454-More Seed Starting Tips You'll Be Glad to Know

Hi, everybody. I'm Joe Lample, the Joe behind Joe Gardener and welcome to the Joe Gardener show. Last week's episode was an encore on getting ready for seed starting. And I recorded that a year ago, but the information was very relevant. Then as it was last week, when it aired again, I was out of the country and I wanted to share that with you because, as you know, we're getting ready for that time of year where we're sewing our seeds. And there's a lot of good meat in there that you could use and apply it to your process coming up no matter where you are, whether you're a brand new seed starter or you've been added a while, I think I had some things in there that probably includes everybody that was watching or listening. Now, since then, I've had a chance to go back and listen to that again and having a full week back in the country. I also was in heavily involved in my seed starting and thought of a few things that I could have added to that or wanted to add to that, which is what this episode is about. So really, this is going to pay back on that episode. So if you haven't heard or watched episode number 453, go ahead and do that at some point, preferably before this one, but either way, this one piggybacks on that. So both of them complement each other. So today, I'm going to share with you a few things that I thought of over the week that I wanted to add on. So that's the plan. And so let's get into that. And as we do, thanks to our sponsors for today's episode. So cube and the online gardening academy. We probably know by now having access to high quality compost is my not so secret weapon for the success of everything I grow in my garden. And that's why I'm so proud to be partnering with soil cubed. 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I have an announcement for you that happens only once a year and the time is now master seed starting is officially open for enrollment in my online gardening academy. And for a limited time, you can join for $100 off the regular price plus a 15-day refund policy. If you've ever felt frustrated, confused or overwhelmed, trying to start seeds indoors or outdoors, you're not alone because seeds can feel mysterious. And a lot of advice out there just glosses over the real challenges like when to start, how to care for seedlings, what equipment actually matters, like the lighting, and how to fix problems fast. And that's exactly what my master seed starting course helps you do. With 75 plus step-by-step video lessons, you'll learn how germination really works, how to set up your seed starting space. And went in how to water, fertilized, transplant, and hardened off so you can grow strong healthy seedlings from start to finish. And when things go sideways, seeds don't sprout, seedlings go leaky or plant stall out, I'll show you how to troubleshoot what's happening and get back on track with confidence. Plus, once you join, you get lifetime access on any device, including future course updates. You also get access to my twice monthly live office hours for Q&A and access to a supportive community with no Facebook and no social media. Enrollment is open now, but the early bird discount ends at Midnight February 2nd, Eastern Time. So you can learn more and enroll at joguardner.com slash MSS. And let me help you become a better, smarter, more confident seed starter. That's joguardner.com slash MSS. One of the things I covered last week was just making sure you had everything ready to go before seed starting season happened. And of course, I talked about the seeds. But one thing I didn't mention then that occurred to me later was thinking about the companies that you're working with. And I know I talked about going with the companies that you are familiar with that have good reputations that have been out there a while that you can depend on for the seeds that you get. Not only for the freshness of them, the viability percentages go up when their current seeds and they print that information on the package. So you know that. And of course, they've been out of the wild and they have really good sources for where they get seed that they order from as well. There's wholesalers out there that sell and bulk to a lot of the seed companies, even the big ones, because they can't grow everything they offer. So they partner with their fellow growers. But sometimes you'll go to those sources that you can rely on and trust and have used for years, but they may be out of something. And that happened to me in December when I was trying to be proactive in ordering seeds in advance so that I could get some started or at least have them on hand before those companies ran out of stock. Well, some of the varieties I was looking for were already out of stock. And as hard as I tried to source them from the companies that I've used in the past, I didn't have any luck. So I had to go to companies I've never used before. One was a company off of a website. I did a search for the type of seeds I was looking for. And they were the only company that came up. I wasn't familiar with them, but I needed them. So that's who I ordered it from. And when I got those seed packets, they didn't have a sell-by or a used-by date on them, which would indicate when they were put into the package. So the viability or the freshness of the seed, there was no indication of that. So that right there was a red flag to me. And since then, I've had time to observe how well they germinated. And the fact is a lot of them didn't germinate at all. And some of the ones that did germinate didn't last. They just kind of faded away very quickly in the process. So they weren't good quality seeds to begin with even when they did germinate. So that's a red flag. That's one of the first things I want to mention to you is when you are ordering your seeds, whether that's for now or for next time, do your best to order in advance and make sure that you're getting them from a company that provides that information. So you can be assured that what you're getting is fresh seed. That didn't happen this time. I have no idea how all those seeds were, but clearly from the performance or lack of the performance this time, I have my doubts that they were fresh at all. The other scenario I ran into this time was because there were certain tomato seed varieties that I couldn't find in stock from my normal companies. I actually had to end up going to eBay and Etsy, which isn't any problem whatsoever on the surface. But the people that are selling there are more individuals or mom or pop online businesses. I have that too. So that's all fine. But what I couldn't be assured of when I ordered was how fresh the seeds were, were they really the variety of the seed that I was ordering? A lot of times seed companies, even large ones, sometimes mix up the seed varieties and what you order is not what you get. So that's a very common situation and it happens sooner or later and you'll discover that if you haven't already. But with the smaller companies, because there may not be the protocols in place to ensure that doesn't happen, maybe the chances are greater than it does. So anyway, I ended up ordering seeds from both Etsy and eBay from individual sellers and I got those seeds within a reasonable time. They were exactly as they advertised. But maybe what I should have done before I ordered them was verify when those seeds were saved. So I would at least have a verbal insurance, at least if they were relatively current. But I didn't do that just going on good faith because I was kind of out of time and I needed to get those seeds. I have not started those seeds yet. So I don't know how viable they are, but I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to the providers. But the message here in both scenarios is do your best to order your seeds from the companies that you trust that you have used before that have a great reputation and then have been out there for a while. That's a great place to start. And as long as you do it early enough, chances are you're going to get the varieties that they offer and they will have them in stock. But surprisingly, for me, I guess, or maybe not even in early December, some of those most popular varieties were already gone. So food for thought there. The next thing was when you're ordering your seed, oftentimes the packets that we order because we don't need a lot. I mean, how many tomato plants are you going to grow of one variety? So maybe 25 seeds in a packet is plenty for you, not only for one season, but for multiple seasons, especially if you store it properly, they will last for a long time. So that may be all you need. In my case, I always start probably 72 cells of each variety. Now, in my case, I need more than 25 for many of the varieties I buy because we have a seedling sale every April with my daughter, Amy. You probably know that already, but this is why when I'm ordering seeds, I'm looking for more than just one packet of 25. But if you are to look at rather than buy multiple packets of 25, for example, look at what other offerings they have. For example, maybe the next bump up would be an ounce of seeds, which may be a few hundred or even a few thousand if you're buying native perennial seeds. They can be like grains of sand. But anyway, my point is the increased cost for the next amount of seed volume that you can buy may be minimal for the additional volume that you get. It may be a great deal. So that's what I always ask myself. Even when I am going to the next level, if it's way more seeds than I am going to need this season, and maybe even the next, because I know that I can store them for longevity, it's still a good deal, but I always ask myself, is this worth it? And rarely is it not worth it because I can always reuse those extras. So look at that. Anytime you need more than just the one packet, and I have found that oftentimes two packets will cost more than the next level up, which has far more seeds than the combined total of the two individual packets. So keep that in mind. So that's what I want to add to that section of getting ready as you are considering where you're buying your seeds from and how many you need to order. I also talked about lighting fairly extensively, but not nearly to the level that it could be discussed. And it made me realize that I really need to do an entire episode on lighting an updated episode on grow lights. I've done it in the past, but it's been a few years and things have evolved since then. And I think I need to address some of that and bring you up to speed, because if you really want to be good at starting your seeds, the lighting has a lot to do with that. And there's a lot to know, but like quality, the duration of the lights, the type of life that you're using, and more is very important. So I would like for you if you're interested to learn about that aspect. So I plan on doing another episode in the next few weeks. I need to put it together, and I'll get that out there as soon as I can. But that will cover all the rest of the information about lighting. But I do want to just add a couple points of interest right here that you should keep in mind. One of the main things to talk about as you're working with your grow lights, you have two options, generally with home seed starting, LED lights and fluorescent lights. That's a bit old school, but they've been updated with more efficient light tubes, smaller tubes that put out more light and less heat. And I am a big fan of fluorescent lights. I've been using them for years. I still use them and I use LED lights because I grow a lot. I need a lot of lights. And so I use both. But once you learn how to use those lights, it's no problem. And both will work. It's just learning how to work with the lights that you have. But one thing about fluorescent lights that could be considered a downside is that fluorescent lights put out more heat. And that may not be a bad thing if you're in an unheated greenhouse and you want that heat over the top of your seed lanes. Well, that's great. That's going to work in your favor. But if you're in a climate controlled environment like inside of your house, you probably don't need that heat and it can actually create some problems as it did with me when I was out of the country trying to face time with my daughter who was doing a great job keeping up with the watering. But one of the things that we really didn't address was how the seedlings were responding to the light overhead. Something specific that happened to me while I was gone that I wanted to share with you that you can avoid from what happened to me is when you are using fluorescent lights, the heat that can be generated from those lights can be significant. But that also is exacerbated when the tops of the plants are too close to the bulbs then you're going to get more heat. So that can easily be adjusted. But you just need to pay attention to that on a daily basis. In my case, because I was away from town, I didn't have that ability. And so as the seedlings were drying out because they weren't getting watered every day, we were trying to keep up with that remotely. And we did a pretty good job with that with my daughter. But between the times where the soil blocks were drying out and the heat from the overhead fluorescent lights was bathing the tops of the plants. It was just too much for those young tender seedlings to handle and they kind of withered in place. And I wasn't there to catch that on a daily basis or I would have been able to make adjustments and you can too. But the point of my telling you this is to be mindful of that because that heat can be overbearing, especially in concert with lack of soil moisture. And if you have your heat mats going or your germination mats putting on additional heat, that causes the cells or the soil blocks to dry out quicker. And then again, when the light is above and it's putting out that heat, that can be too much. And in my case, that happened with the seeds that I ordered from the company that didn't provide any cell buy or use by date on the packaging, which already had made me suspicious. And then the germination was slow to happen. And it wasn't very consistent. I had very spotty germination from the entire packet of seeds that I used. So I think probably a lot of that had to do with the quality of the seeds. So again, going back to that, why that's so important and why you should be checking your seedlings every day. And if you're like me, you're probably doing it multiple times a day when you're physically able to do that. And then it's a quick fix. You can adjust the lights and take them up a notch or two or just make sure there's enough water in the cell tray. It's fixable if you catch it in time. And that's the main thing. Just again be observant and proactive. And you won't run into that problem. Starting your seeds before you go out of town for two weeks, probably not the best idea. I took that risk and knew it going into it and thought it would be a good experiment. Fortunately, most of the seed trays worked out if you didn't, but that's okay. I have time to start over. Something else I realized I didn't mention last week when I reviewed the recording was what type of cell trays do I use and do I have a preference over soil blocks or long-term use plastic cell trays. So let me talk about that next because I think that can be an important consideration for how you go about sowing your seeds. Now both work just fine. But there are some pros and cons to each. So that's what I wanted to touch on briefly. And let me fill you in on that. Now for years, I have done both soil blocks and plastic cell trays. But what I try to make sure not to use if I'm using plastic is single use plastic. That's just such a waste. And so several years ago, I found wind strip trays through never sink farm. I have great success using those. You can drive a truck over them. They're going to last forever. So I really like that. And what I also like is that the way they're designed, they have slits around all the sides of the cells. So that allows greater airflow for improved root development. And it's kind of designed to simulate soil blocking. And what I like about using plastic cell trays is that it's very quick. When you need to get those seeds sown, you can take your cell tray. You can just quickly fill it with your soil mix and drop those seeds in. Water them, put the lid on and you're good to go. It's fast, relatively speaking. And I like that. Now alternatively, you can use soil blocks. And there's probably other things you can use to you can make paper pots with newspaper or you could do the snail technique. You can look that up if you haven't heard about that. It's pretty cool. But I'm more of a traditional person. And I love using soil blocks. Now soil blocks, presumably you know what those are. But if you don't just briefly, there's no plastic involved. There's a mold that shapes or compresses the soil mix into a cube. And you eject the cube from the metal mold. And you've got your basically your little blocks of soil. And you put your seeds on top. The beauty of it is it's very easy for transplanting. There's no transplant shock. And there's no plastic. And it's a great technique. A lot of farmers use it. A lot of home gardeners use it. And I love that process too. Now you heard me say I use both. And it just depends on what my objective is. But what I love about soil blocks is the time when you go to transplant them from the small block into a larger container. All you're really doing is picking up the block and dropping it into the bump up container, backfilling it and you're done, which is great. And there's no transplant shock. The roots are air pruned when the roots get to the edges of the block. They stop until they come back in contact with soil. And then everything gets going again. So it's a really neat technique. And I love getting my hands in that wet soil. The downside is really just two things. And neither is a big deal. One is it takes a little bit longer because there's two steps to the process when you're so in your seed you've got to get the soil mixed ready, which requires putting this soil media into a container and adding water to the point that you have it like the consistency of brownie mix maybe. But you'll have to experiment with that until you get a sense of how much is enough water. You need enough but not too much. But it's better to air on more than less. But you'll figure that out if you are trying soil blocking. So there's the time involved in getting the soil blocks made. And then you are putting the seeds in. So it takes longer on the front end. But you save time on the back end because back to the plastic, depending on the type of plastic trays you're using, some of the cells are easier to eject or extract the root ball than others. And so that can be a little bit time consuming. And also that can contribute to the transplant shock. The more you're manipulating the root ball trying to get it out of the cell to transplant it, that can have some detrimental effect. Usually it's never fatal. Typically it just sets the progress back a little bit. But it's all fixable. But that takes a little bit longer at the transplant stage for the plastic versus the soil block phase. At the end of the day or at the end of the growing season when you've started the seed all the way through to the time that you call it done and they're ready to go into the garden. To a little time involved is probably about the same through the process. It just depends on where you want to spend more time on the front end or on the transplant side. That's probably one of the biggest determinants at least for me and what I choose to do. A couple of other thoughts I'll have is the soil blocks tend to dry out quicker because they're exposed on all sides. So if you've got a fluorescent grow light over the top, it's probably going to dry the block out faster unless you keep up with the bottom watering versus the plastic cells. They are more protected around the side. So not as likely to dry out as quickly. So that might be something to consider too. But as long as you keep up with the watering, it should be an issue either way. And another option that you have proceed starting if you're buying at the box store oftentimes you'll see those kits that have the single use plastic cell tray, the plastic top and then those discs, those little round quarter size discs. You add water to it and they expand and you put your seed into the top of that. And there's a mesh around the peat moss that keeps it in place. Those can work and they're very easy of course. But what you may not realize is even though I think it's advertised that you can just drop those into the ground when you're done or ready to plant that mesh around the seed mix is plastic and it doesn't break down for a long time. So that may not be what you want to use. You could tear it away though. I mean, it would be a simple thing to just eliminate that and put the peat moss block held together by the roots into the transplanted pot or into the ground. And I just thought of one other thing I would mention too on the cost. If you were using single use plastic and you were going to be at this for years to come by long term use plastic. And with the soil blocking equipment, the one I have makes 72 cells all at the same time. So I can get an entire 72 cell tray done all at once, which is sweet. And I can make as many as I want. Once I have the soil block maker, which for that one is an initial investment of over $200 but less than 300 I think or you could buy a smaller version that only has six or 12 cells and that takes longer. So again, back to the time it takes to work with the soil blocking equipment depending on what you have. Certainly can increase or decrease the amount of time it takes to get your seed zone. So that would be definitely a consideration in addition to the cost, the one time cost of buying the equipment itself, the long term use plastic trays. They're not cheap, but like the soil blocking equipment, it's just a one time investment. So different things to consider, but you can't go wrong with either. I use both and I've given you some of my reasons why I'll choose one over the other. And those are the only things that I have for you in this episode to add to what we talked about last week for now. But again, greater detail on the lighting and maybe some other things I come up with over the next few weeks as we're in the heart of the season for seed starting. I want to make sure that you're fully equipped. Now, if you're serious about seed starting and you really want to up your game, whether you are very experienced at this or you're brand new and you're not sure where to start, I have two suggestions for you and they're related. So the time that this episode launches, it's Thursday, January 29th. There is a free webinar. This is the second day of a free webinar that we launched yesterday called seed basics and beyond. And if you're hearing this before 12 noon, Eastern time on Thursday, the 29th, you could register for that free webinar and learn a lot about how seeds work. Because the more you understand how seeds work, the more successful you will be during the seed starting and growing process. And that was the purpose of when I created that topic and that webinar. I wanted you to be really up on what you needed to know about what a seed needs to be productive and to germinate at all. Because for example, if the temperature of the soil is too cold or too warm, the seed won't germinate. And if you can get the soil temperature close to the ideal range, it'll germinate faster. And which seeds need light to germinate? What are the main reasons that seeds don't germinate? And all of those things and more go into this webinar that I created seed basics and beyond. So I know this isn't going to apply to most of you because you won't catch this in the sweet spot of when I'm telling you you still have time to register. But if you do have a time, the way to get there is just go to the website joegardiner.com slash seed basics, no spaces, all one word, and you can register for free. Now, whether you're attending that webinar or not, the other part of this that's really important for you to know is the course that I created called master seed starting. This is a very comprehensive course that has many happy students and lots and lots of five star reviews and great comments. And we've had this course out there for a few years. It's our most popular course in the online gardening academy for good reason. People love this course. People that have been experienced seed starters, rave about it as well as people that were afraid to get started because they didn't know where to begin. And this course walks you through everything. And we're going to share some information with you in the webinar to give you more information about the course. But you can also go straight to the landing page for the course to learn a lot more to and that's a joegardiner.com slash ms s from master seed starting. But I encourage you to give that a look. If you're listening to this podcast and you are interested in seed starting or being a better seed starter, I promise you there is no better resource out there anywhere online or in books really because information changes and I provide full access to Q and A. We do office hours. There's lifetime access to the course and so much more. So this is unlike anything else that you can get. There's nothing that compare. So joegardiner.com slash ms s. But the most important thing you need to know is that this is a limited time. This course is only open for enrollment one time a year for about a week and we're in that week right now. The course opened up for enrollment yesterday and it will be opened up for a few more days through the weekend. And then it's closed so that I can be fully engaged with the new students. One more time the webinar link. With a few people that will still have time to enroll is joegardiner.com slash seed basics. And then the course information where pretty much everything you'd want to know is there is joegardiner.com slash ms s. If you want to go back and relisten to this episode or watch it on YouTube, you can do that at joegardiner.com. Look for this podcast tab and this is episode number 454. And then the YouTube channel is joegardiner TV where we will have pictures of what I'm talking about. And in both cases, we will have links that are relevant to what I talked about. And it's a great place on the YouTube channel to leave your comments or questions so that I can get back to you there on whatever you want to know. If you want to find me on social media, you can do that on Instagram. And I am at joegardiner. And I would love to have you join me there. But other than that, I think that's going to do it for today. And I appreciate you being with me whether you're watching or listening. And I want to thank my team as always, Amy, Princess, Brendan O'Reilly and Christine LaFond for their work every week helping me get these podcasts ready to go and out the door. Thanks for being here. As you probably know by now, my goal for every episode is to help you take the guesswork out of gardening by teaching you the wide do behind the how to so that you can become a better smarter, more confident gardener and seed starter. I'll be back here next Thursday for another episode of the joegardiner show. And I look forward to having you right back here to join me for that. Until then, have a great week. Take care and I'll see you back here really soon. Thanks for listening to the joegardiner show. The podcasts where it's all about gardening and learning to grow like a pro, no experience required. For more information, podcasts, and how to videos, visit us online at joegardiner.com.