It’s early April and I’ve started lots more plants for CT Seedlings than I would have for the farm that I used to grow for. We want people to get really big, healthy seedlings with their collections. A more mature seedling will get established quicker and produce sooner for people than a very young plant.

I use a basic seed starting mix that I purchase from Griffin Greenhouse Supply in Cheshire. I mix in some sifted compost from our alpaca manure- shavings- kitchen scraps compost and more compost from Peels and Wheels https://www.pwcomposting.com/ and some minerals. Once the plant has grown to the point where its roots are big enough to hold the soil together but before it’s potbound, I carefully move the plant to a bigger CowPot https://cowpots.com/ so that people can plant the whole thing in the ground. That mix can be courser – some coconut coir and compost is perfect.

Most of the trays get some bottom heat to germinate the seeds more quickly. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, flowers germinate faster when the soil mix is warm. Watering consistently but not too much is important – and always with warm water.

It’s nerve wracking to watch for 2 weeks for plants to emerge. I’ve found that sometimes things just don’t come up. It could be older seed, mis-handled seed, and other mysterious forces working against me. This year I’m having trouble germinating anaheim peppers and banana peppers. In contrast the Ancho and Jalapeno are doing fantastic. Go figure.