Who doesn’t love a trip to the greenhouse?! I know that I certainly do! While I really like to look at and check out all the different varieties of plants that can be grown in this area, I must say that growing plants from seeds is very rewarding!
I know that I link to this post often, but my LED grow light setup has really made starting plants from seeds indoors very easy! If you have many windows with space available to start your seeds, I’m super jealous! I don’t, so using grow lights has made my seed starting experience so much better and easier!
Planting seeds indoors is not only rewarding, but it really doesn’t have to be difficult! Truly anybody can be a gardener if you choose the right plants and remember to water! If you have never tried it, it might be a little bit intimidating. But I’m here to make starting out easier!
The first thing to do when planning out your indoor seed starting is do a little bit of quick research. Google or look up the last frost date in your growing zone. If you don’t know your growing zone, you can look that up too! Personally, I am in growing zone 3. When I do a quick internet search of the last frost date for growing zone 3, the spring last frost date is listed as May 15th. Now, it is important to know that this is just an average date that we are going to plan our seed schedule off of and it does not necessarily mean that it is safe to plant stuff outside after that date!
Once you have your last frost date, mark it on a calendar. Then, working backwards, number the weeks up to the week you are currently in. For example, with my date of May 15, I would write a “1” on May 8th, “2” on May 1st, etc. This will make it easy to see how many weeks it is until your last frost date.
Purchase the seeds that you would like to plant. Generally, I like to take note of what greenhouses in my area are selling, because more than likely those are plants that are able to grow in my area. Picking seeds from a local store is another good way to have a general idea of what seeds you may want to consider. Honestly, you can buy your seeds with a plan or just by experimenting with what looks fun. I tend to plan just because I really enjoy putting as much time and thought as possible into my all time favorite hobby 🙂
Next you will want to check the back of your seed packets for when to start indoors. They will usually give you a range of how many weeks before transplanting to start indoors. For example, my Lisianthus seeds had a range of 12-13 weeks to start indoors before transplanting. Use the calendar that you labeled, and write down the name of the seed next to the week that you should be starting them indoors. Once again, I get excited and always start them as quickly as possible… so using my Lisianthus example of 12-13 weeks and my last frost date of May 15, I wrote “Lisianthus” on “February 13” which is where my calendar was marked “13.” This might sound complicated… but it really isn’t!
If you are a super organized person, you can also group or order your seeds according to when they need to be planted after you have them all marked down on your calendar! This can be helpful just because it will make the planting process really quick and simple!
Just because I really do believe this is something you should try and because I know I can get wordy, I want to summarize haha!
- determine your growing zone (use internet search if needed!)
- determine the last frost date for your growing zone (internet search makes it easy)
- mark your last frost date on a calendar
- label the weeks counting backwards from your last frost date on same calendar (week before last frost date “1”, etc.)
- get your seeds
- read the back of seed packet to determine how many weeks before transplanting to start indoors
- mark the name of the seed on the calendar according to your previously labeled weeks to last frost
- EXTRA: Order your seeds according to what order you will be planting them based on your seed starting calendar
I hope that you find this helpful and are as excited to get seeds going as I am! Spring is coming! When you love to garden you want to extend the season as long as possible right?! 🙂
Life on Lady Slipper Lane 
5 responses to “How to Plan Your Garden Seed Starting Schedule: Indoor Seed Starting”
You motivated me. Haha.
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If you are serious… that’s awesome! If not, it’s okay I’m planting more than enough to share haha!!! 🙂
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We need to visit soon. Food shelf today!
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[…] to plant indoors or if they can be directly sown into the ground. You can learn more about this in this post about planning when to start your seeds. If they need to be started indoors, use that post to […]
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[…] Not all seeds need to be started indoors. Check the directions on the seed packet to determine when and how to plant the seeds. For example, zinnias can be directly sown into the ground or started indoors four weeks before the last frost. I choose to start them indoors due to the short growing season here in Northern Minnesota. Take your calendar marked with the last frost date and count backwards each week to determine when to plant your seeds. I like to physically label my calendar with the weeks to last frost. So with my last frost date of May 15, I write a “1” on May 8, “2” on May 1, etc. and continue it to the start of the year. I start my first seeds here in the beginning of February, but the majority are started 6-8 weeks before last frost (so sometime in March). I like to add the seed variety to my calendar on the appropriate week for planting when they first arrive so it is easy to know when they need to be planted! I explain this process in further detail in this post. […]
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