Get a jump on the season by starting seeds indoors

There are still a few plots available.

Photos by Kevan Full, at kevanslens.com; see more pics of the seed-starting meeting and of the community garden at CVAC in Photo Gallery
Monday, February 27, 2012
by Susan Rubin

Spring is just around the corner!  Many gardeners try to get the jump on the season by starting seeds indoors.  This was the topic of a workshop given at the Chappaqua Library last Sunday by Suzi Novak and me, Susan Rubin, coordinators of the InterGenerate community garden at the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps yard on North Greeley.

I brought in plants I’d already started on my windowsill by taking the bottoms of cabbage, bok choy and celery and sprouting them in water. Once the veggie ends sprout some roots, move them into potting soil or seed starting medium.  Suzi demonstrated the technique for starting seeds.

Bottom line: There are many ways to start your garden

Starting seeds is easy and you don’t need fancy equipment—egg cartons, empty yogurt containers, styrofoam trays—they all work as long as they have drainage holes.

Use special seed starter medium, available at all nurseries.

Don’t let your seeds dry out; plant in damp medium and cover tightly until the seeds germinate.  Once the seeds are starting to come up, they don’t need to be covered, make sure they get as much light as possible.

The next workshop will be about planning and planting the spring garden and will take place in mid-March. These programs are free and open to the public, you don’t need to be part of the community garden to participate.

Suzi Novak is contact person for garden memberships; there are still a limited number of spots available.  Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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