repeat it all here.

This year, I tried to start them directly in seed starting mix in small pots, but a few varieties were slow to germinate, so I did another batch of lavender and agastache (hyssop) with the paper towel method. It took 3-4 days for the lavender to sprout, and five days for the agastache.

Give a little heat

Some of the seeds require a heating pad under the pots (or under the baggies) to get germination, and some require cooler temps. Some require darkness (I’m still waiting for the ‘rocket’ larkspurs to germinate in covered, dark pots). I end up moving the heating pad around to different trays over several days — if one tray isn’t germinating, I’ll warm it until it does, and then move on to another one that hasn’t germinated. Sometimes, even though a seed is supposed to want cooler temps, it finally germinates when it’s warmed a bit. Experiment with yours if you don’t get germination after a week or two — don’t just take for granted the instructions on the seed packet or online.

Light!

Once they have sprouted, remove the heat. Also remove any humidity covers you may have placed over the trays while waiting for germination. You MUST have light VERY close to the seedlings, or they will stretch too hard, trying to reach the light, and their stems will be weak (etiolated) and flop over. This is a frequent problem when people decide to grow seedlings in a windowsill — they aren’t getting bright enough light, and they reach for the sunshine and flop. So, I rigged some fluorescent tube lights hanging just a couple inches over the trays in my garage. As the seedlings grow, move the lights up, but keep them within 2-3 inches of the tops of the plants.

I’ve also placed some trays outside, but not in direct sun all day (they’re in bright shade and then some late afternoon sun for a few hours). I’m trying to see how it works — usually I do them inside, but I didn’t have enough room for the nine trays we’re doing year. The seeds I put outside are things that are often direct sown anyway, so I hope they’re tough enough to do well there.

Our 2019 list

Here are the seeds we’ve started. We’re planning to use all of these for our big front-yard makeover (no doubt we’ll also buy some additional plants):

• Agastache rupestris (can’t remember the variety – an orange-to-salmon colored flower)
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), seeds from our old house in Utah, where the lavenders that existed before we moved there were quite vigorous and reseeded in sidewalk cracks and everywhere — we loved how hardy and strong they were.
• Zinnia, ‘Envy’ (the green-flowered kind) ‘Whirligig,’ and ‘Northern Lights’
• Marigold, ‘French Vanilla’
• Blanket flower (Gaillardia grandiflora)
• White coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’)
• Hollyhocks
• Lavatera tauricensis (my all-time favorite perennial)
• Shasta daisy
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
• Larkspur ‘Rocket’
• Wave petunia, some purple variety

I don’t have photos of every plant above, but here’s a gallery of some of them from my gardens over the years.

We’re getting excited to see our babies grow! Are you starting seeds this year? What are you growing? Let’s talk in the comments below.