It would help to know a few more things, such as how many plants you want to start this way -- a few dozen, a few hundred, a few thousand or more than, say 10,000. It would also help to know what your outdoor climate is like, whether you've got something like a screen porch, and so on. That said, here are some ideas:

The typical setup you see at garden centers and big-box stores -- a solid- bottom flat, an insert with 72 cells that can be separated into 12 packs of 6 cells each and a humidity dome works pretty well if you're talking about quantities up to the low thousands of plants. You can buy the pieces separately, and at case prices they're much cheaper than as assembled sets. Furthermore, you can get by with fewer humidity domes than the number of inserts -- you take the domes off as soon as you get germination, and the dome from the first sets you start can be switched to the next sets. Also get some flats with non-solid bottoms if you will be putting the packs outdoors where they will be subject to downpours. Finally, although 72 is the most common number of cells you'll find in stores, you can order sheets of inserts with different numbers -- say, 36, or 48.

You can usually get gowing medium that's fine for starting seeds in fair-size bags or small bales at home-improvement stores and garden centers. Read the labels -- you want something that says it's ok for starting seeds. Some potting soil has a lot of large chunks of bark in it and would have to be worked through a sieve before it's usable. You can make your own mix from finely milled peat and pearlite if you wish. I buy compressed bales of Sunshine Mix #1 from a large-scale grower -- of there's a large garden center that raises its own stock near you, you might be able to do the same.

To sow seeds in the size cell we're talking about here, you don't need any special equipment. Some people are very good at shaking even tiny seeds out of a packet 1-3 at a time; others might empty seeds from the packet onto a folded piece of 3x5 card and then use a pencil or pen to tick off a seed or group of seeds into the cells. I actually use a small, shallow Japanese sauce dish with a small pouring lip to hold the seeds and a pencil to push a seed or three at a time onto the medium. (I usually sow 3 seeds per cell and then thin to 1 after they germinate.)

If you want, you can sow seeds in flats without the cells, but I think you would have to prick them out and put them into some kind of small container to grow on before they were ready to go in the ground. I think that system works better if you can devote a lot of time to the project and/or aren't sowing a lot of different kinds. If you go that route, I'd recommend a flat that has a fairly solid bottom but with some holes in it for drainage and bottom-watering.

Large-scale growers often start with a plug trays that have more and tinier cells in about the same space as the 72's -- maybe up to around 400 cells, and they tyically use machinery to fill the cells with growing medium and quite likely to add seeds to the cells. I think this is overkill for any home situation.

In your climate, I would think that as soon as things germinate you can place them outside. (Room light is adequate up until the time things sprout, even for seeds that require light for germination.) Many annuals will survive outdoors at temperatures in the 30s and 40s, even if they need temperatures in the 60s to 70 for optimal germination. You can give them protection from drying wind by putting them in an open-topped cardboard for a few days, and I'd start their outdoor stay in a shady spot. As long as it doesn't freeze, most can stay outdoors at night. Seed packets, catalogs and the web should tell you which annuals need higher-than-room-temperature heat for best germination and which ones are set back severely or killed by temps in, say the 40s.

When your seedlings reach the point where they've filled their spaces and their leaves are touching, you can usually plant them in the ground.

I know there are a lot of things I haven't described very thoroughly, if at all, and some of this is guesswork about your climate (I have to do things differently in the midwest), but I'm sure others can correct that and fill in the gaps, or have better suggestions. I just wanted to get this started.

As for seed sources, I'd suggest Stokes, which has a fairly good selection, reasonable prices, pretty good instructions on their packets and offers both small and grower-sized packets.

If you're thinking of relatively small numbers -- say, 10 flat's worth, 720 plants, getting the packages from Home Depot or your local garden center might be your best bet. For larger quantities, you can order flats, inserts, etc. from places like Pinetree Gardens and Charlie's Greenhouses, but since shipping can be expensive, you might be better off with a grower's supply company located near you. There's a link to a California outfit below. I've never used them, since I order from Midwest suppliers. Others will probably have better suggestions.

Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: American Horticulture

Dear Neil,

Thank you so much for the detailed information on seed starting. I am in Zone 9 and I do have a screened back porch. I believe our last frost date is March 15. I will probably start with about 10 flats - because to me that is a lot of plants if they all germinate. I only have so much ground pre-prepared for this year.

Judging from Trish's great list of sow and bloom dates for other zones - I should have started my seeds a lot sooner - especially for this area - but better late than never. My summers are brutal here - so I am going to use annuals that like the heat.

I will have to check on the labels at the garden centers - I just assumed the soil you can get there is for potted plants and not for starting seeds - since most on this site have talked about using soiless mixes. Now that you mention it - there probably is a place where I can get some greenhouse supplies around here - I will look in the yellow pages.

We do have a Home Depot and Lowe's etc, but I just thought of them as more expensive - but with the shipping etc. you are probably correct - the price break wouldn't come till I ordered in much larger quantities. I guess I have just gotten used to ordering through the internet and having stuff shipped to me.

I think I will get the cell packs, solid trays and humidity domes and start with those. I just remembered year before last I started carrots and beets sown direct in my vegetable beds and they did fine, so I guess I should have pretty good success with flower seeds too.

I am glad I posted because I was going to start the seeds in an open tray but then transplanting would have been more difficult than in the cells. I want to start about 10 different varieties. I have a lots of other projects related to my gardens and lots of other plants outside to take care of so ease and efficiency of operation is important to me. I will keep the trays under cover if we are expecting rain. Our rainfall amounts here are few and sporadic so that will help.

I have a water softener on my well and I have heard that soft water is salty and not good for the plants - so I am thinking I should probably use my irrigation ditch water to water the seedlings - or should I use distilled water till they germinate and then switch to the ditch water?

My experience with potted planting mix is that it is hard to get the mix saturated with water the first time you water - is this the same for seed sowing mixes ? In other words - should I wet the mix then put the seeds in or put the seeds in and then wet the mix - I am thinking wetting the mix after may displace the seeds?

I will check out the link you posted.

Thanks again.

Linda

Judging from Trish's great list of sow and bloom dates for other zones - I should have started my seeds a lot sooner - especially for this area - but better late than never.

We succession sow seed throughout the growing season in order to have cutflowers the entire season. One cannot expect to have flowers the entire season from only one sowing.

If you plan to use the 72s for your 10 flats of seedlings, that is only 720 plants. Is that going to be enough for your U-Pick cutflower operation? Actually, we start our seed in 512 trays, and bump them up to the deep 72s for a better root system before planting out.

We don't always moisten the growing medium before sowing the seed. We have used a fine misting nozzle that you can hook up to the garden hose. This works pretty good; however, it is very labor intensive keeping an eye on the seedling trays and misting constantly in a very warm greenhouse. But, when you have a hands on approach, you can note problems sooner.

Trish

Trish, thank you for your information about succession planting. When you succession plant, do you pull out the plants that are not producing anymore and put other plants in their place? Or do you have rotating planting beds. And if you replant in the same bed - do you plan the heights of the plants so that they won't shade the ones you are pulling out - this would mean knowing how long the plant produces and planning your beds accordingly? Do you use liquid fertilizer to keep the plants going and if so what type and how often.

Trish, I am not planning on a U-pick but I will cut the flowers - somehow I don't want people walking through my flower beds (I may have to change that though due to time and labor constraints). In addition to the annual bed I will be putting in, I have a perennial bed from last year and another one prepared and will be planting some perennial plugs in the next two weeks so that will extend my flowers. I have about 50 garden roses and about 800 lavender plants for cutting and drying and I plan on having dried flower arrangements for sale and garden related gifts. Hopefully these plantings can get me through the first year of visitors. I will do some succession planting with annuals as you suggest.

I have another area (about 1/3 acre more or less) with a cover crop of clover that I haven't decided what do do with yet. It is a triangular section where I would like to put in some type of permanent planting in perhaps a labyrinth or maze design or some such but the final "idea or plan" has not come to me yet - but that is another story.

Neil, I was able to get some planting trays at WalMart - our Home Depot didn't have any - told me they were on order - we don't have a very organized Home Depot in the closest town near us. I was also able to get some soiless mix - I learned something there - never even noticed those bags before. The planting trays have those peat liners in them - which I don't like - my experience has been with planting plants I have purchased with peat liners - that they don't decompose fast enough and the roots don't have chance to get through the peat liner and get into the ground soil soon enough - but before I plant them I can see how the roots are doing then - maybe just peeling the bottoms off to encourage the roots to go deeper? I feel the same way about balled and burlaped plants - I always slide the burlap completely off of the plants after I have them in the planting hole.

Thank you Trish and Neil for sharing your knowledge and thanks to all those who post here for being such a great resource for beginners like me.

Linda

Linda,
I have had success with 3" peat pots by doing just what you suggested--peeling off the bottom and also the lip when I plant out. That way, the lip isn't above ground to wick away valuable moisture.

Trish, thank you for your information about succession planting. When you succession plant, do you pull out the plants that are not producing anymore and put other plants in their place? Or do you have rotating planting beds. And if you replant in the same bed - do you plan the heights of the plants so that they won't shade the ones you are pulling out - this would mean knowing how long the plant produces and planning your beds accordingly? Do you use liquid fertilizer to keep the plants going and if so what type and how often.

Linda, We're flower farmers with several acres of flowers. When one section is finished, it is bush hogged, disced, cultipacted and dragged. We may incorporate compost if necessary. The section is then ready for another crop. It's conventional farming the way it was done before huge farming equipment. We don't worry about other crops shading the new plantings because we plant sections in a sunny field. On a smaller scale, market farmers may use a rototiller instead of a tractor. We have two tractors. We do, however, use a rototiller between the rows of plants if they're not planted into beds. Zinnias, for example.

As far as fertilizer, it really depends on the crop. Last fall we had three tankards of liquid manure spread on part of the field. And, we also grow cover crops.

We also grow in hightunnels for season extension. It is a beautiful sunny 35 degree day here in Michigan. Inside the hightunnels it is summer. Or, so it seems.

Trish

Jansblooms, I am glad you mentioned about the lip wicking the moisture - that's a good point, thank you.

Trish, thanks for your advice. I see you are growing on a much larger scale than I will be. I guess I will plant mine in rows in the beds and just replant in the same planting hole and row once that group is spent - I am not sure why I am so worried about the shading - by the time I get to the next succession planting the sun will be so hot here the new plants will be welcoming the shade of any other row of plants nearby. My beds are mixed with aged compost and I think I will add some slow release fertilizer in the soil and then if more fertilizer is needed later in the season I can use some liquid fertilizer. Once my beds are prepared, since they are lined with aviary wire for gopher control, I don't usually till again, unless I use my little mantis tiller. We use our big tractor to bring in the prepared soil and place it over the top of the aviary wire and then cover with landscape cloth, plant the seedlings or plugs in holes cut in the landscape cloth and then mulch with chipped bark to help retain moisture and control all the weeds that want to germinate. I couldn't keep up with all the weeds otherwise and the ground dries out very quickly here in summer.

We had big puffy clouds and got up to 68 today and a low of 35 to 40 is expected tonight, so Spring is coming on fast here. I noticed my fruit tree buds are swelling.

Linda

Nell-Allen. I saved you to a floppy. Just bought Purple Majesty millet seeds, two-bits each, don't intend to sow three to a pot and discard 2. :)
Doug