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| The ABC's of Seed Starting |
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Seed starting, along with plant propagation and cloning kits, offers home and commercial gardeners an inexpensive way to create a lot of plants. Seed starting is also an excellent way to experiment with unusual varieties of plants that you would not ordinarily find for sale locally. All three methods of making more plants are easy to do, especially with HID Hut's wide variety of seed starting options, including seed starting supplies, seed starting kits, cloning kits and hydroponics supplies.
Effective seed starting begins with viable seeds that have a high minimum germination rate. Other seed starting supplies that you will need are seedling starting mix, some type of fertilizer, containers to hold the seedlings, plant labels, a way to water, a fan for air circulation, and appropriate light.
The first step to seed starting is to make sure your seed starting mix is a light mix, one that will allow tiny seedlings to germinate. The mix can include ingredients such as peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and a wetting agent. After you have an appropriate starting mix, you will want to wet it until it holds as much water as a well wrung-out sponge when you squeeze a handful. Place the dampened mix into your containers, and place seeds on the soil. You should check to see if your seeds require light or dark conditions in order to germinate. The ones that need dark can be covered with soil. Ones that need light can be placed one to two inches beneath your grow lights. In addition, seeds are best germinated at temperatures appropriate for the variety, which is listed on the seed packet. Containers should also be enclosed in a plastic bag in order to ensure that appropriate moisture levels are maintained. Label the containers with the plant variety name. You can check on the seed packet how many days it takes for germination to occur. After the first set of true leaves appear, you can transplant the seedlings into individual containers to grow them on to a larger size. This is also the time when half-strength fertilizer applications are important for good plant growth. Plants growing indoors benefit from using a fan to promote air movement among the young plants, which will help them grow strong stems.
Plant propagation can also occur with cuttings from a plant's roots, stems, branches or leaves. Typically the cuttings are prepared, then dipped into a rooting hormone. The hormone can be in the form of a liquid or a powder, and is used to promote root growth on the cut edge of the plant material. Then the prepared cuttings are placed in soil, and in a plastic bag to maintain proper moisture.
Cloning kits make propagation a very quick process. Prepared cuttings are suspended, and a rooting hormone is sprayed on the cut edges periodically to speedily bring on root growth.
HID Hut offers a wealth of indoor gardening supplies including those for seed starting and cloning kits.
Information on Hydroponics
- The basic types of grow lights
- Benefits of Deep Water Culture - hydroponic system
- Using aeroponics in your indoor garden
- The different types of Hydroponics
- The digital ballast lighting solution
- Hydroponics Systems Overview
- Hydroponics Basics
- LED Grow Lights
- Plant Nutrients
- Deep Water Culture
- Seed Starting
- The Power of LED Grow Lights
- Indoor Gardening
Hydroponics News
- Hydroponics helps to combat global warming
- Hydroponics and the greening of our food supply
- MH lamps can be used in HD projectors
- Hydroponics a solution for our World food problems
- Indoor gardening solves the problems of over farming
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