Seeds and seed starting supplies start showing up in stores right after Valentine’s Day, so if you haven’t ordered any from the catalogs, don’t despair! You can either go all out and purchase the pre-packaged greenhouse kits, or you can check what you have around the house that can be recycled and re-purposed.
Seeds to Start indoors in February for Zone 5b / 6a (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Weeks 1 and 2: Feb 1-14
- Leeks (broadcast on a 4 inch pot. you can separate them and plant them individually when you plant them outside, they are tough)
- Onions (regular onions, if you are not starting them from sets)
- Week 3: Feb 15-21
- Celery. This is reportedly tough to germinate.
- Peppers (This includes Bell Peppers, Banana Peppers, Hot Peppers…)
- Week 4: Feb 22-28
- Celery
- Peppers
- Bunching Onions
- Eggplant
Seed Starting Supplies:
- Seeds. (You already knew that, and if you are like me, having seeds to start is the least of your problems.
- Containers for seed starting. These can be peat pots, recycled yogurt containers, or you can make them from newspaper or cardboard tubes saved from Christmas gift wrap or paper towels .. whatever is on hand. Make sure whatever you use has good drainage.
- Seed Starting Medium. Peat pellets are very convenient, but you can also use
- Plant tags (both seed pot and garden markers). These are critical. I use two types: small tags (either reusable plastic markers or Popsicle sticks) for seed starting, then larger metal or wooden plant markers for the garden. Whatever you do, make SURE you are using nursery markers or some other semi-permanent media to write what is being planted: regular sharpies will fade.
- Light and warmth. If you have a sunny windowsill, this could be enough, but the obsessive will want grow lights. A simple and cheap florescent shop light fixture hung over a table is fine, or you can go all out and get the special stands and grow light bulbs. I use a vintage looking plant starting stand that a friend found in the trash, works perfectly!
- A Garden Journal or Notebook. Keep a written log of what you are planting, where, how well it did… this seems like extra work, but will be invaluable over time. Mine is on an excel spreadsheet, and is a work in progress. You can download it here. Check back regularly for the updated version.