• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Diseases
    • Plant Profiles
    • Raised Bed Gardening
    • Seed Starting
    • Tools & Equipment
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Quick and Easy Seed Starting Guide for Beginners

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.

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 choosing flower seed packets and 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.

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

Filed Under: Seed Starting

Previous Post: « Plant-Based Diet for the New Year
Next Post: Sweet and Light Bran Muffin Recipe »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

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

Explore All Gardening Articles

Latest Articles

  • Sunscald on Tomatoes: What It Is and How to Prevent It
  • Herbal Profile: Growing Calendula
  • Battling Anthracnose: A Cucumber Grower’s Guide to a Sneaky Fungal Foe

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

a close up of a cucumber leaf with anthracnose

Battling Anthracnose: A Cucumber Grower’s Guide to a Sneaky Fungal Foe

If you’ve ever stepped into your garden and noticed strange brown spots or sunken blemishes on your cucumbers, you might be facing a common but troublesome fungal disease known as anthracnose. Caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare, anthracnose thrives in warm, humid conditions and can quickly spread across your crop if not addressed early. This year in…

Read More

cucumbers and tomatoes in harvest basket

How to Grow Cucumbers: A Complete Guide

Learn how to grow cucumbers in this complete guide. I’ve grown cucumbers my entire life, and I still marvel at the prices of them at the supermarket. I can only imagine that we’re all paying for the transportation, for cucumbers are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. In fact, you may find yourself muttering,…

Read More

small round eggplant

Growing Eggplant: A Guide for Gardeners

Growing eggplant (a small garden devoted to fresh, seasonal edibles) is relatively easy in zone 7, where I garden, but combating the bugs is another story. Growing epplant in pots, containers, raised beds, or garden soil is all possible if you are willing to go the extra mile to control its nemesis, the Colorado potato…

Read More

cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripeness

Volunteer Plants – Nature’s Unexpected Gifts

Volunteer plants are one of nature’s most delightful surprises. They spring up unbidden, often in places we didn’t expect—cracks in sidewalks, corners of compost piles, or nestled beside a stone foundation, like the vibrant coleus seedlings growing near my deck shown in these pictures. These botanical freeloaders aren’t weeds; they’re plants that have reseeded themselves…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme