For those with large gardens or those who just want to start particular seed varieties from scratch, it’s time to start thinking about seeds!
Staring planning and purchasing now! It is the perfect time to purchase seeds for the best selection – especially early Spring crops like lettuce, radishes, & peas. You can even go ahead and start planning out your summer garden and pick varieties such as tomatoes, peppers, & cucumbers to beat the Spring rush and have the best selection. You can even host a seed swap party with other gardening friends to exchange store bought or self-harvested seeds from last year. Check packages to find out the best time to start each variety indoors – seed packets have tons of great information!
If you’ve got seeds from previous growing seasons, you can test them to see if they’re still good. You can test seeds in two ways:
- Space several out on a couple layers of moist paper towels, roll it up making sure that the seeds don’t touch, & enclose paper towel roll in plastic wrap to prevent from drying out. Place in a warm bright location but avoid direct sunlight. Check the seeds every couple of days. If they haven’t germinated — or only a few have sprouted — in a couple of weeks, chances are they’re no good.
- Use a seed starting tray and dome or make your own with cups and plastic wrap and place the seeds lightly into the soil and cover and monitor as stated above.
There are some incredibly unique varieties of seeds available, and we love to try new ones every year!