Non-Profit Internet Source for News, Events, History, & Culture of Northern Frederick & Carroll County Md./Southern Adams County Pa.

 

The Small Town Gardener

Seed starting: Plan and organize now for a calm season later

Marianne Willburn

(1/2025) For gardeners who grow few plants from seed, or who only grow the seeds that they can scatter with a drink in their hands in spring (preferably from the deck), the process may feel complicated and time consuming.

Sure, time is money, but if you’ve been watching prices sharply increase for tiny tomato seedlings; and been frustrated by the loss of cheap 6-packs in nurseries and big boxes, you may be wondering if seed starting is the way forward.

Buying individual kale plants in 3-inch pots for $3.29 when you can get a packet of 100 seeds for the same price is incredibly motivating. So is finding that your favorite tomato is not being carried by the nurseries this year and having to slice something inferior onto your BLT.

Relax. You’ve Got Time

Unless you’re hard core and have relatively unusual seeds that need to start cold stratification in January, the good news is that this month is a time for planning, not planting. It’s time to browse the catalogs, check the seeds that you have, and give yourself an ordering cutoff date so you don’t wake up at the end of March empty handed.

For some of your cool season crops such as kale or broccoli, seeds ordered in January and planted in trays in February, will give you respectable seedlings to plant out in March. If you’re a fair-weather gardener, and tomatoes and peppers are your thing, you won’t need to start seeds until the beginning of March for our area.

Direct or Indirect?

Whatever you’re planting, get organized the moment the seeds hit your mailbox. Take some time to think about whether you are direct sowing (straight into the ground) or indirect sowing (into a pot for transplant later).

Most plants do well indirectly sown (with the exception perhaps of root vegetables). This is generally preferred for plants that need more protection, more warmth, or extra time to germinate. Direct sowing is often preferred when larger quantities of a vegetable are required (such as lettuce or chard). It might mean later vegetables, or seedlings lost to insects, weather, or birds; but it could save you some hassle.

Now, Get Organized

The following Grab & Sow method (I should totally trademark that) for getting your seed packets organized – and more importantly, keeping them organized – has really worked well for me over the years. My aim is to do almost all the thinking at one time and then allow myself to go on autopilot for the season – grabbing only the seeds I need on the date I need them.

First, you’ll need an airtight rectangular container to hold and organize your existing seed collection. If you’ve got old seeds, check the germination rate by sealing 10 seeds in a Ziploc bag with a damp paper towel. If only 4 germinate, you’ve got a 40% germination rate and may want to buy new seeds or sow double what you think you’ll need.

Divide Your Seeds for Easy Browsing

Make some 3x5" dividing cards out of an old manila folder (so they stand way up above the seeds) and on the top edge, categorize these dividers with a sharpie marker. Years ago, my labels consisted of three divisions: Vegetables, Flowers, Herbs. Now they are more specific: Tomatoes, Brassicas, Greens, Peppers, Perennials, Annuals etc…

"File" your seeds appropriately and keep your filing cabinet somewhere cool and dark and where you can access it the minute new seeds come in the door.

Create This Season’s Grab & Sow Organizer (patent pending)

Once all your seeds have arrived and been ‘filed,’ take an hour on the weekend to pull the packets you’re growing this year. Be honest with yourself.

Now to make your actual Grab & Sow Organizer. I use a rectangular plastic container and 3x5 cards which are reusable year after year, but if you’re not sowing many, you can use large paper envelopes to hold each week’s seeds.

Write a number on the top of each card or envelope that represents how many weeks before your last frost date it is. I usually go up to 12, but I’m indirectly sowing cool season vegetables and flowers.

On a separate piece of paper, write down the dates that the number corresponds to this year so you can clearly see (for instance) that if it is February 8th, you are 12 weeks before the first frost. February 15th would be 11, etc. etc.

Sort Your Seeds by Week Numbers

Read the info on the packet and keep a good seed book handy for extra information. I recommend Sibler’s Herbs and Vegetables from Seed, but your local extension office can give you more regional advice.

Decide if you are planting the seed directly or indirectly. Put a big "D" or "I" on the top of the packet with your marker and then figure out where to slot them, Week 12 or Week 4? Stick the seeds behind that divider and do the next packet. And the next.

For instance, peppers are usually started indoors (indirectly) eight weeks before first frost. Write "I" on the packet, find the divider that reads 8, and slot the seeds into place behind it.

Feel Exceptionally Organized

When you have finished, you’ll have something that instantly tells you what you’re planting this week and how you’re doing it. It’ll also tell you when, exactly, you need to get started so the season doesn’t get away from you.

Each weekend, grab the seeds that correspond to the date, plant them (that’s a column for another day) and refile the packet in the big container. If you’re sowing more in a couple weeks for succession planting, pop the packet behind a divider two weeks from now.

Think Once, Plant Efficiently

Seed starting doesn’t have to be chaotic or anxiety-inducing. Or complicated. Thinking ahead in January will pay rich rewards when the season picks up in a couple months.

Read past editions of The Small Town Gardener

Marianne is a Master Gardener and the author of Big Dreams, Small Garden.
You can read more at www.smalltowngardener.com