Perhaps the most anxiety-inducing part of gardening is the start. Waiting to see if your seeds sprouted, watching as your transplants adjust to their new environments, it’s a time filled with anticipation — and a bit of worry.
So why should the budding gardener choose one method of garden starting over another?
Seeding
Using seeds directly in your garden is less energy-intensive than transplanting, as everything stays in place. It works well when you have a long growing season, and with plants that are not as temperature-sensitive. You’ll also find there are many varieties of vegetables that are only available as seeds.
Some climates have growing climates that are too short for the plant to mature in time, however. If you want to rotate crops rapidly through a garden plot, then transplanting allows new crops to grow while your mature crops are ready to harvest outdoors.
Seeds can be planted directly in the main garden, or planted into seedling pots for transplanting. Either way, you’ll want to place the seeds on top of a good light, moist potting mix that will allow for moisture and give roots room to grow. Then cover the seeds with another thin layer of soil, no more than 3 times the width of the seeds.
Cover the seeded pots to keep the humidity in and encourage sprouting. Once the seeds have started sprouting, start watering them and putting them in sunlight.
Growing seedlings indoors for transplanting
When growing seeds indoors, you’ll want to use pots or seeding kits that let you water from the bottom. This allows the growing seedlings to gather the water they need, without flooding them or exposing them to fungal diseases.
Once seeds sprout, they require a lot of light to grow strong. If they don’t receive a lot of light, they may end up spindly. Placing them in a south-facing window can work, or you may need artificial lights to grow them in a more convenient location. The more light, the better, as long as they get 6–8 hours of darkness to rest.
Transplanting
Typically, transplanting takes more effort, but allows you to extend a gardening season, or even grow things that wouldn’t normally take to your climate. By starting the plants indoors, or buying plants directly from the store, the plants get a head start in a climate-controlled environment, sheltered from most pests and diseases. They take up less space, and you can choose the hardiest of the seedlings to move to your main garden.
Transplanting takes more effort, however. In addition to growing the plants (if starting from seed), you’ll need to spend time getting the plants used to the outdoors, a process known as hardening, then perform the actual transplant.
Seedlings are ready to transplant when there are 2–4 true leaves formed aboveground. Over a two-week period, seedlings are moved outdoors during the day for longer and longer periods. Start with a couple of hours sheltered from direct sun, and increase the time a few hours per day. Once it has been outdoors in shelter all day, start give it more and more time in direct sunlight. Also reduce watering bit by bit, not so much that they wilt, but enough that the growing process slows down, allowing it to prepare for the “jump” from one environment to another.
After the hardening process, transplant your seedlings into the main garden. Don’t pull the seedlings from their pots, as this will damage the stems and roots. Instead, work around the edges of the soil to lift the soil and roots from the pot. A large spoon can help lift the root ball out.
Make a hole in the main garden large enough to fit the root ball, and a bit deeper. Put an inch of compost at the bottom of this hole, to give the seedling extra nutrients to start. Then place the plant into the hole, with the base of the stem at the same level as the surrounding soil. (Tomatoes can be set a little lower, so that roots will start growing from the stem.)
Once the seedlings are planted, flood them water. This redistributes the transplanted and preexisting soil, so that there aren’t any air pockets that prevent roots from migrating.