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I’m getting ready to start my seeds here in New York, but I know some of you have started already, and others farther north will need to wait a bit longer. Regardless, seedling time is upon us.
Keeping seedlings healthy can sometimes be challenging when you’re starting seeds indoors. The temperature and amount of water and sunlight will affect your success. And you don’t want to get it wrong because, often, it may be too late to start over by the time you realize there’s a problem.
Here are some tips:
Start with a sterile, soil-less seed-starting mix. Never use garden soil because it’s typically too dense for tender seedlings and can contain pest eggs or disease organisms.
Sow two to four seeds per cell or container, depending on the size of the seeds (maybe three or four tiny seeds and two if sowing large ones). This will provide insurance in the event they don’t all germinate.
Plant seeds generally twice as deep as their size. So 1/4-inch pumpkin seeds, for example, should go a half-inch deep. Tiny poppy seeds should just get pressed into the soil surface.
Keep the mix moist — but never soggy. It’s best to water through drainage holes poked into container bottoms because 1) you won’t risk accidentally washing away tiny seeds, and 2) this will significantly reduce instances of fungal and mold diseases that can kill your precious babies. Place containers on a low-rimmed cookie sheet or similar tray, add a half-inch of water to the tray, and let them sit for 20 minutes, then dump the excess water. The soil will soak up what it needs through the drainage holes. If you start seeds in a cardboard or newspaper pot, you can use a spray bottle to mist the soil surface and keep the seeds moist without disintegrating the container.
Cover containers or cell packs with plastic wrap. This creates a warm, humid greenhouse effect that’s ideal for germination.
Place containers in a warm spot out of direct sunlight, but not where you might forget about them. You’ll need to monitor them every couple of days; water, as above when the soil starts to dry out.
Remove the plastic wrap as soon as the seedlings sprout. If you’re growing them in a cell-pack tray, cut the plastic away from the cells that contain sprouts but keep the others covered.
Move seedlings into bright light after they pop up. Fluorescent or LED lamps are ideal (but no need to spend money; you can use a shop light if you have one). Keep the lamp about four inches above the seedlings, raising it as they grow.
Set up a small fan near your seedlings and run it at low speed. They’ll grow to be stronger. Otherwise, blow on them a few times a day. Really!
Since you planted more than one seed in each container or compartment, odds are more than one sprouted. If that’s the case, you must remove all but one in each cell. Examine them and decide which is the strongest. That doesn’t mean the biggest (those are often lanky and spindly); sometimes, the strongest, stockiest seedling is the shortest. Remove the others by clipping them at the soil line with manicure scissors. Don’t pull them out because if their roots are entangled under the soil, the seedling you’re keeping may be compromised.
A week before transplanting your precious babies into the garden or outdoor containers, harden them off by setting them outside in a shady spot for one hour (set a timer). Put them back out the next day, but for two hours, and increase their outdoor time by an hour each day for about a week. By then, they’ll be acclimated to wind and sunlight and strong enough to make it on their own.
📬 Ask Jessica
DEAR JESSICA: We live in Gluckstadt, in central Mississippi. When should we fertilize our blueberries and plum trees? — Bill Johnson
DEAR BILL: Regardless of where you live, most blueberries perform best if fertilized three times a year. The first application should be in early spring, so now would be perfect. Give them a second dose in six weeks and one more right after you’ve harvested the last of the fruit.
However, if you're growing the rabbiteye variety, which is native to Mississippi and doesn't like too much fertilizer, don't fertilize until their second year (use two ounces of a product formulated for acid-loving plants like azaleas or camellias) before they flower in early spring.
Since I’m unfamiliar with this variety, I checked with The Mississippi State University Extension, which advises, "in the third season, double the second-year recommendation. After the third year, increase the amount by two ounces per year through the fifth year. After the fifth year, base fertilizer applications on soil analysis. Blueberry soils need a consistent moisture level for a fertilizer program to be effective. A good organic mulch and deep watering are recommended.”
For your plum, apply a balanced fertilizer (8-8-8 or 13-13-13) at half the rate recommended on the package before the tree flowers. Apply the other half at the beginning of August.
💡 If you do one thing this week…
Overseed bare spots in the lawn with fresh seed. Water deeply (but gently) just once, then sprinkle lightly twice daily and add more seed once a week until new growth reaches four inches.
👏 Sunday shoutout
Barbara Silpe of Lido Beach, NY, writes: “I decided to follow your advice on planting native flowers [last year], as well as ones that attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. I planted this pincushion flower, and tada! Within just two weeks, a buzzing friend came by for a buffet meal! Thank you for your proactive suggestions.
Send in your photo, and you could be featured next(!
📰This week in my Associated Press gardening column
I write a weekly gardening column for the AP, so you might have seen my byline in your local paper (or news website) — wherever in the world you happen to be. In case you miss it, though, I’ll post the most recent here every week.
This week, I wrote about the cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC. Did you know that the first batch of trees sent to us as a gift from Japan arrived diseased and infested? Yep! But Japan sent 2,030 more trees in 1912, and those were planted around the city. Some of the originals are still standing, despite having more than doubled their life expectancies. I spoke with the arborist who oversees their care, and he explained why.
Before that, I wrote about the do's and don'ts of spring cleanup, Bradford pear woes, the Philadelphia Flower Show, the importance of learning at least some Botanical Latin and the best new plants of 2023.
You can read all my AP gardening columns here.
📚📺🎵 📚📺🎵 📚📺🎵 📚📺🎵
Random things I enjoyed this week
Soil: The story of a Black mother’s garden, by Camille T. Dungy. I’ve been reading my advance copy of this book at night for a few days now, and I find my bedtime creeping earlier because I look forward to curling up with it. I’m about halfway through and absolutely love it. I’m in awe of the author’s writing and storytelling talent and how she weaves what could be dry, practical gardening information into her memoir in a seamless, engaging, and even melodic way. The garden really is a metaphor for life, and in her case, for motherhood, diversity and self-worth. It’ll be in stores on May 2. I can’t recommend it enough!
I spend hours every week writing this newsletter, answering your questions and sharing advice to help you achieve the garden of your dreams. If you enjoy reading The Weekly Dirt and would like it to continue, please consider supporting my work by buying me a coffee!
THANK YOU SO MUCH to those of you who “coffeed” me up and sent along sweet notes last week! You guys are the BEST!
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📧 How’m I doing?
I welcome your comments and suggestions, so please send them along — as well as any topics you’d like to see covered and questions you’d like answered in the Ask Jessica section.