Starting your garden plants indoors from seeds lets you grow exactly the varieties you want at a much lower price than you’d pay at the garden center for a tray of seedlings. If you can’t wait for the gardening season to begin in spring, you can get your fingers dirty sowing seeds indoors weeks before the last frost. Burpee Self-Watering Seed Starting Systems make it simple for you to succeed because they eliminate the biggest challenge—keeping your little seedlings perfectly hydrated at all times.
Getting Started
The Burpee 72 Cell Self Watering Ultimate Growing System and the Burpee XL 32 Cell Self Watering Ultimate Growing System are easy to set up and use. Each comes with a watering tray, plant stands, a self-watering mat, a soil-less planting medium, trays of planting cells for the seedlings, and a clear plastic lid that holds in moisture.
To use these self-watering systems, you set the plant stands in the watering tray and cover them with the self-watering mat. Be sure the ends of the mat reach the bottom of the tray, so it can draw up moisture. Put the planting trays on top of the mat.
You plant the seeds in coconut coir, a by-product of fresh coconut processing. Like peat moss, coir is light and well-drained, which prevents your seedlings from becoming too waterlogged. The coir comes in the form of pellets. Place one in each of your planting tray’s cells. Be sure to place the pellets flat side down so they expand properly. Water it lightly and it will expand and soften. Use one of the plant markers included or a wooden mixing stick to gently loosen up the coir.
Sow two seeds in each cell and cover them to the depth indicated on the seed packet. If both seeds germinate, wait a couple weeks to see which becomes the more vigorous seedling and snip off the other. Yes, that can be a tough choice, but it helps the one that remains reach its full potential!
Cover the tray with the clear plastic dome to keep the environment inside humid to encourage germination. Check on the seeds daily and moisten the coir if it dries out. Be sure not to saturate it, which can encourage fungal diseases.
In a week to 10 days, most types of seeds will have germinated, though some take a little longer. When about half of the seedlings are growing, remove the lid and move the tray under lights. LED lights stay cooler and use less energy than traditional grow lights. Keep the lights just a few inches above the seedlings. If the gap between lights and leaves is too far, your seedlings will grow leggy, with long, thin stems that are not sturdy. Also, set up a little fan to blow a gentle, indirect breeze on your seedlings to help them develop stout stems.
Fill the watering tray to the indicated level. The watering mat will soak it up and the seedlings' roots will gradually grow down to it. Check the watering tray every few days, though the water may last up to 10 days, and refill as needed.
Underwatering vs. Overwatering
Seedlings need just the right amount of moisture to maintain steady growth and stay healthy. Both underwatering and overwatering can cause significant problems for your little plants.
When seedlings are dehydrated, the stems droop and the leaves may wilt or turn yellow and then brown. Even brief periods without water can stunt plants’ growth.
The signs and symptoms of overwatering in seedlings can look similar to underwatering. Yellow leaves, droopy stems, and stunted growth are the result of oversaturation, too. If your seedlings develop blisters on their leaves, they’re getting too much water. Keep an eye out for mold on the soil surface. It could look powdery like white dust or slimy like algae and it can be harmful to your plants. A steady breeze from a small fan inhibits fungi from growing on the soil.
The Advantages of a Self-Watering System
With the Burpee Self Watering Ultimate Growing System, there’s no risk of underwatering or overwatering. You can be sure your plants always get exactly the right amount of moisture. You simply fill the watering tray and the watering mat stays damp. As the seedlings’ roots grow downward, they draw up the moisture they need, but no more.
Using a self-watering system is better for you as well as your plants. All you need to do is keep the watering tray filled. You don’t have to worry that the seedlings will dry out or die because you missed a day to water them. The plants stay consistently well-hydrated, so they continue to grow vigorously. The result is plants that are healthier, more robust, and ready to grow in your garden.
Harden Off Seedlings
Before transplanting seedlings, make sure to acclimate your young plants to outdoor conditions over the course of a week. Wait to transplant until the weather is warm enough for your seedlings to thrive outside – look to your seed packet for more info specific to each variety! Learn how to harden off seedlings.
Find more tips for transplanting plants from indoors to outdoors in this guide.