Starting Herbs from Seed
Average time to read: 1.8 minutesHerbs are one of the best plants to choose if your goal is to grow food in small spaces. They take up very little room, require only basic care, and can survive (or even thrive) in a sunny windowsill; no grow lights required. Season your meals, mix cocktails, brew herbal teas, or even prepare herbal medicines! Herb gardens have so much to offer and today we’re talking about how to start herbs from seed so you can enjoy an herb garden in your Cottage Corner too!
When starting herbs from seed, you need patience. Depending on which varieties you’ve chosen, herbs can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to germinate. We’re not kidding! So the first rule of starting herbs from seed is: don’t be in a rush!
Step 1: Fill a module tray with seed starting mix. Tap the tray against your work surface a few times to help settle the seed starting mix. Give it a few passes with your watering can. It might seem counterintuitive to water before you sow the seeds but we do this so the seeds don’t float away as the water inevitably overflows the module tray.
Step 2: Sow the seeds. Gently sow a few seeds into each module in the module tray. Have your labels ready so you don’t lose track of what you’ve planted and where. Lightly cover the seeds in another sprinkle of seed starting mix and use a spray mister to wet this top layer. Careful here! You don’t want to bury seeds deeper than 3 times the width of the seed. Some herbs have seeds that are so tiny they are almost like dust. In this case, covering the seeds may not even be necessary. This is one of those areas where your own experience and a little gardener’s intuition will begin to inform your choices.
Module trays, labelled and ready for germinating! Note the top layer of seed starting mix is still waiting on a good misting before the next step.
Step 3: Cover the module trays with clear plastic humidity domes to help lock in moisture so the seeds are prevented from drying out. Check on your seeds every day and keep a spray mister nearby to mist under the domes as needed.
Step 4: Place your covered tray(s) of seeds in an area where they won’t be exposed to big changes in temperature. You might also want to consider providing a source of warmth for your trays. If the top of your fridge feels warm to the touch, place the tray up there, it’s the perfect temperature! But you can also use a seed starting mat, a garden accessory made specifically for this purpose!
I see green!
Step 5: Watch for greenery! Keep checking the trays every day to make sure they are still warm and moist, misting as-needed. Pretty soon the seeds will germinate and you’ll see tiny green sprouts popping up through the surface of the soil! When this happens, uncover the trays and remove the supplemental heat source to lower the temperature for growing on. Move them to a sunny window and/or under grow lights and pat yourself on the back; the first step is complete!
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