Starting Seeds for Vegetable & Herb Transplants

By C Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Master Gardener

I’ve been growing herbs and vegetables at home for over 30 years. I became a fan of Mel Bartholomew’s vegetable growing techniques after reading his original Square Foot Gardening book. You, too, can learn about square foot gardening and the new non-profit foundation Mel has started to spread word of his small-space, economical gardening methods around the world. Go to www.squarefootgardening.com/. You’ll find good information at no cost!

Mel’s raised bed method uses a basic 4-foot by 4-foot square divided into 16 growing areas each 1-foot by 1-foot. Those smaller sections give this intensive gardening technique the “square foot” name. Evenly space one kind of seed or transplant in each small section. Depending on the size of the vegetable or herb grown there, each square foot will hold 1, 4, 9, or 16 plants. Some early spring crops stop producing after it gets hot. A summer, warm-season crop is planted in that garden space as a replacement. Some cool season vegetables can be put in during late July or August for a fall harvest. Trellises and wire tomato cages help vine crops (pole beans, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, etc.) grow up rather than spreading out in the garden. Using minimum space to produce maximum yields is a gardening plan that works well for me. I also garden in containers to take advantage of the few sunny spots around my house that get sufficient sunlight for herbs and vegetables. Plant spacing specified for a square foot garden section works just as well with container-grown plants.

Videos at the top of the Square Foot Gardening web page are educational. These and many more video clips on growing vegetables and herbs (as well as great articles and recipes) can be viewed at the Fine Gardening magazine site www.vegetablegardener.com/video. That’s where I first met urban sustainable gardening guru Patti Mareno. (This “Garden Girl” has her own web site; www.gardengirltv.com.) View the video ‘Make Pots From Recycled Newspaper’. Save money with this idea. Her young daughter demonstrates how to make these pots, so you know this is so easy a child can do it. Transfer seedlings to recycled newspaper pots instead of to plastic ones, when vegetable and/or herb transplants are ready to go from their first seed-starting tray to 4-inch pots for hardening-off and planting outdoors. The whole thing (plant and pot) goes into the garden. Over time the paper pot breaks down. Transplants are healthier because roots aren’t disturbed, as happens with removal from a non-bio-degradable pot. If instead, you reuse plastic pots- wash them with a 10% chlorine bleach and water solution to remove dirt and kill any disease organisms. Then rinse with water and use.    

Seed germination starts when seeds absorb moisture. If the soil temperature is right and the little plant embryo inside is alive, first a root then a shoot with one or two leaves will grow from the seed. Get the University of Tennessee publication ‘Growing Vegetable Transplants for Home Gardens SP291A’ from your local UT Extension office or from the web page www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/homeGarden/ for details on growing seedlings.

Seed Starting Secrets: Count out the few seeds needed for a small garden. Soak each kind of seed overnight in a different (labeled) disposable cup before sowing them indoors or outside in the garden bed. Space seeds far enough apart that no thinning is necessary. Use a heat mat under seed starting trays for better germination. Cover tray with plastic to increase humidity until seeds sprout. Place tray with seedlings very close to a fluorescent  light.

Plateau Gardening is written by Master Gardeners for those tending home landscapes and gardens in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland Region. Contact UT Extension Cumberland County, P.O. Box 483, Crossville, TN 38557, (phone 931-484-6743) for quick answers to specific questions, free publications, or to learn about becoming a Master Gardener. Email comments or yard and garden inquiries to Master Gardener Rae, mgardenerrae@frontiernet.net.