In these troubled economic times, one of the best ways to save money is to grow your own vegetables. With little space – as little as the average balcony! – you can produce many of the vegetables needed to feed a family of 2 adults and 2 children… and a vegetarian family at that! And for next to nothing.
Many vegetables are sown in the ground – or in pots if you’re gardening on the balcony – in May or June: carrots, beans, lettuces, etc. Some vegetables, such as spinach and peas, can be sown even earlier, as early as April if the snow has gone: spinach and peas prefer cool soil and tolerate frost. But there are certain vegetables that benefit from indoor sowing: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions and so on. It’s still a little too early to sow them, but it’s the perfect time to buy seeds and materials. Let’s take a look today at how to get started with our indoor vegetable seedlings.
Find out when to plant your indoor seedlings with these tips: Learn When to Sow Your Garden Seeds.
Getting Ready For Sowing
Seeds are already in store. Pick them up or order them online or by catalog. You’ll also need to buy a light, insect- and disease-free potting soil. Seedling potting soil will do, but so will any potting soil for houseplants. Use a fresh bag: potting soil that’s been lying around for a few months may have been contaminated with disease spores. Choose potting soil containing mycorrhizae.
As for seedling pots and trays, we’re in a financial crisis, so why pay for them when there are dozens of very suitable containers that you can recycle: yogurt or margarine tubs, milk container bottoms, crates and trays saved from previous years, and so on. Just clean them well and drill a drainage hole in the bottom to make them perfect containers for seedlings. The transparent plastic containers in which we sell muffins, croissants, etc., make perfect mini-green houses! The bottom serves as a tray in which to place the pots, while the top acts as a “greenhouse”, letting in light while retaining moisture.
Sowing Day
Pour potting soil into a bowl and add warm water, stirring to moisten. Spoon the potting mix into the containers and level off. If sowing in individual pots, make a hole 3 times the height of the seeds in the potting soil and place 3 seeds in it, then fill in with potting soil. If you’re sowing in trays, make a furrow 3 times the height of the seeds and sow one seed per centimetre or 1/2″ (every 2 cm, 3/4″, if the seeds are large). Now fill in the furrow. Water very gently and allow any excess water to drain away.
Place your pots in an airtight tray or cover with a plastic dome. Place in a warm, well-lit spot, but not yet in direct sunlight, or under a fluorescent lamp.
You’re well on your way to an extraordinary harvest of beautiful vegetables this summer.
Larry Hodgson published thousands of articles and 65 books over the course of his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil on March 21, 2009.
How far should the light be from seeds/seedlings? Thank you
4-6″, or 10-15cm