“Why didn’t my seeds germinate?” When Lisa answers this question, she uses three words repeatedly. They are: Heat. Light. Moisture. For me, learning how to put heat, light, and moisture together to grow healthy plants from seed was frustrating and filled with lots...
Seed Starting
Video: Lisa’s Seed Germination Tips & Tricks
Seed Starting Moments #3: Germination Tips & Tricks Germination Tips & Tricks: • Air temperature should be 65-70F for cool-season plants, 70-80F for warm-season plants • Use a seedling heat mat – place warm-season plant trays directly on the mat, but...
Seed Starting Moments with Lisa Mason Ziegler
This Seed Starting Moments series is the “whys and some of the hows” of my seed starting story. View all of our Seed Starting Equipment Seed Starting Moments #1: Why We Soil Block and Which Size to Use My #1 tip: Keep it Simple and Stay out of Rabbit Holes created by...
Organize your Seed Packets
Like many of you, I have lots of packets of seeds. More than I can plant in one season for sure. I will confess, I feel like I need them all! Worse yet I used to miss planting some because I somehow misplaced them. As an attempt to maintain my seed sanity, I have come...
Seed Starting Schedule for Summer Flowers
This is the general guide that I follow to start my warm-season tender annuals. We certainly tweak it from time to time and don't always stick to it, but this gets us up and going. This is all based on the last expected spring frost date. In my 8a winter hardiness...
Seedling Care
Seed Starting with Soil Blocking from Beginning to End We use the soil blocking method of seed starting. My experience has been that once equipped with a soil blocker tool, all you add each year are seeds and blocking mix. What drew my initial interest was that 40...
Seed Starting Strategies for Flowers & Vegetables
Succession planting can change your gardening life-- don't know how to do it or what it is? Succession planting is the key to the long-haul easy care garden. Learn how I apply this to our flower and vegetable garden. Remember to subscribe to my Farm News to be the...
Seed Starting Troubles
Hands down seed starting is what generates the most questions, I had my own struggles when I was getting started so I understand the frustration and challenges. Below find the most common questions and issues I hear about. When to start the seeds? When to start is...
10 Easy Steps to Soil Blocking
Birthing baby plants. Small blocks with seeds just cracking open. Are you wondering about how to start seeds? This tutorial will walk you through the steps and if you want more instruction check out my Seed Starting Made Easy online course. 10 Easy Steps to Soil...
FAQ: Seed Starting with Soil Blocking
I have been soil blocking since the beginning of my flower farming career in 1998. When I discovered soil blocking in Eliot Coleman's book The New Organic Grower it solved a couple of challenges for me. I didn’t, and still don't have a greenhouse. My urban farm's city...