by Danica Madison

Created on: April 23, 2008

Walking past a display in a discount bargain store, I noticed flower seeds priced at ten packages for a dollar. Surely I could plant these seeds and produce plants of the same quality as those expensive bedding plants sold at the local nursery! I have started bedding plants often and to do this right, I had to adhere to certain steps:

1. A further investment to the inexpensive seeds is necessary. Splurge and buy the tray of individual peat planting pots. These tiny containers come in trays of 12 or 24 and are attached together as one unit with the ability to break apart.

2. Loosely fill each container with soil, preferably a mixture of potting soil and peat, to hold the moisture.

3. Read the package instructions, but generally you gently press the seeds so they are just below the surface of the soil up to approximately" down. I personally prefer to start off germinating bedding plants that do not grow larger than 18 inches. It is simply easier to manage the shorter plants than taller varities.

4. Use a spray bottle to soak the surface of the soil rather than pouring water directly. For the seeds to germinate, they need to be kept moist at all times but not too wet as they will rot. If you then cover the entire tray with a sheet of plastic wrap, the moisture will be retained and the soil less likely to dry out.

5. In two to five days, you will notice a small green sprout reaching up from the earth. This can be quite exciting, but utmost care must me taken to not destroy this vulnerable germinated seed. Continue spraying the seedlings with water and covering with plastic. Keep the trays indoors in a sunny area.

6. The stem should appear stronger and less vulnerable to falling over and a few more than the original two leaves have now grown. Break the peat pots apart and plant them directly in the earth; the pots will disintegrate once the plant grows beyond its small confines. Do not plant the seedlings too close together (six inches apart should be sufficient) since they will crowd out each other as they grow larger.

Voila! As long as the weather cooperates you should have a colorful display that rivals any plants you might have purchased.

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