Starting Seed

Buy seed from a reputable company. For best germination, use fresh seed. If you have to store seed, keep it in dry containers in a cool, dark place.

Sow seeds when the seed packet directs. Plant on a small or large scale. A 6-inch pot easily accomodates from 1 to 100 seedlings, depending on the plant grown. Use trays or flats for large quantities.

Step 1

1. Fill tray or pot with sterile medium, mist with water, then top with 1/4 inch of milled sphagnum moss. Press moss with book. Sprinkle seeds across moss surface or into shallow rows.

Step 2

2. Cover larger seeds with a sprinkling of moss. Pat small seeds into moss. Mist again. Cover tray with glass or plastic; place on heating pad or refrigerator. Place in light suggested on packet. Mist when moss begins to dry.

Step 3

3. Remove glass when seedlings pop through moss. Move seedlings to brighter light. Transplant when second set of leaves develops. Dig seedlings up gently, holding by one of the leaves, not the stem.

Step 4

4. Give each seedling its own small pot, filled to within 1/2 inch of top with light soil. Firm the soil around the base of each stem, making sure not to bury the leaves.Water immediately. Move plants steadily into brighter light.