Growing Good Transplants From Seed

Something that we have learned over the last few years is that healthy, sturdy transplants make a huge difference in the success of your garden. When we first started out our plant starts were not much to be proud of. They were usually tall and spindly and many of them didn't survive being transplanted to the garden. It was discouraging to say the least. Another area that has been a challenge, especially as we grew more and  more transplants each year has been keeping track of varieties, start dates, etc. Over the past few years we have slowly developed systems and learned the best methods for growing healthy transplants from seed. We still keep learning new tricks every year, as well as make mistakes every year.

When we first started farming five years ago we had little experience, no infrastructure, and not much money. But we jumped right in and did what we could, learning as we went along. We didn't really have a great place to start plants at the beginning, so we ended up growing them next to every window in the house. After a couple springs of having flats of plants on every available flat surface in the house, we knew we had to come up with a new plan. It got to the point where we had plants on the table, the counters, the washer and dryer, and extra folding tables. So last year we added a small addition which is half greenhouse to the back of the house and bought 4 sturdy metal shelves that hold 24 flats each. It has made a huge difference. We still outgrew the shelves last year and had to set up folding tables, but at least they weren't in the house anymore. We do still start our earliest plants especially peppers and tomatoes on a set of shelves in the house to make sure they stay warm enough.

Now on to the basics of how we organize our seeds and plant records and how we grow our transplants. We start the year off deciding how much of each crop we want to grow and ordering our seeds. When the seeds arrive they first get entered into a spreadsheet on the computer with the name of the variety, the quantity, and where we bought it from. Next the seed packets get stored in shoebox size plastic tubs. I use rubberbands to keep the varieties together, for example all the broccoli, or lettuce, or tomatoes together. Then they go into the boxes in alphabetical order by crop and the boxes are marked with the letters they contain.

Our seed organizing system

I like to have a plan to make sure I get everything started on time so I created another spreadsheet with a date for each week and how many flats of each crop I want to start that week. Of course that is based on how many beds of each crop that we decided on earlier. Then I know how many flats I need Andrew to make for me each week and how much space they will take up in our grow room. Andrew usually makes the flats and I usually plant them. This year I stuck my planting schedule on the refrigerator, that way I will see it and remember to do it! 

We start all our plants in soil blocks that we make with a soil block tool. It compresses the soil mix into 1.5 inch cubes with an indentation on the top for the seed. Each flat holds about 75 soil blocks. We have found this to be a very efficient and economical way to go. We also make our own soil mix, it is cheaper and works better for us. Here is our recipe.For making soil blocks it needs to be very wet, but it also works well in cell packs or pots.

7 1/2 gallons peat
1/2 cup lime (mix with peat)
5 gallons perlite
5 gallons compost 
1 cup blood meal
1 cup phosphate rock
1 cup greensand
Mix well

Flats full of soil blocks

 One seed (two if it is older seed, then thin to one plant) gets planted in each indentation. I do not even cover my seeds. I used to cover them lightly with soil, then I started just gently pressing them in with the end of a pencil, now I just put the seeds in and it works fine. As I plant each flat I place a small sticker with a number on it at one end. This number gets noted on my flat planting record sheet. I keep track of each flats number, crop, variety, date planted and I am supposed to record germination rates and dates but usually forget. This year we have also been taking stickers and putting them on the side of the flats with the name of the varieties. We always plant in even rows so that it is more straightforward. The stickers that we use are the leftover edges from our labels for our lip balm, scrubs, etc.

The flat number

The flat planting record sheet

Keeping records

The varieties marked on the side

After the flats are planted they go on one of the shelves. The early ones start off indoors on a shelf behind the wood stove. We have found that some of the most important factors to growing good starts are warmth, moisture and light. Warmth and moisture are especially important while the seeds are germinating. We check the flats often to make sure they are not drying out at all. Being behind the wood stove keeps them nice and warm but can also dry them out quickly if we are not careful. If you keep your seeds moist and warm they will usually germinate quickly and at a good rate. For a few crops like peppers, tomatoes, and basil we also use a heat mat underneath the flats to keep them consistently warm if the fire is out or something. 

We watch carefully for the first little sprouts to appear. As soon as they do light becomes very important and we move them to a shelf that has fluorescent lights above it. When we first started out we depended solely on sunlight from the windows, but it just wasn't enough and that was the biggest reason for spindly, weak plants. But at the time we didn't spend any money unless we had to so we made due. Thankfully as we have done a little bit better we were able to afford some lights. We have found that it works best to have 2 sets of lights on each shelf, but it does work to have only one if next to a sunny window. Even the plants that are out in the greenhouse addition do better with some supplemental light. 

We start all of our own transplants from seed at this point. In the past we bought onion sets but it is hard to find organic ones(which we are required to use) at all, let alone reasonably priced ones, so we have been starting those ourselves as well. Most crops spend about 4-6 weeks in the soil block and then get transplanted directly to the garden. These include lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, kale, cucumbers, and squash. Some crops spend 4-6 weeks in the soil blocks and then get potted into 4" pots. These are mainly tomatoes, peppers, and basil. The onions and leeks are done a little differently. They are scattered into a flat that is full of soil mix and grown in there until they are ready to separate out and transplant to the garden. 

Well that is the overview of how we start and grow our transplants. Of course there is a lot more I could get into about each crop, how much to water etc., but the main things are keeping your plants moist enough and warm enough and having good lighting. Those three things have made a huge difference in the success of our transplants. If you have any more questions or if I forgot anything please ask!

The flats on the shelf. The bottom shelf without lights hasn't come up yet,
the shelves above have two lights each.

Pepper seedlings

Onions, basil, and tomatoes, in the addition.
 The shelf with the tomatoes has one light on it.

Tomatoes after being potted up into 4" pots

Basil under lights

This is an example of the difference good light makes.
This flat was grown on a shelf that had one light
down the center. You can see that the lettuce in the middle of the flat is
much darker green and lusher. The lettuce on either side looks a little
pale and sickly in comparison. I actually ended up throwing
 out some of the lettuce on the left side because it was so bad.