Monday, March 11, 2013

Starting Seeds Using a Coffee Filter


Yesterday the temperature reached 70 and I got my hands a little muddy preparing our garden for the herbs and vegetables.  I love this time of the year, when you can almost taste spring in the air.

This is the third year I'll  be growing seeds indoors to get a jump start on our vegetable garden.  I feel like a science teacher as I prepare seeds with R and G.

We tried a new seed-starting method this year, beginning seeds in plastic bag with a wet coffee filter.  Seeds seem to germinate more quickly this way, and for seeds like peppers that take extra long to sprout, this method can give seeds a kick-start.

Here's a quick tutorial on starting seeds with a wet coffee filter:

1.  Gather your supplies:  seeds, coffee filters, baggies.  Label the baggies, so you know which seeds are which:


 2.  Wet the coffee filter until saturated and add a few seeds.  Seal the bag:


3.  Place the bag near something warm:  on top of your fridge or by an HVAC vent.  Seeds do not need light to germinate (remember, they're underground usually during this process) and you shouldn't have to re-water.

4.  In about 4-7 days, you will see them sprouting!:


 4.  Carefully remove the seeds (using a coffee filter makes it much easier than a paper towel):


5.  And plant in a soilless mix.  Need a tutorial on making homemade cups of soil?  Click here for the tutorial on Seed Starts for Vegetable Plants.



After a few more days, you'll have little seedling plants, ready to grow and thrive in your garden!

Once your danger of frost has passed, you can place the plants outdoors, after you have hardened your plants: Seed Starts, Part 2 (how to "harden" seedlings before planting).

Happy Spring!

Life is sweet,
SPC 

4 comments:

Charles Null said...

I wish for the great of success in all of our destiny endeavors

Elizabeth said...

All of us highly recommend within my website and the team!

Kelly Ramos said...

We were satisfied with their communication, scheduling, and delivery content

tripcentre said...

I think one of your advertisings triggered my browser to resize, you might want to put that on your blacklist. cafe latte