I just want to show you how to start off your seedlings right, so that you get the most nutritious sprouts, and healthiest seedlings to begin your garden with.

As you can see, I have just taken regular potting mix and poured it into my planting trays. Then I soaked the soil, and watered from the bottom, so that the soil become completely hydrated.
I did this about an hour before I planned on planting my seedlings, so that the soil would have time to completely absorb the water that was available to it, and so future waterings don’t wash away my seeds.

I put about an inch of water in the tray, after it had soaked, so that it will self water for a while. Now I have taken some seeds from my seed bank. Today I am going to plant some tomatoes and a couple other plants. It is March 4th, so in my area that means I can start my tomatoes indoors, as well as a few other plants.

I made a little marker to stick in the plants so that I can tell later what they are because seedlings, all begin to look like one another after a while.

Next I made a small depression in the soil about twice the depth of the seed size, so a 1/8 inch seed gets a 1/4 deep hole. Just drop 3-6 seeds in each hole, and cover them back up with dirt. I usually put a few seeds in each hole so that I can get maximum germination.

Another thing that I often do to increase germination rates, is to presoak the seeds in warm water for about an hour, or let the sprout in a couple layers of paper towel, and then transplant them after 3 days or so, into the planting pots.

Once I am done putting all the seeds in, I will put the clear dome over top of the seedlings to maintain the moisture, and help with heat retention. In three or four days, when the sprouts have started to show, I will prop the dome up and allow some airflow, and then a day or so later, will remove it completely.

I will post another article in a few days, showing you some of the secrets to having healthy seedlings.