Dr. Grow: Start growing spring plants in winter

Brrrrrrr! It's cold outside, but I feel spring in my bones. So I'm going to start my own vegetable garden and flower seeds right now in the dead of winter instead of buying plants in April and May at a garden center.

In order to get started, purchase a 1020 tray and divider from your local garden center. Get ones with holes in the bottom. The holes allow excess water to drain away.

Fill the divider with seed starter soil. This finely ground soilless mix is designed specifically for good seed-soil contact -- a must for successful germination.

Next sow the seed by placing two seeds on the soil surface within each compartment of the divider. I put two seeds in each compartment because one may not survive. I want to be sure to have a good plant in each compartment. Then sprinkle a thin layer of the seed starter soil over the seeds.

Cover the tray with a paper towel and water the seeded soil through the paper towel. The paper towel allows water to soak into the soil slowly without moving the seed around. Make sure you water enough to fill every pore in the soil. Then allow excess moisture to drain out of the soil. A soil that stays too moist during germination will result in leggy plants (plants that are tall and spindly, not short and stout).

Broccoli and cabbage plants can be started over the winter with the correct equipment. (Kit Doyle)

Remove the wet paper towel and cover the 1020 tray with a clear plastic dome. This dome acts like a minigreenhouse. It allows light to shine on the soil surface and also keeps the soil from drying out rapidly.

Successful seed germination requires constant soil moisture. Check the soil daily, and water as needed. But once emergence occurs, slow down the watering so that the soil dries slightly between watering. This encourages good plant root development.

Most people today keep their homes below 70 degrees. Cool temperatures will slow down the germination process. In order to speed up the process, place a heating pad under the 1020 tray. Get a heating pad that is temperature controlled. The heating pad warms the soil which speeds up the germination process. You don't have to raise the temperature inside your home just to ensure germination success.

Spindly plants also result from low light levels after germination. Place a grow light over the germination trays so that your plants will develop strong stout stems. Make sure that you place the light very close to plant surfaces. As the plants grow, you will need to raise the lights. Make this process simple by purchasing a grow light assembly that allows you to raise and lower the height of the light as plant height dictates.

After your plants have emerged and you begin to water less often, continue to encourage good root development by applying a high phosphorous fertilizer, such as a 9-59-8 to your plants. The high phosphorous to nitrogen ration will "tell" the plant to put its energy into good root development.

Plant your seeds about eight weeks before you plan on planting them outside in your garden. For example, if you normally plant cabbage plants outside about March first, then start your seed about the first to the middle of January. If you plan on planting tomato plants in your garden around the first of May, start the seeds in your home sometime around the first of March.

You can save money, enjoy spring in your home now instead of later, feel the pride of growing your own plants from seed, and enjoy a nine-month project with your children or grandchildren.

Send your gardening and landscape questions to Paul Schnare at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702-0699 or by e-mail to news@semissourian.com.<I>