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#1 Place the lights close to the soil.
This prevents the new seedling from growing leggy. If the lights are too far away, the plants will have to stretch to reach them. This will make them not as sturdy and reduce the hardiness of the plant.
#2 Consider the final plant size before transplanting.
You will not want to replant the seedlings to many times. Each replanting introduces the opportunity for damaging the plants. Each transplanting disrupts the plants growth and damages the roots. Try to start seeds in the appropriate sized container they can live in until they go into the ground.
#3 Mimic the wind for strong plants.
As part of the hardening off process for getting plants used to colder nigh-time temperatures, add a fan to toughened up the plants before transplanting. The wind will force the plant to grow stronger, which will be necessary once the plants enter the “real world”.
Choosing Seeds
It uses to be that tomato seeds were tomato seeds, but today there are many different options. I don't mean different species, but how the seed was grown.
Non-gmo seeds means that no one went in and messed with the generic make-up of the plant.
Heirloom varieties are older, less refined plants that our ancestors would recognize. They may not produce perfect round shapes but are known to produce year after year.
Organic seeds are ones that were grown without pesticides.
I prefer to choose seeds that are all three types. I want a hardy plant that hasn't been modified as much. I want a plant whose seeds will be fertile to grow next season and I want seeds that don't come with chemicals already inside them.
So I choose High Mowing Organic Seeds. They are local to Vermont, which is local to me, meaning I know these seeds will grow in my soil. I also like supporting local business over big companies. However, you can find their products on Amazon which makes it easy. Check out their seeds here.
What does your set-up look like? What have you started for this season? Thanks for reading.
Looking for more on my indoor growing set-up?
Construction Guide to Indoor Growing Systems
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