Here’s our simple step-by-step guide to starting your own garden seeds inside:
1. Gather all materials
Materials needed:
- Seed flats or homemade pots. You can buy seed flats from your local garden center or make your own with plastic egg cartons, empty yogurt containers, etc. Make sure to poke drainage holes in any homemade pots.
- Drip tray. These can be purchased from a garden center.
- Soil
- Homemade compost or potting soil from a garden center. Make sure the soil is not too dense to allow for proper drainage.
- Seeds. Examples of plants that thrive when sprouted indoors include cosmos, zinnias, sweet peas, heat-loving vegetables, and herbs.
- Five-gallon bucket
2. Put soil into a bucket and moisten it with water until it loosely keeps its shape when squeezed.
3. Fill pots or plant flats to the top with soil.
4. Poke ½ inch deep finger holes in each pot or cell.
5. Place 1-2 seeds in each hole.
6. Cover with a light dusting of soil.
7. Place seed flats or pots on drip trays in a sunny location (preferably a south-facing warm window).
8. Fill drip trays with one to two inches of water and allow pots to soak up the water from below.
9. Keep soil moist by refilling the drip tray with water every few days.
10. Watch as your seedlings grow!