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 Growing Bedding Plants From Seed
Excerpt from Secrets of Plant Propagation, by Lewis Hill
Annual vegetable and flower seedlings that are started early in the season, for later transplanting to the garden, are classified as "bedding plants." If you intend to sell nursery stock, this type of operation makes it possible to earn an income from plants you grow and sell the same season.
There are many good reasons for growing your own bedding plants, even if you don't intend to sell them. If you use many plants, the financial savings are worthwhile. You will no doubt be able to grow plants that are larger and healthier than those you could buy, and you have better control over their size when you set them out. If you want plants that are new or unusual, you probably will need to grow them yourself, too, since most sales outlets are rather limited in the number of varieties they carry. Most gardeners admit that one reason they grow their own bedding plants is for the pleasure of working with the tiny green seedlings while winter still rages outdoors.
The vegetable and flower seeds, my family started in the house each spring when I was a child always sprouted and grew well on our sunny window sills, and I don't remember that we ever lost any because of disease. When I later became more seriously interested in gardening, however, the seeds often sprouted well, began to grow, and then fell over dead. I had no idea of how to cope with the problem.
Bit by bit, I discovered what I'd been doing wrong. My family had planted tomatoes, cabbage, and marigolds in the rich, virgin soil we had brought from or maple woods each fall. They planted them in our home where three roaring woodstoves kept the temperature above 75 degrees F. day and night.
By contrast, due to high fuel costs for our electric and oil stoves, we had begun to keep our home quite cool, especially at night, and although my seedlings usually got plenty of heat in the sunny bay window during the day, the rest of the time it was far too cold for them. Instead of using healthy soil from the woods, I planted seeds in a garden soil-sand mixture, which was loaded with viruses. Furthermore, I was attempting to grow eggplants, celery, petunias, begonias, and similar plants which were much more susceptible to disease than the easy-to-grow seedlings of tomatoes and cabbage.
To add to the problems, the water I thoughtlessly used on the plants was taken directly from our cold water faucet and was only a few degrees above freezing. It kept the soil wet and cold for hours. I also faithfully watered the plants early in the morning, according to all the directions, "because the sun would dry out the soil during the day." Unfortunately, often the weather turned cloudy by 10 a.m., and it rained or snowed, which meant that the plants stayed cool and dripping wet all day. Naturally they didn't grow on those days, and were ripe for attack from the various root diseases that thrive in such conditions.
Commercial greenhouses do a big business in bedding plants every year because so many gardeners have difficulties in starting seeds inside, just as I did. Fortunately the problems of home growing can be easily remedied when the plants' requirements are understood.
Germinating Temperatures
The seeds of most bedding plants germinate best when the temperature is kept between 75 and 80 degrees F. from the time they are planted until the plants develop their first set of true leave. Try to keep the temperature relatively constant throughout the day and night. If you grow the seedlings near cold windows, move them when it becomes dark outside, so they will be close to a radiator or stove during the night.
After the plants have developed, they grow best in a cooler temperature-approximately 65 to 70 degrees F. by day, and 55 to 60 degrees at night. Some exceptions are the heat-loving plants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and the concubits-squash, cucumbers, and such, which prefer 70 to 80 degrees F. by day, and 60 to 70 degrees F. at night.
Whatever the temperature, keep the plants out of drafts caused by open doors, windows, or fans. The chill factor works on plants as well as people, and they are adversely affected by cool breezes or sudden temperature fluctuations.
Although seeds will sprout in the dark if the temperature is right, they develop well only if they get plenty of light. Imitate the long days of spring and give them as much light as possible for the first two weeks.
The proper amount of water is critical for seedling growth. Too much or too little at the wrong time, or the wrong temperature, can kill them or create conditions for disease, as my bad experience showed. It is a painstaking job to sprinkle a flat of seedlings with just the right amount of water, but the results are worth the effort.
For many years I tried to fulfill all the fussy requirements of bedding plants as I started them in sunny windows, hotbeds, and greenhouses. I used heating pads, soil cables, and plastic tents, all with varying degrees of success. The big breakthrough came when I finally discovered grow lights. Grow lights make it easier for a home gardener, with a minimum of space, to satisfy all the requirements of small seedlings. We have consistently had good luck using them and they are now our favorite method of starting bedding plants.
If you have not had success in starting plants in your home, you may want to try grow lights. If you prefer hotbeds, windows, or cold frames, you can still adapt the following cultural directions to your method.
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