 A tray of viola seedlings, seeds and tray labels Someone once said to me at the farmers’ market “So you just scatter out a bunch of seed and then go cut the flowers?” Yes, this person was serious. Maybe they were picturing a wildflower meadow? Reality is growing flowers is a lot of work. I start 90% of what I grow from seed. I get a bit more confident each season. A bit of knowledge and a few supplies has made seed starting much easier and less stressful. Having a dedicated space for seed starting and the right supplies will make you feel comfortable and confident as you start the garden season. There is an incredible satisfaction from growing a plant from a seed. There is something magical about tiny little seeds growing into mature plants that produce flowers or food. You get to experience the whole lifecycle of the plant from beginning to end. Despite having several years of experience starting seeds, I still check daily to see if my seeds have germinated. If you have young children, seed starting can be a great learning opportunity to introduce how food is grown. Seed starting is also a great lesson in patience. Timing Don’t start your seeds to soon. Starting seeds is easy but keeping seedlings healthy until you can move them outside is harder. If you are new to seed starting start later rather than earlier. The back of the seed packet will give a range like 6-8 weeks before last frost. Clear Sky Flowers is in southern Iowa, our last frost is around the first of May. So I start flowers like zinnias and celosia in mid-March. If you are starting cold hardy annuals, do your research. Figure out when is best to plant that particular variety outside and then back up your seed starting date. Some of these are best direct sown or even direct sown in the fall for spring blooms. The book Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler is a good resource for figuring out which flowers fall into this category. If you’re a veggie grower, cold hardy annuals include items like spinach, kale, cabbage and leeks. Lighting I know people succeed starting plants in sunny windowsills but I find it easier with supplemental lighting. There are a ton of light options now and they are getting less expensive. If you want to start a few seeds a tabletop grow light would work. I have racks with lights on each shelf. You can use florescent shop lights but my preference is LED full spectrum lights. If your seedlings are germinating and then leaning or forming long stems and falling over then they are not getting enough light. Move the lights closer to the seedlings. A general rule would be to run your grow lights at least 12 hours. Environment The ideal temperature for germinating each variety is usually on the seed packet. Assume this is the soil temp. Like water soil temperature is cooler than air temperature. If the air in the room is 65 degrees and the packet calls for 75 degrees then ideally you should place your tray or pot on a heat mat or other heat source. Sometimes your light source will also offer enough supplemental heat. Seeds need a moist environment to germinate. Use a humidity dome or other cover to keep the moisture in your trays or pots. Once the seedlings have germinated you can move your seedlings off the heat mat and remove the humidity dome. You are now in the “growing-on” phase. Your seed packet may give separate ideal temperatures for germination and growing-on. You can remove your tray or pot from the heat mat if you were using one. Hardening Off A week or two before planting your seedlings you’ll need to acclimate them to the outdoors in the sun and wind. If they have only been in a window or under florescent lights start with only 30 minutes outside on an overcast day or in the shade. Keep lengthening the time over a week or so until they are out all day. I much prefer full spectrum grow lights. I find that seedlings that have spent some time under these lights are much faster to transition outside to full sunlight. Seed Sources I order all my seeds in the fall or early January so that nothing is sold out. Some favorite sources include: Johnny’s Selected Seeds – They carry all the basics for both vegetables and flowers. The Grower’s Library section on their website is hugely helpful for those growing on a larger scale or wanting to master succession planting. Outside Pride – This was my first-year ordering and I have been really impressed with the germination of the perennial flower seeds I ordered. The seed quantities are generous. Floret – While they are taking 2025 off from selling seed they are continuing to work on breeding really beautiful varieties. I recommend signing up for the mailing list if you want to snag any of their seeds for 2026. Other sources I use are Select Seeds, Botanical Interests and Baker Creek (rareseeds).  Wire shelving with lights for each shelf. Supplies
In addition to seeds you will need some basic supplies. This can be as simple as saving plastic food containers. The salad mix plastic clamshell containers are great. If you are more serious you can order trays with humidity domes or look into soil blocking. Homemade paper pots even work. Supplies:
Remember flowers like zinnias, sunflower and cosmos can also be direct sown after the last frost. There is no need to run out and buy supplies for seed starting if you want to start a small cutting garden. For those of us who want to grow a larger variety seed starting can be a great experience. Have fun starting seeds and know that if you fail the local nursery is a fun shopping trip anyway!
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