Seed Starting 2023
As we move into 2023, we are quickly approaching gardening season, and for many of us, that means beginning to start some seeds indoors. The thought of seed starting can seem daunting, and even foreign to some, but it doesn’t have to be. Many people have questions about what you need to start seeds, the kind of seed to plant, and when to put them outside. I am going to answer many of those questions and my goal is to get you to feel confident in beginning to grow your own food.
Let’s start by understanding what seed starting is. Seed starting is the act of taking dry seeds and preparing them to be planted in soil. Once planted, the next step is germination, the process of seed sprouting. Seed hardening is slowly acclimating a plant to being able to tolerate fluctuations in temperatures. When we start plants indoors their environment is controlled and if we put them right outside, they can fall prey to cold and wind and may not make it. After they are hardened off, they can be planted in the ground and Lord willing they will turn into vegetables that you’ll harvest for you and your family. Once you harvest your vegetables the fun begins with how you will preserve them! Whether you are canning, dehydrating, freezing, or using a freeze-dryer, your preservation methods are abundant.
Starting seeds and growing food at a personal, backyard level, is unfortunately a lost art in today's culture but I am very excited to say that I see it coming back as a lot of people are getting the bug to be more self-reliant. Whether you are living in an apartment or have many acres, you can grow your own food. Small spaces are perfect for container gardening and hydroponic setups, whereas larger homesteads can facilitate more outside gardening. You need very little start-up to get seeds going, and just a decade ago, all I had were little plastic containers and a windowsill to work with. It is a sad reality that many of the things our food comes in today are plastic, so we might as well try to upcycle and reuse as much as we can. Many of these containers can be washed and reused for seed starting, from fruit containers to baked goods carriers. I know seed starting can seem overwhelming, so I made a video this week, which is linked above, where you can watch my seed starting setup and understand how I go about organizing the growing season.
When I started seed starting well over a decade ago, I really didn't have much influence or experience to help get me started. While my mom was an avid gardener, she bought her plants already established from a garden center. While this method is wonderful and convenient, I really desired to take on the entire role of growing food, from seed to harvest, so I had to teach myself on my own how to grow my own food. My setup now, while I consider it sophisticated (joking), is really just a twenty-five-dollar greenhouse that I bought from a local grocery store about seven years ago, with some ten-dollar clamp lights and inexpensive grow bulbs. I promise you do not need to invest a lot to grow abundantly and begin living self-reliantly.
This past weekend I was able to get about one-third of my seeds started using reusable plastic containers and a few store-bought jiffy cells. You can also use milk jugs, egg cartons, plastic, or paper cups, and even eggshells if you’re careful about how you crack them. You can quite literally use anything to start seeds! You can cut up paper or toilet paper rolls, use cereal boxes, or any paper containers you may be finished with. When starting your seeds, you want to make sure you are not being frivolous with what you’re investing in, and you need to consider what people eat in your household. I remember the first year I gardened, I saw all the pretty seed packets at the local hardware store and bought the brightest, most fun ones I could find. All was great until I had more eggplants and squash than we would ever eat, and I had so much lettuce and spinach I couldn’t even begin to keep up with harvesting it, let alone consuming it all! I didn’t stagger my gardening and I planted way too many things we didn’t eat enough of. I know now that Matt eats many hot peppers and boatloads of salsa, so peppers and tomatoes take up a lot of real estate in our garden. It’s important to plan your garden out and research how planting things next to each other can either work well or be detrimental. It’s ok to throw in one or two fun new experiments each year in your garden but growing what your family eats leads to the reward of harvesting and preserving your abundance.
Learn what gardening zone you are in and have a plan for harvest. I prefer not to use my precious freezer space in my garden, so very few items are harvested and stored there. Great ways to preserve food include canning, dehydrating, and freeze-drying. I have put links to my favorite brand of dehydrator in our Amazon Storefront, and you can also view all of our favorite canning products! If you are looking to expand your preservation methods and would like more information on freeze-drying you can also follow my affiliate link for Harvest Right Freeze dryers below. This level of preservation takes your harvest to an entirely new level, and you will be blown away by not only the shelf-life of freeze-dried food but also the ease of storage and quality of taste.
As the 2023 gardening season continues, Matt and I will be here with you every step of the way and we look forward to helping you grow in your journey to self-reliance!