My pepper seedlings look JUST LIKE THIS!
It’s mid-March, and my carefully-coddled seeds have sprouted into spunky little shoots in their egg cartons. In addition to giving them daily pep talks, here are a few tips for keeping your seedling happy beyond the sprouting stage.
Step 3: Taking Care of Seedlings
According to Yankee Magazine’s hints, I planted the seeds in prepared egg cartons, watered the soil, enclosed them in their dry cleaning bag/greenhouse and kept the full-spectrum grow light on them about 15 hours a day. I marked the planting date (February 21) on my gardening calendar.
At first, I was concerned that the plastic bag would keep in too much moisture or heat up the seed-starting mix to the point where the seeds wouldn’t grow. But, only 2 days after planting, the arugula sprouted – and two days after that, I had Swiss chard and basil sprouts poking though the soil!
I removed the greenhouse bags and worriedly monitored the egg cartons to make sure the soil didn’t dry out. I began to feel maternally attached to the little green guys, trying so mightily to put out those first leaves.
By March 2, the speedy arugula began growing its second set of leaves, or the first set of “true” leaves. But the bell peppers – the money-saving centerpiece of my fire escape garden – had yet to make an appearance.
Arugula (front) and Swiss chard (back) on the left, tiny basil sprouts on the right. I took this photo on March 1.
(At this point I was still hedging on the tomato seeds. I chose the Burpee “Patio Princess” hybrid due to its adaptation for container gardening, but couldn’t find the seeds in any of the gardening stores I visited. I finally, reluctantly, bought them online for the exorbitant price of $5.25 plus shipping, so they best be growing soon. You heard me, Princess.)
But back to the peppers – I was relieved to see tentative little green specks pushing through the soil on March 3, within the germination time indicated on the seed packet. After their first sprouts, the peppers grew prodigiously. The delicate parsley seeds made their first appearance on the same day.
Meanwhile, the Swiss chard and basil put out their second set of leaves, followed by the peppers and parsley on March 11.
Arugula( front left), Swiss chard (front right), and bell peppers (in the back) growing prodigiously on March 18.
Arugula in front, peppers in back.
I kept the soil constantly moist by regular watering using a yogurt cup with holes poked in the bottom. Because the seedlings’ stems can be easily bent by too much pressure when watering, the gentle “drop cup” is better than a watering can. In addition, I let the chlorine and other possibly harmful stuff evaporate from the water by letting it sit uncovered in a pitcher for 24 hours.
The next step, once the seedlings grow their third set of leaves, is to transplant them into the numerous yogurt cups and butter tubs I’ve saved. Today I purchased a ginormous 64-quart bag of Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix at Home Depot ($13.97) and wheeled it home in my shopping cart. Stay tuned!
More from Metro Cheapo’s Fire Escape Garden Guide
Step 1: Choosing Your Plants
Step 2: Setting Up the Nursery
Step 3: Taking Care of Seedlings
Step 4: Transplanting Seedlings
Step 5: Hardening Off
Step 6: Maintenance (coming soon)
You definitely have a lot to be proud of, and I wish you the best in your next adventure – whatever it ends up being!