As many of you know Fall is just a few weeks away and we need to figure out a way to continue that supply of homegrown vegetables & fruits!  Here at The Dees’ Nursery we have the perfect solution! You can now start your cool season vegetable seeds indoors!  That is right!  You can begin the process right now and enjoy all of the following bounty:

  1. Fall crops, choose to pick the hardiest and most frost tolerant seeds, so they can survive the first frost. Some of the Dee’s favorites include broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, beets, carrots and spinach.
  2. It is important that you know your first frost date. Always check at the number of days to harvest on each packet. Use that number to count back from the first frost date, that way the  seeds have time to mature. Fill seed starting trays within ¼” of the top with a high-quality organic seed starter, like Espoma’s Organic Seed Starter. Cover with soil, press down, label and lightly water.
  3. Lightly cover the tray with plastic wrap. A sunny spot near a south-facing window is what we recommend for best results.
  4. Be sure to keep the seeds moist by placing the tray in a pan of shallow water until the water seeps up from the bottom. Refill as necessary when emptied.
  5. When the  leaves start to rise up from the soil, remove the plastic wrap. Feed them with an organic fertilizer, such as Espoma’s Plant-tone.
  6. A few weeks before planting outside, begin hardening off seeds. Move them outside for a few hours a day, increasing time outdoors daily.  Reduce watering without letting the soil dry out.
  7. Remove the  plants from the seed starting tray, plant in a prepared bed. Mix-in an organic starter plant food to help them adjust and grow strong, such as Espoma’s Bio-tone Starter Plus.