Starting Vegetable and Flower Sets Indoors
If you want to save some money gardening you can start your own sets indoors. This will give you a head start on your Spring gardening, and will also bring a bit of summer into your home.
You can buy peat pellets for starting seeds, or you can get little trays to fill with soil, or even peat pots. My favorite way to start sets is in old egg cartons. Cut the lid off empty egg cartons. With a kitchen knife, cut an “X” into the bottom of each egg compartment. Set the egg carton inside the lid, which is now the drainage tray for your sets. It’s a very simple and cheap way to start plants. Fill your trays with clean potting soil. Potting soil and seeds will be your only expense for this method.
When you have your trays full of dirt, make a small indentation in each compartment with a knife. Plant your seeds one at a time in the hole you dug for them and firm the soil over the seed with your thumb. When all your trays are planted, water the trays well and set them on a sunny windowsill so that they get plenty of heat and light. In a few days the seeds will germinate and your sets will be on their way.
It is important that your sets get plenty of light. The sun is a strong source of light, but if you don’t have access to a sunny window suspend a fluorescent fixture over a counter and use artificial light. It is best to hang the light on chains so it can be kept close to your plants and be raised as they grow.
Before transplanting your sets into the garden you will need to harden them off to the night air. Set the trays out on a porch or on the ground near the house on nights when there is no danger of frost. It is important to harden plants this way against cool temperatures before you transplant them because they will get some shock from transplanting and the extra stress from cold nights can kill little plants if they are not used to these temperatures.
Growing your own sets can save you a lot of money over buying sets at the garden center. You will also get the enjoyment of starting early on your summer garden.
