The first thing you will want to do when preparing to plant your vegetable seeds is to get the soil ready. Obtain some garden compost, making sure you remove pebbles and such from it. Next, fill a seed tray with the compost. Create a nice, flat surface on top, although don’t harden it by flattening it too much. You will need to water this before you place the seeds in it since it will need to be moist. Now you are ready to place the vegetable seeds in the compost.
Place the seeds into the top of the compost. Don’t worry about precise placement. If you choose, you can save some seeds for a second planting. Now, you can cover the seeds over with another layer of compost, just about a quarter of an inch.
After you ensure you have a good covering of compost, water gently over it. Afterward, if you have a propagator, you can place the seed tray in this until the seeds have germinated. Then, you can move the seed tray to a greenhouse area, or the closest thing you have to a greenhouse.
Starting Vegetables from Seed and Seedling
Vegetable seeds can be started inside or out. If you start off inside, eventually, you can move them to an outside garden later. Both options are viable, and many gardeners use both methods.
Some Things to Consider:
Depending on where you live, starting your seeds and seedlings off indoors can give them an advantage. You can plant them at the ideal time outside. However, some plants do not like to be transplanted, such as many of the root crops like beets and carrots. However, many of the root crops can be directly seeded outside anyway, due to their cold-hardy nature. Other vegetables like beans and corn do better when directly seeded outside, and are not transplanted.
It is much easier to start seeds inside than outside. You can create the ideal conditions inside for them. Just keep in mind that some do not like to be transplanted.
It is often better to plant some seeds directly outside in the garden unless the region in which you live has an extremely short summer. Some quick growing vegetables do not do well if left in a container for just a day or two longer than needed. Just make sure that if you do plant directly outside, the soil is warm enough for your seeds.