• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting
    • Composting Basics
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Growing Fruit
    • Growing Herbs
  • Recipes
    • Canning and Food Preservation
    • Vegetarian Meals
    • Salad Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
  • Books & Classes
    • Classes
    • Books
    • Books for Christian Herbalists
  • About
    • Writer Jeanne Grunert
    • Advertise
    • Awards and Accolades
    • Privacy Policy

Quick and Easy Seed Starting Guide

January 10, 2020 by Jeanne

This seed starting guide covers all you need to know to grow vegetables and herbs from seeds. Many plants grow best when started from seeds directly in the garden. Others need to get a headstart in the house before growing big and strong enough to be transplanted in the garden.

I’ve put together a list of all seed starting articles on Home Garden Joy that covers the gamut of garden seed questions. I also have a few videos, too.

a picture of open hands holding garden seeds

Photo by Joshua Lanzarini on Unsplash

Seed Starting Guide from Home Garden Joy

Each spring, my father read the Parks and Burpee seed catalogs cover to cover, often bookmarking, dog-earing, and underlining items to buy. The pages would become wrinkled from bathtub reading. Old catalogs became collages for my school art projects.

The seeds arrived in February, making their way to the basement where my father’s plant lights stood in a corner.  He had a special green bulb gizmo that squirted small seeds into the trays of soil. One of my tasks as a child was to soak the peat disks in water. Fascinated, I’d watch them grow before my eyes, soaking up the water and rising into small, self-contained pots.

That was over 40 years ago, and I can still remember the smell of a fresh bag of ProMix, the earthen smell of peat moss, the evenings spent at my father’s side helping him sow tomato, pepper, and other seeds.

Today, I garden in my raised vegetable beds, and while I start fewer plants indoors from seeds, I still love the cherished rituals of seed starting. If you have children at home or grandchildren, do invite them to partake in the springtime ritual of seed sowing. It is something they too will cherish, especially if you give them seeds large enough for their tiny hands to hold easily. Sunflower seeds are great starter projects for youngster; they love sunflowers and watch them grow each weed, plus the seeds are big (and forgiving) enough that if dropped or planted incorrectly, they still flourish.

picture of seeds starting to grow in pots
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Seed Starting Resources: The List

The list and links below form the seed starting guide from Home Garden Joy. Each article includes tips and hints to help you grow almost anything from seed.

Seed Starting Basics

  • How to Read a Seed Catalog: Learn what the symbols and text mean and how it can help you grow a lovely garden this year.
  • How to Clean Seed Starting Trays: Trays should be disinfected each year. Here’s how to clean and disinfect seed starting equipment.
  • Seed Starting Indoors: Equipment and Supplies: A list of the basic equipment and supplies you’ll need. You can also reuse items like milk and yogurt cartons for containers and get creative with other equipment, too.
  • Best Light for Seed Starting: A sunny windowsill might be fine but you can also make an inexpensive seed starting light stand.
  • Seed Starting Mistakes and How to Fix Them: Everyone makes mistakes. If your seeds aren’t growing properly, here’s how to figure out what you did wrong and fix it.
  • Are Organic Seeds Better? You’ll see row upon row of organic seeds at the store but should you buy them? Do they produce better vegetables or flowers? Or is there another reason to grow organic seeds?
  • Can You Use Old Seeds? Should you throw out old seeds? Will they sprout? Learn more.
  • The Benefits of Succession Planning: Success planning means to plant seeds while other plants are in place. It’s used to ensure a continuous supply of certain vegetables like lettuce.

How to Grow Certain Plants From Seeds

  • Why Didn’t My Lettuce Seeds Sprout?
  • Saving Cantaloupe Seeds
  • Starting Peppers from Seeds
  • Growing Basil From Seed
  • How to Save Sunflower Seeds
  • Growing a Lemon Tree from Seeds
photo of vegetable seedlings in pots
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Jeanne
Jeanne

Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.

Tweet
Share
Pin7
Share32
39 Shares

Filed Under: Seed Starting

Follow me on social media

Like
Follow
Follow
Follow
Follow
Previous Post: « Plant-Based Diet for the New Year
Next Post: Low Sodium, Low Cholesterol Sauerbraten Dinner »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Featured

logo of the american horticulture society

Home Garden Joy was featured by the American Horticultural Society on #plantchat.

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Writer Jeanne Grunert

cover of plan and build a raised bed garden

Find all my books on Amazon.com

Gardening Articles

Vegetable Gardening Tips and Tricks

17 year cicada

Do the 17 Year Cicadas Hurt Gardens?

strawberries are great for vertical gardening

Vertical Gardening to Expand Your Space

rosemary growing in containers for space saving gardens

5 EASY Space Saving Vegetable Garden Ideas

Footer

a plate of Sicilian pasta sauce with cauliflower

Vegan Cauliflower Recipe: Sicilian Sauce

I adapted this vegan cauliflower recipe for Sicilian sauce to my family’s low salt, plant based diet – and got great results. It’s easy to make, tastes wonderful, and gives us another meatless meal for Lent. If you are a Christian seeking Friday dinner ideas for Lent, or simply have a head of cauliflower you…

Read More

A stack or portobello mushrooms with garnish

Marinaded and Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steaks

I made these marinaded and grilled portobello mushroom steaks last night for dinner and they came out delicious! Alongside a pot of fresh vegetable soup and crusty, homemade Italian bread, it was a feast worthy of a king – but 100% vegetarian. Let’s get cooking! What Is a Portobello Mushroom? Portobello mushrooms are large brown…

Read More

a woman holding a popover with the cream interior revealed and two other popovers on a plate

Best Popover Recipe

This is the best popover recipe ever! It was easy to make and turned out delicious popovers. This was my first time making popovers, and I can’t remember the last time I had one, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As usual, I turned to my trusty Fannie Farmer 13th Edition Cookbook and found…

Read More

Christmas present under the tree

Christmas Gifts for Gardeners: Your Holiday Gift Guide

Are you looking for Christmas gifts for gardeners? This is your holiday gift guide to find the perfect present for that special gardener in your life! Ready? Let’s go shopping! Christmas Gifts for Gardeners: Your Holiday Gift Guide Maybe you’re searching for the perfect Christmas gifts for gardeners in your life. Or perhaps you are…

Read More

Copyright © 2023 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme