by Jason Hernandez

Created on: March 09, 2009   Last Updated: October 05, 2010

Many of the most popular garden vegetables need to be started indoors to reach maturity in northern growing seasons. These are species native to tropical countries - the most popular being the tomato and the pepper, both originally from Mexico. Other seeds to start indoors are the eggplant, native to India, and the watermelon, native to Africa.

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT

To grow these plants, it is necessary to plan ahead - tomatoes and peppers should be started 6-8 weeks before last frost. This will mean setting up a sunny location - these tropical plants need a lot of sun. It also means planning the layout of the garden itself - early-season crops will be approaching full size by the time these are transplanted out, so there must have been a space reserved for them.

Tomatoes, in particular, will need a lot of space. When choosing a variety, pay attention to whether it is determinate or indeterminate. A determinate tomato will reach a certain size, then produce fruits from the shoot tip, ending both its growth and its productive life. An indeterminate tomato will keep producing until killed by frost in fall, but will also keep growing longer and longer until then. Peppers and eggplants are more compact. Watermelons will be the real challenge: even the "bush" types still need as much room as a full-sized tomato plant, and the vining types will sprawl several feet.

ECO-FRIENDLY CONTAINERS

Many people believe that peat pots, because they are biodegradable, are eco-friendly. Actually, this is not so. The world's peatlands have been seriously damaged by mining peat for garden uses. A peat bog grows very slowly, taking hundreds of years to lay down a few inches of peat. Mining them is almost as unsustainable as drilling oil or mining mineral ores. Ironically, plastic is more eco-friendly, provided it is a durable enough plastic to be re-used year after year. Better still would be pots made from biodegradable plastics made from plant-based cellulose instead of the usual petrochemicals; but these have not yet come into wide use and may be unobtainable.

EQUIPMENT

The minimum requirement is a set of pots, potting soil, and a sunny windowsill. Do not use natural garden soil, as it is the wrong consistency for the tiny, contained environment of a pot - it will not drain properly, and your seedlings will die of "damping-off." If you live in a climate where late winter and early spring are often overcast, you may need supplemental light, such as a full-spectrum grow light. These can be expensive, but are essential for ensured success in these climes. If your windowsill is not large enough, an inexpensive set of shelves can be easily used.

Above all, do not overwater seedlings. "Damping-off" is a serious problem for too-wet seedlings, and often leads to 100% mortality. Even when the soil surface looks dry, it may still be quite damp just below the surface. Once seedlings have begun growing, water when the dry zone reaches about a cm below the surface - deeper if your seedlings have developed longer roots.

With a bit of care, tropical vegetables can be successfully grown in northern climates by starting them indoors.

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