How to for Beginners: Seed Starting Indoors

Alright seed starting can be tricky if you don’t know what you are doing! Follow along to gain so simple tricks to make this easier

I will be the first to announce that I am in no way a professional in seed starting indoors and in no way to have years of experience! However, I do have experience and ideas that will help you start the process and make it seem less scary, I promise!

Over the years I have fumbled with seed starting but last year was my first real year doing it full blown and properly! I feel like for the first time it actually worked out well and I truly enjoyed it! Almost every seed I started succeed! I say almost because I accidentally dropped a seed tray not once but twice on separate occasions. The first drop they were still good and thriving days later! The second drop destroyed them… I mean killed the whole tray off! So yea.

Some things to consider before seed starting: 1. are you committed (I don’t want this to come across mean, but it does take time and effort to keep these bad boys alive so just make sure you have the time in your schedule/life for this activity. Don’t do it if it is going to stress you out.) 2. The type of plant you are wanting to start indoors. Some plants do not actually need to be started inside and some are really intense to start inside. 3. Make sure you have the tools you need and the space to do it!

After hearing my experiences and things to keep in mind! Here are my best tips for seed starting indoors to hopefully help you grow you dream garden!

Tip 1 Plan

Plan what you want to grow! Know where you are going to put the seed trays! Research what you will need!

I hope this post will help you understand and will be apart of your research journey on seed starting!

Planning is a big step and probably the one I over look the most! To be honest its the most boring step isn’t?! In the moment it feels so unnecessary and useless!

Let me tell you from my experience and many mistakes this step does indeed matter!

Before you go out and buy your seeds think about what you want to plant and grow. Make sure to also think about where you are going to be planting these seedlings one day! Will the plants you want to grow fit and thrive in the areas you want them to be in? This important to think about because you don’t want to put in the effort starting the seeds just to watch them fail once you transfer them!

Next up plan what you are going to be starting indoors! What are the plants that you want start inside? Make sure those plants actually needed to be started inside. I’m not going to lie I have done this! I bought seeds thinking the plant needed to be started inside. I took them home read the back of the package and low and behold they didn’t need to be!

After you know where you are planting and what you are growing gather all the supplies you will need to start your seeds inside! I have a small watering can, seed trays, small potting containers, and spritzer bottle! Depending on what you are growing you may need grow lights, shelves and warming pads.

When you decide on what you are growing do your research on what the plant needs!

Tip 2 How to Start Growing

Alright so this is an important tip but it can fluctuate between the plants that you are trying to grow so take what I say lightly and make alterations as needed!

Firstly buy the seed trays! Okay I know that there are 500 different diy options out there to start your seeds in! Maybe its egg cartons, or newspaper cups! They all look great and honestly could work for some but they did not work for me and it ended with more failure then success! So my tip is to buy the plastic seed trays that are meant to be used to start seeds inside so that nothing fails due to the container it sits in!

Buying good seeds! This might sound like a stupid point but make sure the seeds you buy are from a reputable company that actually has good products! Don’t buy from the dollar store or amazon! The best place to find good seeds are local greenhouses! Make sure to do some research on the company before buying them!

Read the seed instructions! Its important trust me! On the back of your seed package it will tell you exactly what the seeds need to live and thrive! This is important otherwise they will most likely die!

Lastly make sure you have a good location for them! I don’t use grow lights or special shelving but what I do is place them all in front of two large widows that get day light almost all day. I also ensure that a heater is directed at them but not fully on them. This is to ensure they stay warm all day but do not get cooked! And of course water! Depending on the stage of the seed and what it is I either use a small watering can or a spritzer bottle!

I know that was a lot of information about seed starting but basically what you need to know is:

Plan what you are growing, where you are going to grow it and in what!

Research!

Know what your plants need to succeed indoors!

Buy the seed started trays- trust me!

Use quality seeds!

Read all instructions about the plants you are growing!

And make sure you put your seedlings in a good spot in your house!

I would love to know what tips you thought were most helpful for you and what you plan on growing this year in the comments! Thank you so much for stopping by!