Seed starting is one of the most important skills all gardeners should have. It’s the very foundation of all that we do in our gardens, right? After all, we grow vegetables and flowers every year. And being able to grow any plant varieties we want, makes it an excellent garden variety. It’s also a great way to save money.
I’ve shot a lot of seed starting videos over the years but I was really excited about doing one for 2026. Why?
- It gave me the opportunity to cover the types of seed starting supplies you’ll need
- You will see the steps for sowing seeds
- I explain how to care for your seedlings once they’ve sprouted
- And, perhaps most importantly, you’ll learn why the hardening-off process is so important
If you haven’t heard of “hardening-off,” this is a simple process to help seedlings acclimate to outdoor growing conditions. I always want new gardeners and seed-starters to know about this. Young seedlings can get burned by sunlight — which is way more intense than what our grow lights put out. So don’t skip that step!
In my third video of this season, I mentioned my Seed Starting Scheduler forms on this website. They are free to print out and are what I use to start my seeds at the right time. So far, I’ve planted pak choi seeds and Bill has started his onion and shallot seeds. I’ll start about a dozen lettuce seeds in 10 days. They will be for an early planting (under special protection) in our garden. Then we’ll have a few weeks off before it’s time to start more seeds.
I have to tell you that even though I’ve gardened for a very long time, planting seeds is always exciting!
Here’s My Video Covering Seed Starting Basics:
Was this video helpful? I have a Seed Starting playlist on my YouTube channel if you’d like to see more. I also have playlists for Vegetable Gardening and Flower Gardening. And, of course, I’ve got over 650 videos that are all searchable. So please make yourself at home!
As I mentioned in the video, please leave a comment on today’s video if you have a question. Or you can leave me topic suggestions for future videos in the comments.
Happy gardening, everybody!