I have written alot of posts on starting seeds indoors, but many vegetables should be directly seeded into your garden. Here is a short list of those that should be direct seeded.

• Carrots
• Beets
• Melons
• Squash
• Beans
• Peas
• Cucumbers
• And more

This doesn’t mean you cannot start them indoors, it just means that they either do better with direct seed or there are not really any advantages to starting indoors.

When direct seeding you should plant in prepared soil to a depth of 2-3 times the diameter of your seed. Most people plant too deep, and then they wait forever to get their seeds up. Once your seeds are planted, water them immediately with a sprinkler or some other way of watering them without washing the freshly planted seeds out. You will want to water every day until the seeds are germinated. I usually run the sprinkler on top of the seeds everyday for 20 minutes or so to fill this requirement.

When you plant I advice to plant more seeds than you need. When planting rows, add seeds in a line and then thin out later instead of just planting one seed exactly where you want one plant to go. This will make sure that you get the plants germinated and allows you to pick the most vigorous plants while thinning out the smaller ones.

When planting seeds that you just need one plant for like squash, cucumber or melons, then plant in a mound by mounding up dirt where you want the plant to go and then planting 5-6 seeds in the mound. When they all come up, you pick the best two and then when they get a bit bigger, pick the best one.

The next consideration is soil temperature. If the soil is not warm enough the seed won’t germinate. Most seeds need the soil to be 60 degrees or more. Some can do less, but this is a good standard to go by. This means that there is really no point in planting, or at least expecting immediate germination, if the soil is not warm enough. If you need to get an early start you may consider row covers in order to help warm the soil.

Another consideration is soil texture. It is best to have a loamy or crumbly soil so that the plant can push through easily. While this is ideal, many plants are pretty tough when it come to pushing through. The best way to enhance your soil texture is to add soil amendments. I like to add compost or peat moss. Doing this also add nutrients to the soil.

The last thing to consider is fertilizer. You should fertilize your soil before planting. I have a video and blog post on the subject. Seeds can be planted immediately after fertilizing so you do not need to wait.

Good luck.

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