The Grass Doctor

Do I need to treat my seeds differently?

I'm working on my very first garden. I bought several packs of seeds and I plan on purchasing some whole plants once I'm sure our winter is over. My question is--I have several different kinds of seeds. Should I germinate them all? Or should I plant some and germinate some? What is the best way to germinate them? I buy eggs in the 2.5 dozen batches, so I was planning on using the egg crates to start some seeds. I'm also mildly familiar with the paper towel way. And I think I read somewhere about using a 2-liter bottle. I'd really appreciate your advice. Here are some of the seeds I picked out: Snap peas Green beans Summer squash Cilantro Spinach Basil Cat grass Sunflowers Chamomile Lunaria (I know nothing about this plant, it just looked pretty) Lavender Bachelor's Buttons I will absolutely choose a best answer... =D Thanks for your help.

Public Comments

1. The peas, beans and spinach, you will want to plant directly into the garden, you don't start these early in pots. The squash you can start in pots about 4 weeks before you are able to plant them outdoors. Use a 3-4 inch pot per seed. Egg cartons will be too small, squash are big plants very quickly! Some people direct seed squash too, but I am in zone 4 and like to give them a headstart. The cilantro and basil you can start in the egg cartons, but you will eventually need to transplant to larger pots. Start these 4-6 weeks before planting outdoors. It would help if you mentioned what zone you live in, to tell you when that is, but maybe you already know. The sunflowers you will want to direct seed outdoors. From experience, they do not transplant well and since they grow very fast, you can just plant them outside. The other flowers you can start 4-6 weeks ahead, read the packages, they will give you an idea of how long they take. I am not familiar with every flower you listed, so some may be slower growers than others. Good Luck! Have fun with your garden.
2. You should sow everything except the squash directly in the ground. The Lunaria I don't know about either. When starting seeds you will do better with a soil free mixture. It is basically peat, vermiculite and / or pearlite and a little lime. You can also buy "seed starter mix" in a bag. I suggest that you pick up a good gardening book. I use "Crocketts Victory Garden" as a basic reference book or 'garden bible.' They usually have several copies in the used book stores and they are usually dirt cheap. (pun intended)
3. If you bought your seeds from a store or popular gardening catalog, all you have to do is put them in moist, well-drained, potting soil to start the germination process. The seeds come already pre-germinated, so that they will start for you right away. Always keep the soil moist, but do not allow the pots to sit in water. Plants do not like wet feet, or fungus will grow, and that's it for your seedlings. Good Luck and Good Gardening!! :)
4. You've already received good advice on the basics. Details on Lunaria are in the links cited below. Have fun!