It used be difficult in the old days to grow plants by ourselves. My father used to hire a gardener to take care of our backyard. But what’s the point of loving nature, when you need someone else to take care of it for you?

I decided to take the matter in my own hands, and today, I can share with you many different options for planting in your own backyard. This can be done by purchasing bare roots, root cuttings, plugs, in pots, in container gardens and it continues. But the best way to do it is how nature intended, THROUGH SEEDS. That’s how plants have propagated themselves and how humans cultivated plants for millennia before technological developments made other options available.

It makes sense for many reasons to start gardening in your backyard with seeds. The first reason is that it’s usually less expensive to grow by seeds rather than buying the whole plants. They can be stored for a longer period of time. And yes, seeds are lightweight, easily transportable and condensed enough to manage. In short, growing plants through seeds is very convenient and can be easily done.

Now let’s start with the items you need

• Seeds
• Zip lock Plastic Bag
• Plastic Pot or Cup
• Soil; Enough to fill up the Plastic Plot. Soil should be airy, plot-able, vermiculite or per-lite
• Sand
• Water
• Window sill

Steps to Follow

1. First step would be to make small holes in the bottom of the Plastic cup to allow water to drain but avoid soil falling out of the cup.
2. Now fill the cup with soil leaving an inch of space at the top of the cup. Firm the soil carefully and lightly, as providing seeds with sufficient oxygen is important. Also, it’s important to allow ample moisture preservation to allow water to draw the soil column.
3. Now wait for the soil to soak water and it should be completely moist. Water excess should drain out of cup but give attention that soil is holding up to the moisture.
4. Now lightly push the seeds into the soil. The larger seeds should be buried deeper as compared to smaller ones. General rule is to bury a seed as deep as it is wide.
5. Put the plastic cup into the ziplock bag and place them under direct sunlight. Pour a small amount of water in the base of the bag and leave it open.
6. Be PATIENT and wait.
7. When you see small seedlings in the bag it’s time to transplant them (seedlings are large enough to handle when the first leaves can be easily grasped between your thumb and index finger). Be very gentle when lifting seedlings, use a butter knife or other blunt tool to scoop the roots and grasp the plant by the very base of the stem, not pinch the stem or pull on the leaves as this will damage the delicate seedling. Use something thin to break the soil around the seeding. These small seeding are now ready to plant in containers (still not ready to be planted in permanent location)
8. Return back and put the newly transplanted seedlings and plastic cup under sunlight.
9. Check the water again and fill the ziplock bag from the bottom.
10. When the seedling are big enough to move to bigger pots or outside, again, gently remove the seedlings, and then plant them into a larger pot.

This is the easiest method for the average gardener like us. A bit more time and patience are required but growing from seeds saves money, gives us an adventure of nature, and it is rather easy to do once you know how.

Hope you will enjoy growing your own  healthy seasonal fruits, full of flavor and nutrition. Would you like to know how you could grow plants from cuttings using a cutting globe or how you could obtain a smart Aquaponic Tower Garden®?

For more information on urban agriculture, call us at 303-495-3705  or  Click Here to book a meeting with us.  We’d love to hear from you, so please add your comments in the comment box below or visit our Facebook page.

Source : Institute of Ecolonomics

Resources and related articles:

• How to Plan Your First Backyard Vegetable Garden | Institute of Ecolonomics
• How to Grow Fruit Trees in Your Indoor Container Garden | Institute of Ecolonomics
• Urban Agriculture & Benefits of Growing Your Own Food | Nourish The Planet
• Cutting Globes Amazing Plant Propagator | Saving the Green Saving the Green