Seed Starting Simplified: The Essential Indoor Setup for Beginners — Gardening, Herbs, Plants, and Product Reviews (2024)

FAQs

What herbs are best to start indoors from seed? ›

Thyme, rosemary, basil, sage, chives, and tarragon are great choices to start indoors. The seeds are very fine and take a fair amount of time to germinate. Oregano started by seed may not be true to the type of seed planted, and flavor will vary.

The germination medium should be lightweight, porous, and free of pathogens. Excellent seed-starting media are commercially prepared soilless mixes, such as Jiffy Mix. Use a high-quality, well-drained potting mix when transplanting seedlings into individual pots or cell packs.

Starting seeds indoors gives your vegetables, herbs, and flowers a head start so they can grow larger and have better (and longer) harvests or flowering periods. With a few basic supplies and a little patience, it's easy and fun to start seeds indoors.

Annual Herbs

Most annuals can be direct sown (though it won't hurt to start them indoors). Anise will germinate in 10-14 days and will be ready to enjoy in 120 days. Basil will germinate in 5-10 days, and be ready to enjoy in 60-90 days. Summer Savory will be ready in the first season.

Herbs are one of the easier edible plants to grow at home and are generally suitable for beginner gardeners. Some of the easiest are chives, basil, cilantro, and parsley.

Mid-March is the best time to start many vegetables and annual flowers indoors for transplanting outside once the threat of frost has passed.

When should you start seeds indoors? Start seeds six to eight weeks before the last frost in your area. 2 Most plants are ready to go outside four to six weeks after you start the seeds.

The right time to start your seeds indoors varies significantly by crop and location, ranging anywhere from 2–16 weeks prior to transplanting. Use this calculator to ascertain when to start seeds indoors and then to transplant outside, based on the frost-free date in your area.

Add one seed to each pot or cell. Use the crease of the seed packet or place seeds in a creased piece of paper to help direct the seeds where you want them to go. Sometimes not every seed will germinate. To increase your chances of success, add 2-3 seeds to each pot and thin out the extras once everything has sprouted.

Luckily, they are easy to start indoors and each plant yields a lot of fruit. Cucumbers are easy to grow indoors and started them 4-6 weeks before May 7 will give a convenient jump start to the season. Plant the seeds about a half inch deep in 3″ pots. I recommend only planting 1-2 seeds per pot as they grow quickly.

What is the easiest and fastest plant to grow indoors? ›

Some fast-growing indoor plants include Aloe Vera, Snake Plant, Lucky Bamboo, Jade Plant, Wandering Jew, Peace Lily, Spider Plant, Fiddle Leaf Fig, Maidenhair Fern, Chinese Money Plant, Pothos, Velvet Plant, Dumb Cane, and English Ivy.

Root vegetables like carrots, beets and radishes, as well as greens like spinach, Swiss chard and lettuces, can all be grown indoors. Growing fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, oregano, mint and thyme can help elevate your cooking and add some charm to your kitchen decor.

Cilantro is a fast-growing herb that will last a few months indoors, due to its tendency to bolt; once it flowers, it turns bitter.

Herbs. Basil and rocket are fast-growing herbs that will pop up quickly in the right conditions. Basil germinates 7-10 days after plants and can be ready in as little as 3-4 weeks. As for rocket, you can expect to harvest in as little as seven weeks.

An inexpensive way to grow herbs is from seeds. Fill individual pots, a garden growing tray, a flat of six-packs, or cells with moistened seed-starting mix. Sprinkle one or two seeds lightly in soil of each cell or pocket. In a growing tray create shallow rows and sow according to the seed pack.