Starting seeds part II

photo caption:

- By Patricia Hanbidge

March 8, 2026

key points from this story:

• Seed starting extends growing season
• Home growing ensures sustainable food
• Heirloom seeds preserve biodiversity
• Warm and cool crops need specific temps
• Grow lights keep seedlings strong
• Planting dates vary by crop and season

Last week our column focused on some of the basics surrounding starting your own seeds. We talked about plants needing light, water, warmth, oxygen and food to grow and a little bit about the seed itself. Growing your own plants from seed is magical.

Most gardeners derive great satisfaction from growing plants. They grow just for ornamental value but also for growing food that graces our tables when we cook for both friends and family. Starting seeds allows a greater degree of satisfaction and enables the gardener and the chef to know exactly what products were used on the plants from the beginning of life. Growing your own is also a more sustainable alternative to purchasing food that has been grown many miles away and had to undergo an unbelievable amount of transportation in order to get to our local grocer.

You might be wondering why it is a good idea to start seeds. After all it is a bit of work and you do need to purchase some gear in order to do it right. First and foremost, starting seeds will allow you to extend the growing season. This is a good thing as our frost-free days range from around 90 to 120 on the prairies. Many of the desirable crops you might like to grow need more than that amount of time to mature. Also, if you are a gardener, you already know that what you wish to grow that cannot be seeded into the garden in spring might not be available for you to purchase as bedding plants. We all like to be individual and grow in our gardens whatever we choose, so starting your own seeds will give you much more variability in your garden.

Another consideration to think about is the importance of maintaining diversity in our seed sources. Growing heritage or heirloom plants allows a refurbishment of seeds that otherwise might be lost forever. In the age of genetically modified seeds and the ease of travel may make us more aware of the importance of ensuring our roots, our history, heritage and ultimately our seeds are maintained appropriately for future generations.

Other than the generalization that germination begins with the uptake of water, there are a host of conditions that are necessary for successful germination. To simplify things for you, let’s think of what you are growing as being either warm or cool-season crops. Warm season crops like sweet corn, lima beans, tomatoes, peppers, melons, okra, eggplant will generally need a warmer season of growth and typically a slightly warmer germination temperature. Cool season crops will generally need the opposite. The other common variable you may encounter is the need to either have light conditions or dark conditions for that magical process to begin.

Once that life has begun then it is important for you to provide every little thing that will be needed in order to grow healthy plants that are ready to be transplanted out into the garden. Many times, people do not realize the essential need to grow these little plants under grow lights. Generally, my grow lights sit just above the canopy and I raise the lights as the plants grow. This ensures strong, sturdy plants that are not long, slender and droopy when grown with not enough light.

As far as broad planning of planting dates, Plant celery, eggplant, leeks, peppers and tomatoes in mid March and in April, broccoli, cantaloupe, cauliflower, lettuce, pumpkins, squash and watermelon. This timing will give you sturdy plants for planting out around the long weekend in May. This will of course vary with the temperature, light and other environmental conditions where you are growing.