Avoid These Common Seed-Starting Mistakes! | January 16, 2024

Annonce:

When it comes to seed starting, there are many common mistakes that we have all made at one time or another. Avoiding these mistakes is crucial to getting your plants off to the best start possible.

1. Starting Too Early

A very common mistake, and one I still make every year!

As soon as the new year rolls around, I start getting the itch to start seeds. This is too early, but I have usually caved and started a few seeds by February.

You need to plan your seed starting and ensure you have somewhere you can move them when they are bigger plants.

If you start them too early, you end up with many huge plants in your house as it is still too cold to move them outdoors.

You also need to ensure you can keep potting them on to prevent them from outgrowing their pots and becoming rootbound. If your seedlings get rootbound, this will severely hold them back.

2. Starting On A Windowsill

I am not saying you can’t start seedlings on a windowsill, but it depends on the plant and the windowsill. The simple truth is that many windowsills aren’t suitable.

For most seedlings, a very sunny windowsill is needed to provide enough light. This means it must be relatively south facing and in the sun all day.

The time of year also affects how sunny a windowsill can be. If it is still early in the year, then even a south-facing windowsill will still have the issue of short, overcast days.

If you see your plants leaning towards the light, like in the photo above, this is a surefire sign that they aren’t getting enough light.

The best way around this is to use grow lights. These LED lights used to be expensive but can now be picked up for around £20. They provide all the light your plants need, and as they are LED, they don’t cost too much to run – even with current electricity prices.