I have always wanted to start plants from seeds. If I grew plants from seeds, I could have dozens of plants for the price of one small plant bought at the store – that appealed to the Scottish part of me. And, I could have plants that are not found easily at nurseries and the big box stores, like native plants and herbs.

BUT…whenever I tried to start plants from seed, it was an abject failure. The tiny plants were long, pale, spindly and didn’t make it past the transplant stage – if they sprouted at all. I read books, websites, blogs, asked other gardeners, went to workshops, checked the phases of the moon and even considered the possibility of casting spells. I felt like I was a fake gardener – pathetic!

Earlier this year, Wonderful Husband and I went to a Master Gardener workshop about plant propagation. We listened to some really experienced Master Gardeners and then got to plant seeds in containers to take home. Boy! I was optimistic!

Leftover from my past efforts, I had a seed-starting heat pad, so we lovingly placed our two, newly seeded pots, encased in clear plastic bags to keep the humidity high, on the heat pad. And waited, and waited, and waited. Six weeks later, we gave up – at least on those seeds.

However, the experience got both of us itching to try again. We bought three packets of zinnia seeds, one of those plastic seed starting trays, and some seed starting soil. I was excited, but knew better than to start the seeds too early – and I admit I was afraid I’d fail (again).

Finally, the time came to plant! After enduring some anxious mental uncertainty, I took a deep breath, read the directions twice and planted the seeds. I put the tray of seeds on the heating pad, covered it with the clear plastic tray which was included with the kit, wrote the date and cultivar on a label and held my breath. I think I checked that tray at least twice a day!

Two days later, I saw a tiny, tiny bit of green poking out of the soil! Within a week, the seedlings were up and already getting spindly. I put them on the floor by the patio door for sunlight…I swear you could see them begin to lean toward it! Clearly, a grow light was necessary!

A grow light required a trip to a big box store, where Wonderful Husband and I discussed the merits of several makes and models – I think we could have bought a new car in less time. Finally, we decided on a 4-foot LED shop light, with 4800 lumens and a bright white light, which contains both red and blue light spectrums best for plant growth.

Back home with our high-tech “grow” light, we hung it from a wire shelf in the pantry, fussed with each other about whether it was level and whether it was low enough to make the seedlings happy, but not so low that they would touch it. One nice thing about LED, it doesn’t get hot like fluorescent, so you can place it closer to the seedlings. Then, my Wonderful Husband put the light on a timer (13 hours on; 11 hours off). I scavenged my “hot flash” table fan from our bedroom and set that on low. I’d read that will help prevent mold and mildew and grow stronger stems.

Within an hour, the baby plants were straighter. We held hands and gazed upon our tiny little zinnia babies, just like proud parents!

What will I do differently with the next batch? I’m going to try putting the seed flat under the “grow” light (with the heat pad underneath) the moment I see the seeds sprouting. Hopefully, the grow light will keep the seedlings from getting as spindly. As soon as most of the plants are up, I’ll pull out the heat pad (and probably start another batch).

Another thing I realized is that, although most people start their seeds in late winter or early spring, you can start seeds later in the growing season and transplant them to the garden later…just keep them watered.  I’m going to try this with perennials, since they will have time to get established before winter gets here.  They’ll be already in the ground and ready to grow the following spring.

I’m beginning to feel optimistic again!

Stay Green, good friends!