Seed Starting – Prior Unity Garden Blog

Process & Budget Tips to Get Ready for Seed Starting

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020priorunityLeave a comment

Sometime in January or February I really start honing in on starting seeds indoors for my spring and summer plants. It occurred to me, the steps I take to get ready to start my seeds could be useful for you, so here we go …

I start by deciding what I want to grow in the spring and follow-on for the summer. Make a list of what you want to grow, using variety names where you know them. Also make notes about what you’d like to try that would be new for you. Include any types of crops you would like to replace because they did not do well. This could be a type of crop, like broccoli, or it could be that a variety that didn’t do well, so you want to find another one to try.

image of seed inventory spreadsheet page — Your seed inventory can be in a spreadsheet, notebook, jotted on a peice of paper or on your phone.

At some point in this process, do an inventory of your seeds and see what gaps you might have between what seeds you have and what is on your list of plants to grow.

By Mid-January I have received most of my seed catalogs, although there are a couple stragglers in February. Once you have your list of what seeds you need, then you can go through your catalogs and see who has what you want.

When looking for a new variety, compare not only different choices in one catalog, but in more than one. If you think you have found a variety you want to try, see if any of your other seed companies carry it and read their description also. More information on the variety helps you hone in on the best variety for you to try based on your goals.

Granted, I tend to go through each catalog when I get it and then multiple times thereafter. I’ll put a tick mark by anything that looks interesting and I might want to get.

I make a photo copy of the order form so as I start to hone in on what I want to get, I can use the form while looking at the catalogs. That way I am not constantly looking in each catalog for where the order form is. I don’t send the forms in, I will call (first choice) or order online, but having the list makes the ordering processing faster, simpler and easier, plus I can calculate any tax or shipping for budgeting. I can also check my list against the packing list when the seeds come in.

I’ll fill out the forms in pencil, so when I see the total cost of them all, which is pretty much always more than I want to spend, I can go back and erase what I cut out to stay in budget. Alternatively, I’ll star the items I am not going to order, or erase the price, so it does not end up in the total. This way I have the list of everything I wanted to grow in case my budget allows for another seed order later.

Which leads to another budget tip. Spread out ordering from your preferred companies. Order from the ones who have the first seeds you need to start and order last from companies with varieties you can start later. I will sometimes adjust who I am buying what from for this purpose. If I see something I want to grow in the fall, I will often wait to order those varieties until June when I’ll be needing to get them started.

Enjoy a cup of tea and browsing those seed catalogs!

Not sure the best companies to buy from – Get My List of Recommended Seed Companies – Its Free!

Build Your Own Seed Starting Rack

April 25, 2019April 25, 2019priorunityLeave a comment

Hi folks, I friend messaged me this week asking if I could recommend a seed starting rack. She is in Wisconsin, so getting started now with her seed starting.

I confess I have little experience with pre-made seed starting racks and systems. I have been gifted with one, but I don’t like it as well as the one my sweetheart made.

Here is the Materials List:

Found plywood, 2×2, 2×4
Shop lights
Chain
Hooks
Screws
Wire
Switch box/s
Timer

Know your soil – Free Soil Course

General process to build your own seed starting rack:

Decide where you want to put your rack. It is best if you can place it in front of a window that gets good light as this will enhance the productivity of your rack. I can also say, it is really nice if you can place it in a permanent location. Ours was built with screws so it can be taken down an reassembled, but frankly, since I am four season gardening, I just keep it up.
Consider how much space you need for seed starting. Small scale home gardeners may not need much. My rack holds 14 seed trays and that is not enough for all I grow. Most folks can get away with one bank of lights which will cover two to four standard sized seed trays. A double bank will give you space for four or five seed trays.
I prefer to use found wood instead of buying new since so much is thrown out these days. We used wood found in a dumpster in back of a store, and some left over from a job.
Build the thing. It can be as simple or complicated as you make it. I have the advantage of having a partner who is a contractor, so he built and wired switches for me.

The best way to show you how we build it is in photos .. so here you go …

DYI Seed Starting Rack — My homemade three tired seed starting rack – front view. The rack has three shelves and uses old shop lights. We found some of these in the trash, some were from a friend who was getting rid of them. Each shelf has two banks of two lights. I use old fashioned ones to have the heat for summer seedlings. One cool and one warm in each bank which is less expensive than “grow lights”.

make your own seed starting rack — Outside corner of the rack.

build a place to start seeds — Inside corner.

seed rack height — We used hooks and chain, attached to a bar on the outside of each shop light to raise and lower the lights to accommodate different height plants.

put your seed rack next to a window for more light — Inside where the chain is attached to the rack.

The top bank we just had lights so made a really simple holder.

grow plants from seed — The top bank we hung from the ceiling.

Wiring for switches. We have a switch on each side so we can turn on one set of lights on each bank. This allows us to put the trays in either direction for growth or saving electricity if we don’t need both sets of lights at once in a bank.

how to start seedlings — Bottom who shelves filled. I will sometimes put trays on top of the lights until they germinate to make more room, as in this picture.

Know Your Soil – Free Soil Course

Territorial Seed Company – 2017 Seed Catalog Reviews

February 24, 2017April 12, 2019priorunityLeave a comment

For years I have considered Territorial to perhaps be my favorite seed company although I really cannot pick one favorite as you can see from this series of posts. The reason Territorial Seeds has gotten consistently high marks is because they have such a wonderful large diverse selection of varieties, with most being open pollinated. I must say, for 2017, they seem to be moving into more hybrids to a disappointing degree. I prefer a large selection of open pollinated varieties with a few highly tested hybrids for certain situations.

Get a Free Workbook to Start Your Organic Garden

That said, they have made one major improvement in their already outstanding catalog. Territorial has always provided outstanding growing information in their catalogs, making it a great resources, but for 2017, they have improved the layout of the information, which now looks similar to Sow True Seed and is much easier to read than previous years.

Territorial is very conscious of offering quality non-GMO seed. Although not all their selections are organic, they do have organic options. One of the first seed companies we started using in the 1980s and the only one who has had the sustaining power to keep us coming back all these decades later.

Some interesting new varieties they are offering for 2017 are Sugar Magnolia, a violet-podded snap pea, Nurti-Red carrot, high in lycopene, Dazzling Blue lacinato kale with shocking pink midribs.

Wanting an orange cauliflower the variety of which is NOT owned by Monsanto (Cheddar is owned by them), try Orange Burst Cauliflower, a hybrid worth trying.

They carry many of our must have favorites including Blue Lake pole bean, Purple peacock broccoli, Alderman shelling pea, and Gourmet orange bell pepper. For red slicing tomatoes we like Stupice, Siletz and Carmelo. For smaller tomatoes try Gold Nugget, Chocolate cherry and Principe Borchese.

I’ve always loved their outstanding selection of lettuces. Some favorites include: Matina sweet and Victoria butterheads, Loma French crisp, Merlot and Two Star leaf and Flashy Trout’s Back (Forellenschluss) and Marshall romaine.

If you need or want a hybrid summer squash, Territorial has our two favorites, Raven zucchini and Bush baby, which is good for small space and container gardens. Considering great container varieties, Betterbush hybrid butternut squash lets you harvest butternut squashes from containers. Unheard of until recently, but we tried it last year and its true!

For those wanting to garden in all four seasons, Territorial has a Fall & Winter catalog dedicated to varieties for the cold seasons, including overwintering varieties. This catalog has the same type of great growing information you find in their Spring & Summer catalog.

My newsletter has even more tips plus cool specials – SIGN ME UP!

2017 Seed Catalog Reviews – Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

February 19, 2017January 31, 2017priorunityLeave a comment

For you local Virginians who want to support Virginia businesses, Southern Exposure is for you.

They are a great source of varieties that grow well in the mid-Atlantic and Southern states, including some local heirloom varieties. Popular examples include Old Virginia tomato, an heirloom of the famous VA Ginter family, Anne Arundel melon, grown in Maryland since 1731, Mountain Princess tomato from the Monongahela National Forest area of West Virginia, and Seminole pumpkin, cultivated in Florida by Native American Indians since the 1500s and now grown by Living Energy Farm in Virginia.

Even if you are in another area of the country, they are a wonderful resource. They have a larger than usual selection of collards, okra, southern (or cow, or blackeye) peas, and tomatillos. If you want to try your hand at growing natural colored cotton or peanuts, Southern Exposure is your seed company.

Interesting new selections for 2017 include Withner White Cornfield bean, an Indiana heirloom for growing up corn stalks, and Geranium Kiss, a red dwarf determinate tomato for containers.

Early White Bush Scallop patty pan squash has been a family favorite of ours since the 1960s and these folks have it along with our other family favorite, yellow crookneck. We also like Sweet Valentine romaine lettuce which we have not found elsewhere in recent years.

I like their selection of watermelons which include red, yellow and orange fleshed varieties.

Southern Exposure has a good selection of seed saving equipment. We always enjoy their selections for hot humid climates like ours, hope you do too.

Sow True Seed – 2017 Seed Catalog Reviews

February 10, 2017January 31, 2017priorunityLeave a comment

We love these folks more and more each year. Every time I open their catalog, it makes me happy. Their mission statement sort of covers why: “.. to preserve our shared botanical heritage and grow a new era of sustainable culture and ecological wisdom. We support independent, regional agricultural initiatives that foster vibrant, sustainable economy, and true food sovereignty.”

They carry only open pollinated varieties that ‘grow true from seed”, meaning when you save seed and plant it, you’ll get the same variety. Although they are not 100% organic, they support small farms who cannot afford organic or biodynamic certification. They provide seed from their network of skilled regional growers and independently-owned North American seed producers. That often means you are supporting small family farmers when you buy seed from Sow True Seed.

Want custom printed seed packets for your special event, business or fundraiser? You can get them from Sow True.

Sow True Seed has an impressive, very well rounded section of seeds, which can be hard to find from companies who don’t carry loads of varieties for each plant. It is obvious they really take care in varietal selection. This is a standout aspect of Sow True. They could easily be your only seed company and you’ll have a great garden.

Some of our favorite selections include: Jericho lettuce, Ashe County, Red Ruffled and Tangerine pimento sweet peppers, Hearts of Gold melon, Red Acre cabbage, Snowball self-blanching cauliflower, Ronde de Nice summer squash, Blue Hubbard winter squash, and Bush Pickle cucumber which is great for containers. They also carry Tam Jalapeno, a variety we grew years ago to make salsa for those who can’t take much heat.

Sow True Seed also has a fun selection of Seed Collections for those just starting out or wanting some inspiration. Their catalog provides useful information on throughout, including companion planting information, making the catalog a valuable resource.

Please support these folks, as they are a wow of doing the future right. Plus how awesome is there name?

Harden-off Your Babies Right

March 3, 2015April 18, 2019priorunityLeave a comment

Hardening off trays of seedlings along a warm brick sidewalk

Hardening off your seedlings is an important step to insuring they bound into growth and production when put unto the ground.

Hardening off refers to how we acclimate seedlings; who have been started indoors, to their final outdoor environment, by slowing getting them used to increased amounts of sun, wind and rain. If we do not harden off our seedlings, they will experience what is called “transplant shock” and likely die, or at least not grow well and thrive. Hardening off does require a bit of flexibility and may be the most attention intensive part of starting your plants from seed indoors. The process only takes a couple of week though, and the opportunity for observation is great, so do not be discouraged. You are strengthening the babies you started.

Get Great Organic Garden Tips & a Free Workbook

Steps to Harden Off seedlings:

Check the seeds catalogs and packets to find out the cold or heat tolerance of your seedling type and take this into consideration when hardening off.
Ideally, only expose your plants to filtered sunlight for a hour or two the first couple of days. You can also begin on a cloudy day and leave them out for 2 or 3 hours
Gradually expose them to more sun at a rate of 1 to 2 hours per day of time outside.
Be sure to bring your seedlings in at night for at least a week as they are not likely used to cold nights. Bring them in if frost threatens.
Do not leave them out if the weather calls for high wind or heavy rain, they are not strong enough yet to handle these conditions, yet.
By a couple of weeks time, you want your seedlings out all the time and they can then be planted into your containers garden. You can harden them off and keep them in their smaller containers longer depending upon your schedule.

Get Great Organic Garden Tips & a Free Workbook

5 Simple Steps to Seed Starting Success

February 23, 2015April 18, 2019priorunityLeave a comment

Fellow gardeners take heart that spring will come and the snow will melt! In the meantime, starting seeds indoors helps keep the winter blues away.

seedlings like light — Seedlings under lights

Here are 5 simple steps to successful start your plants indoors:

Choose high quality seed from a reputable seed company. For a list of the companies I recommend, click here. See prior posts under Seed Companies for more on choosing a seed company.
Pick crops to start indoors that transplant well like tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and cucumbers. Read your seed catalogs or the back of seed packets to see if that type of plant is good started indoors.
Use quality seed starting mix. Either choose an organic mix from a reputable company or make your own with peat, vermiculite and perlite.
Give your seedlings lots of light and warmth. You can set up a simple home seedling rack with 3’ shoplights over a shelf that can hold 5 seedling trays. Building it yourself will save you money.
Start your seedlings at the right time. Seed catalogs and packets will tell you when to start your seedlings. For example, cucumbers, melons and squash are generally started 3 to 4 weeks before they will be planted out. Remember to add in time for hardening off. For more on this, see my upcoming post.

Get Great Organic Garden Tips & a Free Workbook