Growing Seeds With Supplies You Have at Home

Now that February is in full swing and my seed orders have been placed (and most received), I will spend the next few weeks getting ready to start many seeds indoors and get a jump-start on the growing season. Most seed companies recommend you start seeds indoors approximately 8 weeks prior to the last frost in your area. Here in zone 6, danger of the last serious frost has usually passed by the first week of May. Just to be on the safe side, I usually start my indoor sowing in mid-March.

Last year I bought a few big seed starting trays with greenhouse lids. Since I saved those, I'll wash them thoroughly, and I've ordered new seed starting pellets to refill them with soil this year. Here are the trays I bought last year: https://www.burpee.com/gardening-supplies/grow-kits/72-and-36-cell-greenhouse-kits-prod002626.html

Because of the popularity of gardening during quarantine, there has been very high demand for these products and they aren't always readily available. Don't despair! Using supplies on hand around your house, it's easy to make seed starting trays on your own.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Scissors

2. Paper towel cardboard tubes (as many as you can save)

3. Potting soil

4. Deep plastic trays with either clear lids or plastic wrap instead of a lid (I use containers that baked goods often come in from my local grocer)

How do you do it? See this slide show for step by step instructions or read on below!

Step One: Cut cardboard tubes with scissors into 3 to 4 inch sections.

Step Two: On one end, cut 4 evenly spaced .5 to 1 inch notches to make 4 tabs.

Step Three: Fold down each tab, tucking the last one in under the first.

Step Four: Fill with potting soil, dampen with water, add seeds.

Step Five: Put seed pots into plastic containers and cover with clear lid or plastic wrap.

Step Six: Once your seeds sprout, remove the lid and water only when they appear to be drying out.

You have the next 4 weeks to start prepping for planting, but here are some of the other jobs to do in the garden this month:

1. Trim Decorative Grasses - I usually take them down to about 8-12 inches. You can add those trimmings to your compost heap!

2. Prune Roses - I have a Grandiflora Rose that I'll hard prune down to about 10-15 inches above the graft union. This will encourage strong growth during the season.

3. Prune Type 3 Clematis- Only prune type 3, though. Pruning the others will limit their blooms. How can you tell which kind you have? Type 3 bloom on new wood from summer into fall.

4. Depending on the weather, at the very end of the month, I will begin to clean out beds of the leaves and debris from last season. If it's snowy, I'll defer this to early March.