Seed Starting

Presented by Jennifer Zoch

Seed Savers Exchange 2013 Webinar Series

Our mission is to save North America’s diverse,
but endangered, garden heritage for future
generations by building a network of people
committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing
heirloom seeds and plants, while educating
people about the value of genetic and cultural
diversity.
Why Should I Start From Seed?
 Transplants Seeds
82 varieties sold at LGVC 12,495 varieties in the
seed exchange (Yearbook)
23 varieties of
tomatoes, peppers, groun 597 varieties in the
d cherries available in commercial catalog
the
catalog
 1 transplant packet of 25 seeds
$1.75 at LGVC $2.75 at LGVC and in the
commercial catalog
$3.00 in commercial
catalog
earlier end product
long-season crops in short-season climates
Initial Planning
number of seeds
direct seeding vs. transplanting
Onions 12-14 weeks before safe planting-out date
Peppers 8-12 weeks before last frost
Eggplant 6-8 weeks before last frost
Tomatoes 6-8 weeks before last frost
Lettuce 5-6 weeks before safe planting-out date
Cole crops 5-6 weeks before safe planting-out date
Cucumber 2-4 weeks before last frost
s and
melons *Source: Nancy Bubel’s The New Seed-Starters Handbook
potting mix
containers
labeling
heat
light
sowing seed
 epicotyl

seed coat
cotyledon
seed anatomy
seed depth
 Humidity

water and humidity

growth phase
Troubleshooting
transplanting
hardening off
 Recommended Reading
Cutler, K.D. (1998) Starting from Seed: The Natural
Gardener’s Guide to Propagating Plants
Turner, C.B. (1998) Seed Sowing and Saving
Ashworth, S. (2002) Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and
Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
Bubel, N. (1988) The New Seed-Starters Handbook
Reilly, A. (1978) Park’s Success with Seeds
 Thank you! Questions?

For more information please visit these resources:

Seed Savers Exchange website: www.seedsavers.org
Forum: forum.seedsavers.org
Online Yearbook: yearbook.seedsavers.org

To learn more about seed saving

Read Suzanne Ashworth’s Seed-to-Seed
Visit www.seedalliance.org for the free publication, A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners &
Farmers

2013 Seed Savers Exchange Webinar Series

long-season crops
short-season crops