It was so nice to connect with you and I hope you found the first meeting informative and helpful to you for your flower journey.

I wanted to quick recap some important points from the meeting:

General:

  • To overwinter your seedlings, you must sow all your seeds (yes, all 15 packets!) as soon as you can this month.
  • Check the spreadsheet (also linked in the Members Only page) for information on which seeds can be direct sown onto your pots/prepared ground/raised beds.
  • Seeds require warmth, moisture, and either light or darkness to germinate (the spreadsheet indicates which seeds require light or dark). If seeds require light, then press the seeds onto the soil so they have good contact with the soil but do not cover. For seeds that require dark, again press seeds down onto soil for contact and spread a thin layer or dirt or vermiculite to cover seeds.
  • Please check the video on how to direct sow seeds (video coming soon).
  • Protecting your seedlings from rabbits or other critters requires physical covering. We have a lot of rabbits on our farm and have successfully protected our plants by using a cover (insect netting during warm months or agribon frost covers during the cold months) and hoops. See below for recommendations.

Germination in Containers:

  • Seeds in containers should also be covered with saran wrap to keep moisture in. Please check video on how to germinate seeds in containers.
  • Once seeds begin to germinate, the container needs to be brought outside for exposure to sunlight. Keeping them indoors, even by a sunny window is NOT enough light and will produce weak, leggy seedlings – something you do not want.
  • Keep the saran wrap cover until 60-80% of the seeds have germinated at which time you can remove the covers.
  • Once seedlings have grown two sets of leaves, they are ready to be pricked out onto cell tray. Check this video on pricking out.

Some plants will need extra protection during the coldest part of winter (temperatures below freezing) or in particularly windy areas. The spreadsheet will have information on the flowers that will need winter protection.

Sources for purchasing seed trays and covers:

  • 128 cell trays available at Johnny Seed or Bootstrap Farmer. These companies are very reputable.
  • bottom trays: Johnny Seed Johnny Seed or Bootstrap Farmer.
  • Insect netting for protection from rabbits: Amazon. We purchased our netting from Amazon but don’t have information on brand. Any of the listings on the link should be good and you should purchase the size you need.
  • Agribon frost protection cover: The Gardeners Workshop. This is the most flexible in that it can be used for most temperatures and when weather is expected to go below freezing, then placing a second layer protects the plant.
  • To make the hoops to hold up the netting/cover, I use 9 gauge heavy duty wire that comes as a coil from Tractor Supply. Video coming soon on how I cut and use the hoops.