The Science of Seed Starting

Before I get to today's topic, I have been remiss in not mentioning who won the giveaway I sponsored on my blogaversary last month. Some of you may have thought I conveniently forgot about it, but actually I was so eager to post many of my photos from my recent trip to Arizona that it simply slipped my mind. There was a winner, I assure you--Sweet Bay! In fact she has already received her seeds and cookbooks. Thanks go to Renee's Garden, who sent not just one, but both of her cookbooks to Sweet Bay!



Thank you, too, to all of you who commented on my last post about Earth Day. Your comments made me realize there is so much more I could do, and I am especially envious of you who have access to excellent local recycling programs. Living in a rural area, the only pick-up we have is for garbage. The village does have pick-up of garden and lawn debris, but we have no problem recycling that ourselves anyway. For other recycling, though, I must make a 20-mile round trip in order to drop materials off, which certainly makes it less convenient. Our village did have a recycling drop-off area, but it had to be closed after some people used it to dump their trash. Isn't it typical how one or two lazy people can spoil a good thing for everyone else? Anyway, I am going to make a more conscious effort to do more recycling, even if it does require some extra driving.




Now for the subject of today's post. Despite abysmal results from my first attempt at starting seeds indoors two years ago and only slightly better results last year, I have nevertheless plunged into the seed starting frenzy once again this year. However, to ensure a better chance at success this year, I have decided to take a more scientific approach. I am carefully monitoring progress and recording data, and by the middle of May I hope to have a definitive answer on how to achieve success with starting indoor seedlings.


Some of you may remember that last year I proposed another scientific study of springtime blogging trends, but unfortunately no grant money was offered, and so the study was dropped. I would once again seek grant money for this seed study, but the garden budget here at the Prairie does not allow for lobbyists in Washington. And I know better than to apply for a grant from our state, which is so far in debt that red ink is now in short supply in Illinois. (Perhaps our state legislature should consider garnishing the wages of former Governor Blago, who surely must have earned a hefty sum in his brief stint on "Celebrity Apprentice" before being fired by the Donald for being inept and irresponsible.)

However, in the spirit of altruism and concern for our fellow man/gardener, we will proceed with this experiment with the quest for knowledge our only necessary recompense. The following is a brief outline of the scope of the experiment with the data collected thus far.


Limits of Study: All plants need four elements to survive: water, light, air, and nutrients (provided by soil). Because water was a constant in all control groups, albeit administered in a very unscientific, uncalibrated manner, only the other three elements, or some facet of each, are being studied here.

1. Light: Since sunlight provided through windows is not considered sufficient for seedlings to grow, additional artificial lighting was provided for all test subjects. The first seeds were planted on March 25, approximately 7 weeks before our average last frost-free date, and placed under the large shop light purchased last year.

An additional light was purchased this year and hung from a shelving unit in the basement. The 24" light is more difficult to find than the larger 48" unit shown above, but its size is perfect for standard shelving units and much more manageable to hang. Should this study prove successful--and possibly generate some income--additional lights might be purchased next year, and more shelves cleared of their wrapping paper and ribbon contents for seedling use each spring.

Note: According to very knowledgeable Master Gardener instructors, using one cool white bulb and one warm white bulb is as effective as purchasing the more expensive grow lights.

Since both of these lighting arrangements are virtually identical, we will refer to this group as Control Group A.

The head of the study insisted on planting more seeds than lab facilities available; therefore, additional lighting sources were sought. Another flat of seeds was placed under an Ott light in the office rather than the basement lab. Not the ideal arrangement, but we will label this group Control Group B and see what happens.

Another flat of seeds (not pictured) were planted (oh dear, does this researcher even know the meaning of a controlled experiment?? Somebody get those seed packets out of her hands!).

While they germinate, another light source is being sought--perhaps the Husband will give up his desk lamp for awhile or perhaps the sunny south window in the spare bedroom will suffice. For now, we will label this subject Control Group C.

2. Nutrients: Nutrients for seedlings are provided by its growing medium, and since virtually all seeds were started in the same medium--a mix of 1/2 spaghum peat moss and 1/2 perlite, a combination recommended by a local garden expert--rather than test the efficacy of the soil, we will study instead the various containers holding that soil.

The standard seed-starting kits with plastic cell packs inside a plastic tray were employed for many of the seeds. We will call this Control Group D . . . no, wait a minute, these are part of group B . . . okay, pardon that interruption; we will call these Control Group BB.

The head of the study intended to avoid using peat containers this year, as previous trial studies observed that the peat containers often did not decompose as rapidly as advertised. Nevertheless, despite warnings to the contrary, she could not resist a tray of peat cells on sale at the local big box store. This group will be labeled CA (Perhaps another study should be conducted next year on impulse buying in the garden centers . . . Nah, I don't think I want to know those results.)

Of most interest this year is a new type of container being utilized. Inspired by studies conducted at Fairegarden, a pot maker was purchased at a very reasonable price from a seed catalog.

Strips of newspaper were carefully measured and cut and then wrapped around this sturdy wooden pestle. Ends were folded in and then pressure applied to the bottom with a quick turn of the instrument, producing a handy little paper pot.


While every attempt is being made to keep this study bias-free as it should be, there is a secret hope that this group will show superior results. The newspaper pots are larger than the cell packs, meaning these seedlings may not need re-potting later, and the newspaper should decompose more quickly than the peat pots. Besides, the materials are free . . . Should these provide the desired results, they may be the primary container used in next year's planting.

This group will be labeled BA . . . um, AC . . . or AC/DC ??

Excuse me a moment while I re-examine my notes . . . Talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes or perhaps turn your attention to some of the latest outside lab results . . .

Roadside daffodils

Pink Darwin tulips emerging earlier than last year

"Color Magic"--new varieties are opening up each day

The Redbuds are beginning to bloom as well.

I do apologize for the confusion . . . the appropriate name for the newspaper pot group is Control Group DA, although there is a subgroup to be discussed later.

At this point you may be wondering what actual seeds have been planted in all of these trials. Quite a variety of seeds were planted actually, some of them purchased from different seed companies, including this special award-winning zinnia new for this year, and some from fellow gardener bloggers participating in Monica's seed swap. Although each grouping was carefully labelled, some adjustments will obviously need to be made in next year's labeling.

Note to study participants: poster board labels, though economical, are not a good idea.

3. Air: The final element studied in this project is not so much the air itself (although one group does have a fan placed near it for air circulation) as the temperature of that air. Being short of funds, the study was able to purchase only one heat mat after the initial plantings were made.

Tomato seedlings were the first to receive the benefit of the heat mat and germinated very quickly. According to several sources, the heat mat is needed for only a short amount of time, so that it can be used for several different plantings. At the moment one flat is sitting on top of the refrigerator (again, a suggested idea from a source as a warm place; unfortunately my refrigerator is an energy-efficient model and doesn't seem to be putting out any warmth) waiting for its turn on top of the heat mat.

The tomato seedlings having the benefit of the heat mat--E + utility light--A + newspaper pots--D makes this . . . Control Group EAD. The refrigerator group will be called . . . Control Group FLOP . . . no, that can't be right . . .

I am truly sorry, but apparently the study coordinator has spent too much time attending Master Gardener classes and comtemplating her Chi to properly record and assemble all pertinent data. Please disregard all data groups here; we will re-examine the study as well as the coordinator's credentials. If and when this study can be salvaged with valid data, we will provide you with the results. Again, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused by the mismanagement of this experiment.

Need I explain why I was an English major and not a science major?:)