11 Common Seed Starting Mistakes Beginners Should Avoid

Common chickweed is a low, spreading, winter annual weed that germinates when we receive lots of cool, wet weather. Its leaves are opposite each other, smooth and elliptical in shape. It is tolerant of a variety of conditions and thrives in moist, shady locations. This weed can produce seeds five weeks after germination and will continue to produce seeds for months. Each common chickweed plant can produce over 800 seeds and the seeds can lay dormant in soil for up to 10 years. Even once the weed is uprooted, it can continue to produce seeds and can even reestablish itself, if left on the ground.

Narrowleaf vetch (Vicia sativa) is a common winter annual weed in the legume family, and it fixes its own nitrogen from the atmosphere. This plant has been grown since Roman times for livestock fodder and as a cover crop.

Q. I have leftover seeds from last year. How long do seeds last, or remain viable?Q. How do I do a germination test of leftover seeds?Q. When do I start which seeds in my Zone?Q. Can I grow my seedlings on the windowsill? Will I need grow lights?Q. How many hours a day do I run my lights?Q. What are heating mats or germination mats? Must I use one to get seeds to grow?Q. What kind of soil do I start my seed in? Can I use regular potting soil, compost, or garden soil?Q. I need a basic how-to on starting seeds.Q. What seeds do I start outdoors, right in the ground?Q. I am confused by claims of “organic” seed and other words like “sustainable” seed. Does it matter what I buy?Q. Who sells organic seed? Where can I find it?Q. What about the genetically modified or GMO seed that I hear so much about in the headlines?Q. Where can I shop for good-quality seed; what are your favorite catalogs?Q. How do you figure out what to buy in the seed catalogs?  So many beautiful choices!Q. How do I grow tomatoes from seed?Q. All my spinach and lettuce matured at once, then I had none. Why? What is succession sowing of seeds?Q. What are some of the seeds you order for yourself, Margaret?Q. Can I grow garlic from seed?Q. Can I grow potatoes from seed?Q. Can I grow asparagus from seed?Q. Can I grow clematis from seed?

Aha! Enter Andrew Beckman, then-garden editor at my former employer Martha Stewart Living, who was also my weekend neighbor and gardening buddy until he moved West to become editor of garden book publisher Timber Press.Normally, I don’t start tomatoes until April 15 here in Zone 5B, but the year we shot these photos, we were trying something new, which required a little headstart. The slides show Phase 1–starting the seeds–of our grafted-tomato experiment (aimed, as you may recall if you read my wintertime post about grafting, at giving heirloom types more vigor and better yields). But you can use the same ho

The evolving rainbow of peas at Peace Seedlings—with more colors to come—got its start with decades of breeding by Alan Kapuler, Dylana’s father, a longtime public-domain plant breeder and the founder of Peace Seeds.(More on him, and on some of the other combined Kapuler treasures, from marigolds and zinnias to edible Andean tubers like oca and yacon, to a rainbow of beautiful beets, is at the end of this story.)“We’re doing a lot of crosses and selecting ourselves now, too,” says Dylana of the work she and partner Mario DiBenedetto continue in collaboration with Alan and his wife, Linda, in Corvallis, Orego

A. Sometimes when I’ve brought our seeds to a farmer’s market or event I hear people muttering as they pass our table, “I can’t start from seed.” At first it broke my heart a little. But then I started getting brave and asking people what they meant.In my mind I couldn’t fathom how someone might think they can’t grow a plant from seed. To me it’s natural, that’s how plants grow! Once I began talking to people I realized it was a fear based on previous attempts to grow from seed that did not work out–particularly seeds that need to be started early indoors in short-season areas, like tomatoes and peppers.But there are so many more seeds that can be direct sown–put in the ground at the right time and left to their own magical will to grow.Good examples of direct-sown seeds are peas, beans, corn, lettuce, arugula, calendula, nasturtium, and Asian greens. The only plants we Northerners and those in similar zones r

No surprise that Corvallis, Oregon-based Peace Seedlings is an offshoot of his work, the undertaking of Alan and Linda Kapuler’s youngest daughter, Dylana, and her partner, Mario DiBenedetto.I got my new-favorite beet, 3 Root Grex, from Peace last season; you might recall my article about that multi-colored wonder. Now

I say “beyond” because some of those seeds came with Rowen from the colder, wetter Northeast, her “living, breathing relatives that want to live and grow with the earth, she says,” just as she does, “witnesses to the past” that tell stories that might otherwise be lost–stories she has dedicated herself to keeping alive. Like Rowen, the seeds have adapted to their new home, and thrived–including colorful corns for many distinct purposes both cultural and culinary.Rowen (above, braiding corn), who was elected in 2014 to the board of Seed Savers Exchange, is also co-author of the handbook, “Breeding Organic Vegetables: A Step by Step Guide for Growers” (pdf). We spoke on my public-radio show and podcast about curating Native American seeds; about the benefits of polyculture (Rowen adds

It’s seed-catalog season, when we gardeners in many regions may not be able to grow much outdoors, but can dream big. Ken, author of “Making More Plants: The Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation,” joined me on the radio show and podcast to help us all get ready for a successful season of growing from seed.This show and story is part of my annual Seed Series, and we’ll be giving away a copy of Ken’s book (see the comments box at the bottom of the page).Read along as you listen to the Jan. 21, 2019 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts h

You probably know Joe as host of the popular PBS series “Growing a Greener World” and the Joe of joegardener.com website and podcast. He’s also creator of OrganicGardeningAcademy.com, with a suite of online classes, including one about to debut on seeds. We talked about lights–he did 14 different lighting trials to try to determine which kinds are “best,” where to position them and how long to run them each day–about watering, about essential gear to make it all run smoother, and more.Read along as you listen to the February 3, 2020 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).seed-starting ‘ahas,’ with joe lamp’lMargaret: How are you, Joe? … I’m surprised you have anything left in you after trialing all those damn seeds.[Laughter.] So, oh, he’s giddy boy.So you’ve been growing from seed confidently, or at least I thought so, for years

But how does a person shopping for grow lights find his or her way through the array of possibilities out there? That’s today’s topic, with horticulturist Leslie Halleck, author of the book “Gardening Under Lights” (affiliate link) to help simplify things.Sufficient light is maybe the biggest factor in the equation of success with seedlings and grow light technology is evolving fast. I asked Leslie to return to the show for a 101 on shopping for seed-starting lights suited to us as home gardeners.“It’s all about accumulating a volume of li

When it comes to growing healthy and thriving broccoli plants, choosing the right companion plants can make all the difference. In this guide, you can explore the best Broccoli Companion Plants.