If you have a greenhouse, polytunnel, or indoor grow light setup, you’re already luckier than most gardeners. This means you can cheat the cold weather and start seeds under cover where they can comfortably germinate. Lettuce is one of those favorite vegetables that we’re all excited to grow come spring.
I’m a big advocate of starting many of my vegetables in modules or containers and moving them into my garden as they mature. For a small garden, this method ensures that I don’t get as many empty patches as I would get with direct sowing and spotty germination. But starting seeds indoors has its trade-offs, and the biggest one is transplant shock.
Starting seedling can be a straightforward process, but as we keep them indoors under constant observation, we may start to notice issues like yellowing leaves, legginess, damping off, etc. It happened to me, too. I started some of my seedlings early, but the weather didn’t allow them to go in the ground yet. After nearly a month, some of the bottom seedling leaves were turning yellow, and I soon learned why.
People garden for a variety of reasons: for improving their health, as a pastime, or to provide clean food to their community. We are looking at a revival of organic gardening and health awareness. Growing vegetables isn’t just for retired people anymore, and it never really was. But if you’re an active student, an overwhelmed…
We start peppers early because these heat-loving plants take a long time to mature, and in a temperate climate we want to get a head start. Since peppers are tender to frosts and require a lot of heat, we have the option to either start them indoors, in trays or buy large seedlings in late spring, when it’s time to transplant them in the ground.
Beetroot seedlings aren’t always easy to start in module trays – either indoors or in a greenhouse. They’re a bit fussy, and you could run into all sorts of problems tending to these delicate little plants. One annoying issue that occurs right after germination is getting leggy beetroot seedlings.