When:
- 6-8 weeks before time to plant tomatoes in your garden
- 8-10 weeks before time to plant peppers and eggplants
Where:
- Indoor in a warm spot, 75-80 degrees for tomatoes; 80-90 degrees for peppers and eggplant
- Once seeds sprout, move plants to very bright light. Next to a south or west facing window may be sufficient, but sometimes supplemental light is necessary. Set up a fluorescent lighting fixture positioned just a few inches from the tops of the young plants.
How:
- Start with trays filled with sterile seed-starting mix moistened before planting, or use peat pellets
- Plant seeds no more than 1/4″ deep. Wait 7-10 days for tomato seeds to germinate, 14-21 days for pepper and eggplant
- Water sparingly, enough to keep plants hydrated, but not so much that soil is saturated. Avoid letting plants sit in water that accumulates in the bottom of trays.
- Fertilize with a weak liquid fertilizer once seedlings have their first few sets of leaves.
