You Don't Have to Overcomplicate Seeds
Or, "How I Start Seeds Outside and Let the Sun Do the Work"
I spoke on a gardening panel at M. Judson Booksellers last spring, and one of the questions I answered was related to starting seeds. The way I do it always raises eyebrows, and then… interest.
I just start seeds outside.
No Humidity Domes or Heat Mats in Nature
Now before I get into what works for me, and a few of the expert endorsements for this method that gave me confidence to experiment a few years back, let me offer a few observations.
I think we all know seeds in nature do not require plastic humidity domes, nor electric heat mats, nor sterilized seed-starting medium, nor 16 hours of special lighting, nor gentle fans, for germination. Warmth, humidity, moisture, wind and soil can all be found outside. It’s only when we start seeds in our homes in winter that we find the need to create super-special environments.
MOST of the issues people experience when trying to start vegetables and flowers from seed—the things that make them give up, convinced they are doomed to buy starter plants forever—are the result of the way conditions work against you when you are trying to garden inside.
Seeds are cheap enough that it is really worth it to experiment.
I live in a warm climate (zone 8a), which makes this possible.
Inside, you are responsible for heat, humidity, moisture, light, darkness, and air circulation. Outside, you are mostly just responsible for moisture.
You can let the sun warm the soil. You can let the breeze toughen up those little stems. You can let the humidity in the air be sufficient. I mean really, how many of us are running humidifiers all winter to keep our NOSES from drying out? My house in February is not super-conducive to biological anything.
You, of course, need to keep an eye on danger of frost, and protect those seedlings if it’s coming.
And you need to keep an eye on small containers to make sure they don’t dry out. I’m a big fan of starting seeds in dappled shade for this very reason.
It just really doesn’t have to be as complicated as you may think.
Two Experts Who Go Rogue
Brie Arthur, AKA Brie the Plant Lady, based in the Raleigh area, was the first expert I saw demonstrate you can do it this way. I was already experimenting with it when she posted this video in February 2022:
And, in her book A Way to Garden, Margaret Roach advocates for moving seeds you start inside to dappled shade outside as soon as possible, rather than letting seedlings grow for weeks inside and slowly moving them outside right before planting.
My Exact Method for Starting Seeds Outside
First off, I should say I direct sow seeds as often as possible. Things like radishes, peas, cucumbers, nasturtiums, calendula, kale, parsley, celery, cilantro, lettuce and carrots I just sprinkle on bare soil in my raised beds, and poke the bigger seeds into the soil with my finger.
But for warm and hot season vegetables and herbs that I want to give a head start—think tomatoes, peppers, basil, and dill—and flowers that I want to place in specific spots in my garden, this is how I start them outside:
Method 1: Recycle Plastic Egg Trays
I save up plastic egg containers throughout the winter, and poke holes in the bottom of each cell.
I fill the egg cells with Soil3 humus compost. I’m noting this for a specific reason: There is sand in this mix, and I’ve found it helps it both drain well and hold together. That’s useful when I’m popping out the seedlings to put in larger pots.
I water the cells and sow seeds in each; label and replace the top.
Keep it in part-sun, and as you get sprouts, pop that cell of soil with the seedlings out and move to bigger pots with soil.
Continue popping out and potting up until all the seeds you’ve sown are growing out in bigger containers.
Key Factors
The plastic lid acts as a built-in humidity dome, and helps warm up the soil to sprout the seeds that need heat.
I really just use it for germination. The cells are so small that you need to get the sprouts into larger pots pretty quickly, so this method works best if you are going to be able to check on them every day for a while.
You probably don’t want to leave the egg cartons in full sun. Tiny sprouts can dry out quickly.
Method 2: Self-Watering Planters
Fill a self-watering planter with potting soil; water it.
Use a dibber or your finger to mark lines for planting zones.
Sow seeds according to the packet instructions in your various zones. Label. (You will forget what’s what…trust me.)
Place in part-sun. I like to keep mine on my potting table. My favorite part of this method is that it does NOT dry out quickly. Those little seedlings can handle a lot of sun and a lot of neglect when they are so consistently getting the water they need.
Key Factors
Manage the crowding: As the sprouts get their first true leaves, thin them out, move them around, or move to bigger pots to continue growing.
I got a great tip, at that gardening panel I mentioned earlier, from Julie Thompson-Adolf who is local to me here in Upstate South Carolina and is the author of Starting and Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden. Julie recommended using a fork to prick out tiny sprouts for potting up: Now I keep a plastic fork stuck in the planter and it truly is the gentlest way to separate and replant them.
In conclusion, I find this rather dramatically simplifies things from what I was doing with my indoor set-up when I first started experimenting with seeds.
One of the biggest issues people run into is the whole idea of “hardening off,” or slowly acclimating plants that were inside under artificial light to the full-strength light of the sun. Even if you are careful, it’s not uncommon to lose a few in the process.
Starting seeds that are used to the full-strength of the sun, the full strength of the wind, and fluctuations in temperature has equated with stronger seedlings for me, and less hassle overall. It also allows me to start later.
I wait for a nice weekend in February or early March, and it looks like we’ll have one this Saturday. Here we go!