Many gardeners like to get a head start on their vegetable garden by starting seeds indoors. Most vegetables cannot be planted outside until all danger of frost has passed, but all gardeners want to “get a head start” on growing garden fresh veggies.
Many seeds like eggplants, peppers and tomatoes require careful tending indoors to grow successful seedlings for planting outdoors. The right combination of light, heat and potting medium are crucial for growing many varieties of healthy seedlings.
Dick Raymond, author of Down-to-Earth Vegetable Gardening, explains a simple method of pre-sprouting some tender crops like cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and melons. These crops are more forgiving when being started indoors. Presprouting has been shown to produce higher germination rates for melon and cucurbit seeds than when they are started indoors in potting medium or when direct sown in the garden.
To presprout seeds, space them evenly on a double-thickness of damp paper towel. Keep the seeds separated from each other and roll them up in a cylinder. Seal the cylinder in a paper bag. You can place more than one roll of seeds in a bag, but you will probably need to label the rolls to differentiate between the plants.
Place the closed plastic bag of seeds in a warm location. Check the seeds every day. The small amount of air sent into the bag by peeking in on the seeds will aid in germination.
It will take a few days for the seeds to germinate. Roots will be the first sign of life in the cucurbit seeds.
Do not let the roots of the seeds become tangled with each other. If a seed grows through the paper towel, just tear the portion of towel with the root attached. Plant the damp piece with the seed.
Presprouted seed should be sown in a rich potting medium in the container they will stay in until they are planted in the garden. The potting medium should be premoistened. Cucurbits do not like to be transplanted, so use containers that will hold the seedlings until they can be planted outdoors.
Good containers to use for cucurbit seedlings are half pint milk cartons or a similar sized container. Place the seedlings under grow lights or in a sunny windowsill.
Melons that are started indoors will bear fruit a week or two earlier than those direct sown in the garden. Presprouting is also a good way to satisfy the need for gardening before it’s warm enough to grow the vegetable garden. Plus, presprouting is a good way to get a child interested and involved in growing squash or melons to eat.
Questions or comments related to gardening? Contact Joleen at missourigardener@hotmail.com