Starting with Seeds
When preparing flats, trays or pots indoor I like to keep a few things in mind. It is generally best to keep the soil temperature between 68° and 75°. It is helpful to create a space to keep the seedlings warm. Creating a simple cold frame with wood or PVC wrapped in a 6ml clear plastic will work well. This can be as simple as seedlings on a table inside of your house facing the window. I will also use a seedling heat mat for those cold nights.
It is important to keep the soil moist but not soggy. Because water moves through osmosis passing from one capillary space to another regardless of gravity, I like to soak my trays and cups from below and mist with a spray bottle from above. To soak the trays I use a nursery tray liner which I will fill to about 1/4 inch of water. When we water directly from above it encourages the unsettling of the soil mix and the seeds, so I recommend avoiding that.
Personally, I prefer to direct plant seeds whenever possible. The stakes are higher for loss, so I plant 3 seeds in each hole. The nature of things is that some years are not so good for some things, while it may be a great year for other things. This goes for all crops, everywhere. Many fruit trees have a good year, every other year, or every third year. Everything has its cycles. This includes the soil in which we sow with our seeds.
When directly planting outside I plant within a 2 week window of the common last frost date. Most small seeds will want to be planted approximately 1/4 inch below the soil while larger seeds will prefer 1/2 to 1 inch below the soil. I always check the package before I plant for any specific information. If I am planting in a row I like to plant in the bio-intensive pattern which utilizes the tightest plant placement without the plants feeling overcrowded. This tight planting also provides shade for the soil which reduces evaporation. This is great in garden boxes, where the space is quite limited. Below I have provided a few images which portray the bio-intensive planting pattern in action.
For crop protection, I have found the common row crop fabric or the anti-frost crop fabric to be the most effective at controlling birds and I like to leave the fabric on the plants until I see the second set of leaves on a majority of the seedlings. This will ensure they are no longer appealing to the birds.
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