Fall Seed Planting Time!

Arugula, lettuce, kale- oh my! As we enter the fall season in San Francisco (and most parts of California), our Mediterranean climate allows us the benefit of year-round food growing.  So it's time to start seeds for our yummy winter harvests!

This will be a quick how-to on getting your seeds going.  It's so easy - anyone can do it.
You can turn these:

empty food containers

Into these:

lush little seedling containers!

   There's no excuse not to have a terrific salad this winter. Or how about a sumptuous, super nutritious winter kale & potato gratin to get your family through the winter?  You don't need a lot of fancy equipment or space.  A sunny window, some empty food cartons and a few containers outside (or space in the garden) will do. 

Starting seeds indoors is also a fantastic project for kids.  Little ones love the physical part of planting, doing and watching, while older kids enjoy the sense of responsibility and accomplishment of nurturing a seed into maturity and offering it up as real food for the family meal.  Most kids are eager to eat (or at least try) veggies they grew themselves.

First off, you can start with any number of used food containers or plastic water bottles.  Wash and rinse them well.  Then use a knife to cut the tops down and poke drainage holes in the bottom.  Drainage is key or your seeds can rot in the soil.  Same goes for the seedlings once they sprout.

Fill your containers with a few inches of good organic potting soil and follow directions from the seed packets for the type of seeds you are planting. 

7 day old Arugula sprouts! Can you spot them?

Once the seeds sprout, you'll be able to thin them accordingly. Don't worry about spacing them exactly right.  It's always better to plant more seeds than the number of plants you want, as invariably, not every seed will sprout and not every seedling will make it once transplanted outside.  But have confidence in your seeds!  If you will them to grow- they usually do.

use lids for run off or baggies to maintain moisture

Seeds will need moist soil and some warmth- a window sill works great.  Keep them protected from wind, cold and extreme heat so they don't dry out. 



 You can put a plastic baggie on top of your open seed containers- like a mini green house- to help maintain warmth and moisture.

 Don't be shy about what types of containers you use.  Rather than ending up in the landfill or the recycling bin just yet-  get creative and re-purpose empty food containers!  Plastic lettuce, strawberry and blueberry containers, yogurt & deli tubs-- all work fine for getting seeds started. 

 My arugula and lettuce seedlings don't seem to mind their humble beginnings in a Starbucks cup or a strawberry container.


Once the seedlings sprout and develop several sets of leaves you can gently transplant them outside to containers or directly into the garden.  You may want to harden them first, for best results.  This is a process whereby you take the seedlings out for a few hours a day over the course of a few days, to acclimate them to the colder outside air.  This increases their success once they start spending the night outdoors. 

This cute little carrot is enjoying his new home in a pot on my balcony overlooking SF.  It is always best to label and date your seedlings.  Although you can't see it in the picture, I've done this using the leftover plastic parts of my yogurt tubs. The inside of the yogurt tubs are white, perfect for writing on with a waterproof Sharpie, and they can be cut into the just the right shape for garden tags.

For carrots however, because they do not take well to transplanting and can be a bit harder to seed directly in the soil, I recommend pre-seeding.  My pre-seeding technique is to put the carrot seeds on a plate on a wet paper towel.  Fold the towel over and leave it wet for a few days until the carrots begin to sprout a root tip.

Label and date the paper towel.  You can sprinkle the seeds around, or space them out accordingly and plant them directly with the paper towel.  Be sure to keep it moist at all times and monitor it over the next few days.


 

 Within a few days, you should start to see a root tip appear, even through the paper towel.  There are probably different trains of thought as to when exactly to plant these outside, but I tend to leave mine for a week or two in the towel and then go straight outside with them.  As long as you keep keep the soil very moist (but not soggy!), these carrots should take.  Use care in pulling them off the paper towel, as you don't want to damage the tiny root or microscopic root hairs that will eventually become your carrot. 

Often it's best to just plant the carrot seedlings with their towel turf, and allow them to grow right up through it. This is also a good way to ensure they stay moist once they're in their new soil since they will be so close to the surface where they can dry out easily. 


Since carrots are a bit more stubborn to seed, it's always better to start with much more than you need and thin as you go, once they take.   You'll get progressively better with each round of carrot seeding and will figure out your preferred method for your growing conditions. 


As for seeds and varieties, what you use chose to plant will depend on your growing conditions, what you want to grow- and what you like to eat!  For the Bay Area climate at this time of year, in sun and part shade, some good things to try would be lettuce, arugula, carrots, kale, chard, and "cool season" vegetables.
 

I have great luck with organic Botanical Interests seeds.  I buy them at the SF Botanical Garden, but they're also available in nurseries.  I have also used other seeds, but I like that these are organic and I seem to have better success with them.  For the very EASIEST lettuce seeds, I have yet to encounter, I love the Botanical Interests Gourmet Baby Greens Lettuce Mesclun, Lactuca sativa.   My new Winter Kale sprouts are turning up beautifully too!

 As a rule of thumb, do the research if you want to plant seeds from existing fruits or vegetables- they usually have very specific temperature and moisture requirements in order to germinate.  Most store-bought produce is also not suited to growing from seed, so do yourself a favor and buy a packet of good seeds to avoid frustration. And remember, you can grow most things in containers, so don't let that deter you if you are limited on space and want to start seeding.

I'll be back with another post about transplanting and proper growing conditions for container gardening once our seedlings are ready for the big outdoors.  In the meantime, let me know what delicious items you'll be eating in a few months!