How to Choose Healthy Vegetable Transplants
Learn how to choose healthy transplants: stocky stems, deep green leaves, white roots, no pests. Avoid root-bound or flowering plants and hold them properly.
Seeds and seedlings, explained
Grow it from seed
An independent guide for US gardeners: when to start seeds indoors, how to raise stocky seedlings under lights, when and how to move them outside, crop-by-crop notes, fixes for seedling problems, and planning by hardiness zone and frost date.
From seed tray to garden bed
Six sections. Each opens with the guide to the whole job, then goes step by step.
Seed starting
Starting vegetable and herb seeds indoors: timing by your last frost, mix and containers, grow lights, germination temperature, watering, feeding and potting up.
7 guides
Transplanting
Moving seedlings outside without setbacks: hardening off, planting day, buying healthy transplants, direct sowing versus transplants, and protection from cold.
5 guides
Seedlings by crop
Crop by crop: tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, broccoli and cabbage, cucumbers and squash, lettuce and greens, and herbs - when to sow, how to raise them, when to plant out.
6 guides
Problems
What is wrong with your seedlings and how to fix it: damping-off, leggy seedlings, seeds that will not sprout, and fungus gnats and other pests.
5 guides
Zones & frost dates
What your USDA hardiness zone does and does not tell you, how to read frost dates, building a seed starting calendar, and planning fall transplants.
4 guides
Hemp farming
Industrial hemp in the US: the legal frame from the 2018 farm bill to the 2025 change, licensing and THC testing, transplants, spacing, irrigation and harvest timing.
5 guidesNew guides
Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower Seedlings
How to raise broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower seedlings indoors, time spring and fall plantings, harden them off, and avoid bolting, buttoning and cold damage.
Cucumber, Squash and Melon Seedlings: Start Late, Handle Gently
How to start cucumber, squash and melon seedlings indoors: sow only a few weeks ahead, use individual cells, avoid root disturbance, and transplant into warm soil.
Fall Vegetable Transplants: Planning a Second Season
Use your first fall frost date to count back and schedule fall transplants: brassicas, greens, summer seed starting, hardening off in heat, and watering.
Damping-Off: Why Seedlings Collapse and How to Prevent It
Damping-off is a water-mold disease that kills seeds before they emerge and topples seedlings at the soil line. Learn the signs, the causes, and how to prevent it.
Direct Sowing vs. Transplants: Which Crops Go Where
Learn which vegetables to start indoors and which to direct sow, with a crop-by-crop table, soil temperature limits, and mistakes that set plants back.
Fungus Gnats and Other Pests on Indoor Seedlings
Tiny black flies over seedling trays mean the mix is too wet. Learn to dry it out, trap the adults, and check seedlings and transplants for other pests.
Starting seeds indoors
Starting vegetable and herb seeds indoors: timing by your last frost, mix and containers, grow lights, germination temperature, watering, feeding and potting up.
Grow Lights for Seedlings: Distance, Hours and Setup
How far to hang grow lights above seedlings, how many hours a day they need, LED versus fluorescent, and the setup mistakes that leave plants leggy and weak.
Seed Germination Temperature, Domes and Heat Mats
Most vegetable seeds germinate best at 65° to 75°F. How to use domes and heat mats, when to remove the cover, and how to cool seedlings after sprouting.
How to Start Seeds Indoors, Step by Step
A practical, step-by-step guide to starting vegetable and herb seeds indoors: timing, containers, mix, warmth, light, watering, potting up and hardening off.
Hardening off and transplanting
Moving seedlings outside without setbacks: hardening off, planting day, buying healthy transplants, direct sowing versus transplants, and protection from cold.
How to Choose Healthy Vegetable Transplants
Learn how to choose healthy transplants: stocky stems, deep green leaves, white roots, no pests. Avoid root-bound or flowering plants and hold them properly.
Direct Sowing vs. Transplants: Which Crops Go Where
Learn which vegetables to start indoors and which to direct sow, with a crop-by-crop table, soil temperature limits, and mistakes that set plants back.
Hardening Off Seedlings: A Gradual Move to the Garden
Hardening off takes 5 to 14 days by Maryland Extension or two to three weeks by Clemson. Learn the schedule, temperature limits and mistakes to avoid.
Vegetable and herb seedlings by crop
Crop by crop: tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, broccoli and cabbage, cucumbers and squash, lettuce and greens, and herbs - when to sow, how to raise them, when to plant out.
Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower Seedlings
How to raise broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower seedlings indoors, time spring and fall plantings, harden them off, and avoid bolting, buttoning and cold damage.
Cucumber, Squash and Melon Seedlings: Start Late, Handle Gently
How to start cucumber, squash and melon seedlings indoors: sow only a few weeks ahead, use individual cells, avoid root disturbance, and transplant into warm soil.
Starting Herb Seedlings: Basil, Parsley and More
How to start basil, parsley and other herb seedlings indoors: sowing depth, light, watering, pinching, hardening off, spacing, and the mistakes that set them back.
Seedling problems and fixes
What is wrong with your seedlings and how to fix it: damping-off, leggy seedlings, seeds that will not sprout, and fungus gnats and other pests.
Damping-Off: Why Seedlings Collapse and How to Prevent It
Damping-off is a water-mold disease that kills seeds before they emerge and topples seedlings at the soil line. Learn the signs, the causes, and how to prevent it.
Fungus Gnats and Other Pests on Indoor Seedlings
Tiny black flies over seedling trays mean the mix is too wet. Learn to dry it out, trap the adults, and check seedlings and transplants for other pests.
Leggy Seedlings: Why They Stretch and How to Fix It
Leggy seedlings are tall, thin and weak. Learn the causes—low light, warmth, crowding—and the fixes that make stocky transplants before planting out.
Planning by hardiness zone and frost date
What your USDA hardiness zone does and does not tell you, how to read frost dates, building a seed starting calendar, and planning fall transplants.
Fall Vegetable Transplants: Planning a Second Season
Use your first fall frost date to count back and schedule fall transplants: brassicas, greens, summer seed starting, hardening off in heat, and watering.
Last Frost Date: How to Find It and How Much to Trust It
Learn where last frost dates come from, what the 10/50/90 percent probabilities mean, and how to turn a frost date into a safe planting schedule.
Build a Seed Starting Calendar from Your Frost Date
Turn one frost date into a full sowing and planting schedule: weeks indoors per crop, cool- versus warm-season timing, hardening off, and succession sowing.
Industrial hemp farming basics
Industrial hemp in the US: the legal frame from the 2018 farm bill to the 2025 change, licensing and THC testing, transplants, spacing, irrigation and harvest timing.
Hemp Licensing, Pre-Harvest Sampling and THC Testing
How hemp licensing, FSA acreage reporting, the 30-day pre-harvest sampling window, total THC testing and negligence rules work under federal and state plans.
Hemp Harvest Timing and the Pre-Harvest Test
Hemp harvest timing is both an agronomic and a compliance decision. Learn season lengths, the 30-day sampling window, frost risk, and how to plan capacity.
Hemp Transplants vs. Direct Seeding on the Farm
How hemp growers choose between transplants and direct seeding: crop type, frost timing, hardening off, plastic mulch and drip, and the license rules that apply.