Sowing Seeds Indoors: Resources

Image Credits: aneheathen (left), Jnzl's Public Domain Photos (top right), and John Athayde (bottom right)

Starting seeds indoors is easy and fun, and can give your plants a critical head-start. If you are just getting started, here are some beginners' tips for successful seed starting. For a list of plants you should start seeding now, see the list below, and follow the link to the University of Missouri Extension website for a complete guide on what seeds to start when.

Tips and Considerations for Starting Seeds Indoors:

• Soil: It's best to use seed-starting mix that is light, fluffy, sterile, and ideal for fragile seedlings.
• Planting Containers: This is where you can get creative! Any small, light container is okay to start seeds in, and recycled yogurt cups, egg cartons, and homemade newspaper pots are great candidates. Just remember to poke holes in the bottom for drainage.
• Check out this guide for making DIY seedling pots from recycled newspaper.
• Check out this list of 8 DIY seed starting pots.
• Sunlight: Seedlings should be kept in a very sunny spot for optimum growth. 
• Humidity: Plant seeds in moist starting mix and cover your containers with loose-fitting plastic to seal in humidity. Once seedlings sprout up, you can take the cover off.
• For more seed starting tips, read this guide from burpee.com, or check out this step-by-step guide with photos from gardenbetty.com

Seeds to start now (ideal to start in late March): 

• eggplant
• pepper
• tomato

Seeds to start soon (ideal to start in late April):

• cucumber
• okra
• pumpkin
• squash
• watermelon

For a complete guide on when to start sowing seeds indoors, take a look at the University of Missouri Extension's guide for seeding date, germination times, time until harvest, and more. The guide covers both flower and vegetable seeds.