5 Essential Tips for Successful Seed Starting as a Beginner Gardener

Welcome to our 5-part series on seed starting for beginners!

Continue reading for part 1 of this series, all about Supplies -

Welcome to Seed Starting 101 - a guide that I have curated specifically with the new gardener in mind. I know first-hand how overwhelming it can be for beginners, and it's my personal mission to simplify all of it for you so we can spend less time stressing about all of the details, and get to gardening!

Here, I hope to provide you with the 5 essentials to starting seeds for your garden.

Gardening Terms

Before we get started, let's start with some basic gardening terms (the simplified version, of course) -

Direct Sow - To plant seeds directly into the ground outdoors, rather than starting them indoors then transplanting seedlings.

Hardening Off - The process of gradually acclimating indoor seedlings or young plants to outdoor conditions before transplanting them into the garden.

Sow - To plant seeds in soil or another growing medium

Transplant - The process of planting seedlings from their initial growing environment (pot, cell tray, etc.) to a new environment (i.e., into the garden beds, or bigger pots, etc.)

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Tip #1 - Supplies

When it comes to buying your seed starting supplies, if you're anything like me - you'll likely want to jump to the cheapest products to save on cost - and I get that, trust me I get that. I'm not here to convince you to buy stuff, but I am here to guide you on which products I would recommend.

If you've tried your hand at seed starting in the past, then these images might look familiar, but guess where they all end up? Yep, you guessed it - the trash : /

The less durable are to say... not worth the upfront cost savings. These pictures are mine, those old beaten, broken, torn, damaged cell trays are mine after just 1 year! So, what does that mean? That means I have to purchase new trays, new cells, and new tray cover every single year. This is not just a waste of money, but no bueno for sustainability and waste management.

Now, after all of that..I have a guilty confession... What I'm about to show you, and what I now highly recommend, are products that I passed up on several times (enter covering eyes emoji here!) because I didn't want to spend "too much!"

Well, joke's on me because I spent the same amount spread over the years on products I had to throw away every 12 months! I could have bought stronger cell trays the first time around, once and only once if I had done it right the first time!

Introducing - The only seed starting cells & trays I'll ever use moving forward - Epic Gardening Cell Trays (click to shop) use Code SUNWOODLANE5 for 5% OFF at checkout!

These are not only MADE IN THE USA, but they are made from UV-treated, BPA FREE recycled materials that will practically last you a lifetime! These are so durable, long are the days where you have to be worried about cracking your seedling tray moving from point A to point B.

The Bottom Tray

Let's start with the Bottom Tray - Not only is it universal with each size cell trays (i.e., 4-cell, 6-cell, 16-cell, and even the 5" cube pots), but they are DURABLE! You no longer have to worry about it cracking in half, crashing your entire seedlings to the ground. They are stackable, great for storing, or you can even use them for growing microgreens!

The Cell Trays

Up next, the Cell Trays - These EPIC Cell Trays come in 4-cell, 6-cell, 16-cell, and 5" cubed pots. Now, if we take a close look - you'll quickly notice that these are not your ordinary cell trays..no...These were uniquely designed with slits down the sides and a push-through hole at the bottom. The pruning side slots are on all four corners which help prevent root circling, while also encouraging better root growth!

If we take a look at the bottom of each cell tray, you will see a much larger opening than we typically see in commonly bought seed starting trays. This helps with removing seedlings at the time of transplanting.

Side Note - Do you recall the pictures above of beaten cell trays? Well a lot of that damage was caused by squeezing the plastic cell trays in every which direction just to get the poor seedings out - causing damage not only to the cell trays, but causing stress to the root system. Sure, it worked for everyone, and can still work - but doesn't it make so much sense to have a push-through hole at the bottom - so simple, yet so effective!

Convenient finger holes in the bottom of each cell make it easy to remove seedlings when you are ready to transplant.  No more using a knife or tool to remove your plants; simply push the seedling out with your finger.

Additional Products -

When it comes to starting seeds for your garden, it can quickly become a part-time job - #IYKYK - the babysitting, tending, watering, hardening off, greenhouse or no greenhouse, grow lights or no grow lights, dome cover or no cover, heat mat or no heat mat - ahh! I totally get it - to keep it simple, get yourself a good quality tray and cell trays to start off - especially for your first time around. We'll get more into detail on all of the other items to be had, because trust me it is a lot of fun once you get going...but for starting off, let's keep it simple and start with great products that are sure to help you be successful in this new journey!

Full Transparency, because that's important to us - Sunwood Lane LLC is an ambassador of Epic Gardening, in which we earn a small commission on all sales made using our affiliate link. The good news for you, though, is we have a discount code that will save you 5% off your purchase at checkout - use Code SUNWOODLANE5 by following this link to shop! Thank you for all of your support and orders, it helps us continue this blog & get you discounts on future sales so stick around! Click Here to Shop Now!

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Stay Tuned for tips 2-5 - coming soon!