Planting seeds and getting a good return on them can be difficult sometimes especially with temperamental plant types. Here are some strategies that will help you get a better return on your investment, yielding better quantity and stronger, more productive ones. 

 

What to grow in:

 Hydroponic gardens sets- If you are having trouble with strong healthy plants you may want to invest in a hydroponic garden system. These types of gardening machines are set up to alert you when water or fertilizer is needed. The lighting is perfect for new growing seedlings and the light can be specifically timed. You can get specific kits for herbs or vegetables.

If you are not at the point where you would like to invest the money into a hydroponic garden kit there are some other things you can try. The problem with growing them from seeds is that many seedlings don’t appear or just don’t survive after they have grown because of contaminates or disease in the soil that attack them. Here is one way to protect them. Boil 4 cups of water and then pour it over 1 ounce of dried chamomile flowers. You can put this in a spray bottle to spray on seedlings before you cover them with soil or soak larger ones in the solution. This will protect them.

Mini Greenhouses- Growing your seedlings in a greenhouse style is your best bet. There are lots of these on the market that are inexpensive. The light is very important especially when new plants have emerged. South facing windows are the best light for growth.

Type of soil

 Vermiculite which is a much lighter soil, is the best kind of soil to use when you’re starting seedlings. The reason is because it doesn’t take too much effort for the little plants to come up. Once they come up though, they will need regular potting soil. Buying the best soil does not guarantee the seedlings will survive but it still may give them the best chance.

Once they have emerged and they have a second set of leaves on them, you can transplant them into small pots.

 Watering

Be careful about too much water or not enough water. They are still at a delicate stage. Most plants will do fine if you let the soil dry out between watering after they have been transplanted into small pots.

 

Bugs

Every couple of days carefully check for bugs. Different bugs will attack different species of plants. Mainly you should look for tiny spider webs (spider mites), or cotton like substance on the underside of leaves (mealy bugs). If the plants get over watered, you may get small gnats which lay eggs in the soil and will destroy the plant eventually and all your other plants. In this case, transplant the plant into new soil and separate from all other plants. With other bugs washing the leaves in mild soap and water can work but remember to separate them in the meantime from other plants. Rubbing alcohol works good in getting mealy bugs off the underside of plants but you may have to do this several time before the plant has a clean bill of health.