Start seeds now to get a jump on your summer garden

Has your seed order arrived in the mail? I've seen those pictures posted on Facebook with all the little envelopes arranged in rows. It's so much fun to shuffle the packets around and read the descriptions on the back, imagining how beautiful and bounteous your garden will be come spring. It only makes that urge to plant, the need to play in the dirt, more compelling.

You can scratch that itch and get a head start on growing by starting many seeds indoors — other seeds are best left to direct sowing in the garden. Now's the time to get your seed-starting strategy in place.

In Minnesota's short growing season, warm-season veggies and annual flowers need a leg up in order to bloom and produce before it's all over again. According to seed packet instructions, determine when to sow these seeds by counting back from the average last frost date, mid-May to early June for most of our region. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant and popular annuals like marigolds, phlox, pinks, hollyhocks and alyssum need at least six to eight weeks before they can be planted in the garden.

Some seeds, especially larger ones with a hard coating, such as morning glory, sweet peas and moonflowers, need pre-treatment in order to germinate. Scarification means breaking the seed coat so that it can absorb water and gases in order to sprout. You can do this with a fingernail file or sandpaper — or for larger quantities shake seeds in a jar of sand.

Some perennials need conditions to mimic the moist cold of their natural habitats through a process called stratification — a fancy word that means putting them in the fridge. Place seeds in a plastic bag with either damp sterile potting soil or paper towels for the time recommended on the seed packet, then sow accordingly.

Just like dirty socks, sometimes seeds need pre-soaking. Do this the day before you plan to sow, otherwise the seeds will rot. Soaking overnight in warm water has the effect of softening the seed coat to speed up and assure germination. Nasturtium seeds appreciate a good bath before planting. Some seed varieties need both scarification and soaking for good germination rates.

Parsley is notorious for finicky germination, having a germination inhibitor in its coating. An exception to the overnight rule, you'll want to soak it for three days, dumping out the water each time, until you've broken its stubborn spirit.

• Use sterile seed-starting soil mix to avoid the dreaded "damping-off" disease that spells doom for seedlings.

• Seed-starting trays with individual cells are the right size for most seedlings and provide good drainage. Egg cartons can be recycled for this but they often get soggy and fall apart before seedlings are ready.

• Group seedlings according to their maturity date so some don't crowd or shade out others as they grow bigger.

• Ordinary shop lights, rather than expensive grow-lights, work fine. Place them close though, 3-4 inches above plants, to avoid leggy growth. Bright windowsills are better than nothing but be warned that winter light is weak. Rotate seedings for even growth.

• Regular watering is essential, as small cells dry out easily.

• Provide good air circulation with an oscillating fan.

• Pet your plants. Brushing them with your hands helps to stimulate stocky stem growth.

Sowing seeds indoors requires a commitment. These delicate plant babies need consistent care to thrive. If you're going away on spring break or another vacation, make sure you've got a seedling sitter lined up, along with the dog walker.

There are some vegetables that need direct sowing outside. Most of these are root vegetables — like radishes, carrots, beets, rutabagas and turnips — whose formation would be disrupted and deformed by transplanting. In addition, sometimes the stress of transplanting will cause some veggies and herbs, such as bok choy and cilantro, to bolt or to flower prematurely, which can reduce yield and affect flavor.

Sowing outdoors often requires patience more than skill. It's tempting to plant once that glorious springtime sun starts to warm up. However, it's soil temperature rather than air temperature that should guide our planting instincts. Minimum soil temps of 55 degrees are necessary to induce germination in many plants while avoiding rot.

extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/flowers/starting-seeds-indoors/

extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/planting-the-vegetable-garden/