Starting Seeds Indoors: Part One

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This article is the first of hopefully many articles as I provide tips and ideas on having a vegetable garden in Coastal South Carolina. Click through to learn what I’m growing and how I’m starting my seeds for this year’s garden. 

Some of you reading this article will not believe that in Zone 8b, it’s already time to start seeds. I’m too southern to plant my garden my summer garden until the week of Easter, but I’m starting some of my seeds indoors this week. There’s something symbolic about planting during the Easter season that I really enjoy: new life, new beginnings and hope of a full harvest!

This year, I ordered from the Burpee seed catalog the following plants and I’ve categorized them by when I plan to start them indoors: 

February:

-Cabbage

-Turnips

-Collards

-Spinach

March:

-Tomatoes

-Cucumber

-Broccoli

April:

-Peppers

-Loofa

To start my seeds, I have some supplies from previous years that I’ll use, some of which I bought and some of which I scavenged over the years. First, I use a cardboard box that I’ve covered the inside of with aluminum foil so that Its shiny and reflective. Then, I put a warming mat at the bottom of the box. I fill my seed starting trays with a mixture of garden soil, compost and vermiculite. I make sure the soil is wet but not soaked and I plant the seeds at the depth indicated on the package. Watering first is important so your seeds don’t move around after you’ve placed them at the right depth. Next, I place the seed tray on the warming mat in the box. I position a grow light so that it’s over the box. The foil helps reflect the light and adds more light for the seeds. As my seeds grow, I’ll thin the less healthy plants out to leave only the strongest plants. Sometimes, if I have multiple strong plants, I’ll try to separate them but I’ll cover how to move the baby plants into a larger cup in the next article. For now, once your seeds are planted, be sure to water them and monitor their progress. Adjust your light up and down to ensure the plants are getting plenty of light. 

Planting a garden in early spring is just one of many reasons why I love living in Coastal South Carolina. If you have questions or would like to learn more (or just want to talk gardening), please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help!

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