I know winter has barely started, but thinking of gardening again gets us through it!
Before you order seeds from the glossy catalogs promising abundance, check out my list of easy versus not easy at all plants to start from seed! Annual flower seeds first: Not many can be successfully planted directly in the garden. Most do best from transplants. For instance, Impatiens are usually sown about 14-16 weeks before they are ready to plant outside. That kind of explains the cost of transplants, to know how long people have cared for them and the floor space they occupy for so long. Calculating a planting date for Impatiens, would be about mid-January.
For most gardeners, sowing these seeds and keeping the few alive that actually germinate for four months is not worth the hassle. Here is a list of annuals that are difficult to start from seed if you are inexperienced: impatiens, petunias, coleus, dusty miller, lisianthus, larkspur, pansy, pentas and begonias.
Not all annuals are difficult and here are some that you can start indoors with a light set-up (a window sill is not sufficient). These flowering plants need six to 10 weeks of growth before planting outside around May 15: annual salvia, zinnia, gomphrena, snapdragons, ageratum, alyssum, lobelia, asters, celosia, calendula, cleome, cosmos, dianthus, flowering kale, gypsophila, helichrysum, marigold, stocks and nicotiana.
Looking to plant seed directly in the garden? These guys can be started indoors for six to eight weeks or directly in the garden soil: marigolds, zinnia, sweet peas, sunflowers, cosmos, annual grasses, gomphrena, statice, nasturtium.
Perennial flower seeds are even more challenging than annuals to start. They often have extra requirements like: scarification, stratification, dark periods, long time periods to germ and critical temperatures. Often, they will also have poor germination rates, 100 seeds equals three plants. Bummer. It’s best to leave these to the pros. It can be fun, but temper your expectations.
Part of the struggle is providing all the different environments under the one grow light, in one room with one temperature. Once they are established plants and are growing outside, they aren’t as touchy as when they are just emerging in the seed tray.
Some seeds like snapdragons are very tiny, almost like dust. You can try mixing some seeds with sand to act as a filler to plant them more evenly in seed tray. Undoubtably, the snaps will germinate in clusters instead of individual plants. When they are large enough to handle, you will need to divide into individual plants and pot up separately. Then they need to recover and grow on. You may need to divide the clump a time or two and allow to grow on until plants are large enough to separate or just keep in a small clump.
Why are perennial plants more expensive than annuals? Let me count the ways! Perennial seed can often have some challenging requirements to get them to germinate. You should always research the seeds before starting as the packet may not contain all the detailed information. Some seeds require a stratification period. What is that? Exposure to either cold, freezing or warm temps for a certain period of time. In some cases, it may be freezing seeds dry or perhaps refrigerated in moist soil. It could also be exposure to warm temps or warm water.
Seeds that are very challenging may require several time periods at different temps. Seeds that fall from the plants in the garden in climates like ours, naturally experience cold stratification over winter. Look how well the Canadian thistle does! If all seeds started easily, we would be run over by plants. Think — what if all the seeds off just one of your yard trees started to grow? Most of our vegetable seeds that were left rotting in tomatoes or peppers in the garden will not survive the winter. I did say most — as I have had random tomato plants popping up here and there from seed on occasion.
Cultivating the next generation
How about developing a kid gardening challenge/experiment this winter. Your kids, grandkids, neighbor kids — most kids like to get their hands in the dirt. Try some window sill planting fun. Good seeds to use would be sunflower, zinnia or beans. They are bigger seeds for small hands to work with and all of these grow relatively quick and germ at the same time. You could create experiments with fertilizer use, different potting mixes, different watering methods or different sources of water. You should start several plants to have at least a couple in each group. Best of course to only be experimenting with one variable at a time, for example: water methods. Just a fun winter activity to help get kids interested in growing plants and food!
So, before you order lots of flower seed, take time to evaluate all the steps and materials you will need and if you have the time to devote to growing indoors from seed.
The outdoor Mankato Farmer’s Market days are done for the season! Winter markets are in full swing at Bomgaars on the first and third Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. — noon, November through March. Shop your locals!