Sow Seeds for Spring Planting
Onion and pepper seeds are slow to germinate and slow in their early stage of seedling growth. So if you’re growing them from seed, you want an early start. Now’s the time.
Sow the seeds in a sterile potting mix rather than garden soil to avoid sprouting weeds and contaminating your seedlings with soil-borne diseases. Fill the pots a half-inch from the top. Tap the pot on a bench several times to eliminate air pockets. Firm the potting mix by pressing three or four fingers across the top of the mix. Sprinkle the seeds across the smooth surface, and lightly cover with fresh potting mix. Use a rose bulb or a fine sprinkler to lightly moisten the potting mix until you see water dripping from the bottom of the pot.
Germinate these seeds in total darkness at constant temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees. How to get those conditions?
Once excess water has drained from the bottom of the pot, cover the top with plastic and put it on top of the fridge or near the furnace where temperatures are relatively constant. Check the pots daily to make certain that the potting mix does not dry. Moisten accordingly.
Onion plants grow in their original pots until it’s time to move them into the garden. Sow their seeds a quarter- to a half-inch apart to give them room to produce thick stems and larger root systems to better survive transplant. Sown closer than one-quarter inch apart, onion seeds will grow thin and spindly seedlings too weak to survive transplant in the garden. To accommodate a good population of seeds, use a six- to eight-inch diameter pot three to four inches deep.
Pepper seeds can be sown closer together because you’ll transplant the individual seedlings into separate pots as soon as their true leaves appear. The first leaf-like growths are not leaves but cotyledons that provide energy for germination and early growth. Do not transplant the seedlings until you see true leaves.
Using a pencil or other object, lift each seedling from the potting mix. Grasp the seedling only by the cotyledon. Grabbing the stem or leaves may harm the plant, but the cotyledons are temporary and will separate from the plant under the shade of the leaves.
To produce strong, healthy plants for your garden, transplant into four-inch pots in the same potting mix the seeds were sown in.
Check the potting mix bag to see if it contains added nutrients. If nutrients have been added and if compost is part of the blend, water the pepper seedlings until the excess drips from the bottom of the pots.
If the mix is free of nutrients or compost, add half the amount of water-soluble fertilizer recommended by the manufacturer. Fertilize at the full rate as soon as active growth begins.
The amount of nutrients generally added to potting mixes is adequate for approximately one month. After that, use a liquid fertilizer as recommended by the manufacturer.
Give the young the plants full sun. Check daily to maintain proper moisture.
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