Though you may still need to grab that coat on your way out the door, warmer days are just around the corner and now is the perfect time to begin planning your spring and summer garden. There are many annual flowers and vegetables that can be directly sown outdoors or started inside with the help of a grow light.
While all seeds can be directly sown outdoors, starting certain annuals indoors allows you to push your seasonal boundaries and enjoy harvest earlier in the season and for a longer time. Annual vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower all benefit from being started in an indoor environment. Annual flowers like celosia, scabiosa, hollyhock, some salvias, and echinacea also benefit from the head start of an indoor environment.
Not all seeds need to be started indoors. There are some plants that do just fine or even prefer to be directly sown outside. Peas, chard, spinach, beets, carrots, and various lettuces are all vegetables that can be planted outside in February. Snapdragons, calendula, poppies, larkspur, and nasturtium will all thrive being directly sown outside as well. There are helpful planting schedules that can be referred to for both vegetables and flowers.
Directly sowing your vegetables and flowers outdoors is often as simple as putting a seed in a hole and giving it a good drink of water. Starting your seeds indoors, however, requires a little bit more effort, though the reward of an extended season makes it worthwhile.
When starting seeds indoors, begin with a good soil. Potting soil will work, but it may need to be sifted beforehand to remove larger chunks of wood that might be present. There are also bags of soil available that are specific to starting seeds, or you can always make your own seed starting mix with a blend good compost, coco coir or peat moss, and vermiculite.
Seed packets will often have information on the back that state seed growth requirements. This will tell you about the depth at which the seed needs to be planted, spacing needs, ideal germination temperature range, and estimated time to germination.
Once your seeds are planted, germination can be sped along with the help of a heat mat and humidity dome, though they are not required. A grow light, however, is essential and should be placed about 2” above your plants. It's helpful to have your grow lights set up so that the height can be adjusted as the plants grow.
Now comes the hard part- impatiently waiting for the seeds to sprout, knowing you're one step closer to warm afternoons in the garden.