You need a few things to grow vegetables from seeds: warmth, sunlight and determination. Growing vegetable seeds is a surprisingly simple process. The hardest thing about it may be deciding what vegetables to grow, based on your tastes and the amount of garden space you have. Depending on the type of vegetables you plant, you can either start the seeds inside and plant the seedlings outside later or plant the seeds directly in your garden.
Step 1
Drill a small, 1/4- to 1/2-inch hole in the bottom of each container. You can also use a hammer and nail to punch a hole into the container.
Step 2
Fill the containers with the seed starting mix to about 1/2- to 3/4-inch from the top of the container. Wet the seed starting mix thoroughly, and push it down.
Step 3
Place no more than two seeds in each container. Cover the seeds with more seed-starting mix. The amount of mix you need to cover the seeds varies, depending on their size. The depth should be about two or three times the largest side of the seed. Tiny basil seeds, for instance, only need a light scattering of soil on top while larger squash seeds need about 1/2 inch of soil.
Step 4
Write the name of each plant on an ice cream stick with the marker and place it in the container.
Step 5
Cover the seed containers with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot. The temperature should be at least 70 degrees F. Water enough to keep the soil moist.
Step 6
Remove the plastic wrap once the seedlings come out. Set the containers in an area that gets plenty of sunlight, such as a southern- or eastern-facing windowsill. You can also put the plants under a bright grow light. If two plants grow in one pot, cut one off at the stem. You can only grow one plant per pot; multiples will not be healthy.
Step 7
Move plants to a larger pot after they have grown two sets of leaves. Fill the other pot two-thirds full with container soil, and then carefully slide the plant out of its small pot. Place in the larger container, and add more soil to fill in. Water well.
Step 8
Harden off the seedlings about a week or two before you plan to set them out in your garden. Bring the seedlings outside for a few hours each day, increasing their exposure to the outdoors each day. At the end of the week, leave the seedling outside overnight.
Step 9
Transfer the plant to its permanent home. Dig a hole in your garden that is slightly larger than the root ball of the seedling or fill a container two-thirds full. Place the seedling in the hole and fill with extra garden or container soil. Water thoroughly.
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