[MUSIC PLAYING]
Thanks for tuning in and joining us,
we're talking about seeds starting right now.
So I thought I'd take you through some of the equipment,
that you might find very helpful and useful to have
before you start your seeds.
So you'll want to gather these things before you even
get started.
So a couple of things to start with, you
want to have something to put our seeds in, we
need some kind of container system.
So this is what's called a pony pack,
these ones are made out of plastic.
You can get things that are biodegradable,
you can use whatever makes you happy, you can use peat pots,
you could do soil blocking.
Whatever works for you.
You just have to have some kind of system,
and some kind of container in order to start your seeds.
You want to make sure that they have good drainage.
So you can see I've got drainage holes here,
and I've also got a tray for these to go into,
and you can see that the tray also has drainage holes.
And that's really important.
If we let water sit-in these containers
while our seeds germinate, we can end up with diseases,
we can end up with all kinds of problems.
So drainage is very important.
So whatever you use, you have to poke holes
in the bottom, whatever you use that works out as well.
Other things you need some way to label,
I use popsicle sticks with a Sharpie marker works out great.
And then when I go to transfer things into the garden,
I know what I've got where.
Because sometimes in a system like this,
I'll have sometimes three, sometimes two different kinds
of plants in that system and I want to make sure
that these are labeled well.
Another thing is a plastic dome, this
should just go right down over whatever system you're using.
And this will help to keep moisture and humidity
in with our seeds.
So to get seeds to germinate, we have to have moisture,
so that they'll imbibe.
And that means that the seed is taking up
all of that water and swelling.
And then, we have to keep that kind of stable
while these seeds germinate and get going,
and put down root systems.
And it's very important that we maintain that moisture,
but not too much moisture.
So that's where that drainage comes in.
Another thing that you may want to pick up is a heat mat.
So these are really nice heat mats
and they can be a little bit pricey,
but these will go right underneath the system
that you're using.
So I would slide my system right on top of this mat,
and that is going to provide heat.
Now you can pick up a thermostat that
goes on the end of this heat mat, that will let you dial
in the temperature really well.
So if you want to be a 70 degrees or 65 degrees
for your soil temperature, because some seeds need
different soil temperatures to germinate the best.
So you may want to pick up one of those,
so that you can get some really good control of the environment
of the seedlings.
The other thing and this is the thing
that people tend to skimp on, because it's expensive
and I know it is.
But the most important thing is light,
and so this is the one piece that you should not skimp on.
This is an LED light, it is a pretty high end light.
I went kind of for the gusto here
because we're going to be using this a lot
at the US Botanical Center.
And let me plug it in and show you what it does,
it's pretty cool.
But we want to make sure we have a good light source, something
that has full spectrum light, which
means all the colors in the rainbow
or you can use red and blue light together.
Plants don't take up green light,
they reflect green light, so that's the one piece
that we don't necessarily need.
So this is a full spectrum light,
and it has some pretty cool controls.
I can control the brightness, so you can see
I get brighter and less bright.
And I can also control the warmth,
so I can do a little more red light, I can do more blue light
or I can be right in between.
So I'm actually going to run this right in between.
But I want to make sure that I have the light,
I have it available.
Some seeds need light to germinate.
So it's important that I have that light on right
from the get go.
And then once they germinate and start going,
I want that light to be right above my seed.
So an inch or two above, where my seedlings are
and where they're coming up.
I don't want them to touch the light,
and I want it to be right above.
So a window typically isn't enough light,
so you might have to invest in a really good light.
So those are some of the things that will help you get started.
I'm in our brand new high tunnel here at the US Botanical Center
that we're using for propagation,
it's so nice to have a space to do this.
We're going to be finishing up talking
about seeds starting today, so we're actually
going to start some seeds.
We'll check in with the seeds as time goes on,
show you how things are going, show you what failed,
show you what's working, all of that stuff.
So last week we talked about containers,
I have my containers here ready to go.
I have a nice lightweight you can kind of see how light it
is, really lightweight soil.
Mainly made up of peat moss, some compost,
there's a bunch of pearl light and vermiculite in here,
which are minerals that help us hold water and open up
pore spaces in the soil.
So that doesn't compact and so that we can move water and air
through the soil.
So I'm going to fill up my Little pony pack here,
and there's not a lot of big pieces in the soil.
It is really fine which is important
because I've got teeny tiny roots that are going
to be going through this soil.
So I'm going to fill it up I'm not
going to pack it down really just barely,
so that I know that it's filled.
And then, I'm going to grab my seeds.
Now the seeds.
I'm planting today are digitalis,
and I'm planting so early because I read the seed packet.
Now the seed packet is really important.
You should read this top to bottom,
you should do some research online
because there are a few key things that it will tell you
here.
Number one, how many weeks in advance to your last frost
to plant, this one says 10 to 12 weeks
before I plan to out in the garden,
and it needs to be started.
So January feels early, but when I look at 10 to 12 weeks.
That's the right timing.
So I want to make sure that I do that.
It also tells you your planting depth, this is a tiny seed
and it's going to go right on the top of the soil.
And I'm not really going to cover it up
because, it also tells me it needs
light to be able to germinate.
So I need to make sure I have light
available for these seedlings to germinate.
So I'm going to show you hopefully how teeny, tiny
these seeds are.
I mean look at this they're, so small.
So a little modular planter would help,
modular seeder would help you for sure I'm
going to be a little bit crazy and I'm going to do it by hand,
and I just take two or three in my fingers,
and I twist my fingers so slowly until I see one
maybe two drop down.
I mean you want to be really judicious, seeds are expensive
and especially some of these cut flower varieties are expensive.
So we don't want to waste seeds.
So after we get that done, and put this back,
put it back in the right packet.
So I know what it is.
Sometimes these little tiny seeds
come in wax paper bags inside your seed packet.
Now I'm going to put a material called perlite,
I've already mentioned that.
But I'm going to do a little scattering of perlite
over the top of these seeds.
I'm not going to do it heavy, really light.
This is going to help me to hold in a little bit of moisture,
so that these seeds can germinate,
but it's not going to impede the light.
I'm also going to water these seeds from the bottom up,
I am going to get the soil initially wet very
lightly, and then water from the bottom up.
So that I don't disturb the soil and cover up
the seeds, because we've got to have that light to germinate.
Last thing I'm going to do, is I'm going to label.
In this tray, I've got two different varieties.
I've got a pink and I've got a white digitalis.
I want to make sure that I know which one is which.
So when I go to plant them out in our cup flower garden,
it all makes sense.
So these are going to go on the heat mat,
they're also going to go under a light
that light is going to be right on top a few inches, one or two
inches above this tray, so that we can get good light
for good germination.
[MUSIC PLAYING]