The new plants are a little temperamental. You cannot ignore them and expect them to survive. Proper lighting and watering are needed to make them grow. As they get bigger you will want to transplant them into containers so they can grow stronger for the outdoors.
The soil you transplant the new herb seedlings should be light and loose. You will want the roots to be able to breathe and not drown. Proper drainage is necessary when you re-pot the plants, as well. Keep the pots a little on the small side. You want the plants to develop a good rooting system, but you want to force some growth up top as well.
As the plants mature you will want to weather them. This is nothing more than taking them outside for a breath of fresh air. When the weather is warm enough, you can take the new plants outside to soak up the bright sunlight. This will acclimate the plants to the outdoors.
If you do not include this step, the plants can go into shock. Just putting them straight into the garden without any gentle acclimation could cause the young plants to die. They are not used to the colder nights and brighter days. This tends to put them into a state of shock. Plants do not like shock.
Once you have weathered the plants for about a week or so, you can start to transplant them into the garden. Select the spot where you want each herb to grow. I guarantee this is not where they will stay. Natural herbs tend to spread and spread they will. They will spread all over the place if you let them. The nice thing about herbs is the reason you are growing them is to use them. To use herbs you must prune the plant. Pruning and clipping cuts down on the growth and spreading. There is a way to keep your herb garden under control.
You can always grow them in a container. This will make sure growth and spreading do not get out of hand.
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Watering of a new planting system can be hard. This is why I recommend a self watering system. The soil does not dry out nor does it get too moist. The moisture stays just right for the seeds to germinate.
Some people put the seed trays on heat pads to keep the soil warm. This is not necessary for germination. You should cover the trays with some sort of lid. Many of the trays come with lids. If your tray does not have one you can make one out of plastic wrap. Just make sure to remove the plastic once the plants start appearing.
It can take up to two weeks for some of the herb seeds to start germinating. When they do you will see the little sprouts everywhere. Do not try to thin them at this point. You should, however remove the plastic. One tip you may want to take advantage of is this. The plants were in a warm place while the lid or plastic was on. You may want to remove the lid for a few hours each day for a couple of day to allow the young plants to acclimate.
This will allow the seedlings to get used to the colder air of the house. It will also keep in some of the extra moisture needed by the plants as they grow.
There is no need to fertilize the young plants at this point. That will come soon enough. You will want the plants to get stronger and a little bigger. When the first true leaves have formed, not as they are forming but when they have formed, you can start to weed out the excess plants. Thin the plants to about two inches or more apart. You must remember that natural herbs are actually weeds. The strongest will survive.
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The plants you start in the garden must not be planted until after the last frost is over. The ground must be warm and ready for growing. If you plant too soon the seeds will only rot and not germinate. The most successful way is to start the seeds indoors. This way there is no chance of the weather turning and having the seeds die.
To start the seeds indoors, it is best to use gardening trays. You can mark each tray with the seed variety you have planted in them. This makes it easy to know which is which. At an early stage they will all look the same. The trays can be purchased in either a self watering variety or you can maintain a constant watering source for them. The herbs are not really hard to grow at all. You just have to have patience.
You will want to use a sterile medium for starting seeds. This can be as simple as a good potting soil. One that is full of sticks and other debris may still hold contaminates. This is not a good potting soil to start the seeds in.
You can use this soil for later use when potting the plants, but do not use it to start your seeds. Some people have had success with it, and some have had major disappointments. It is always safer to just buy a good potting soil with no contaminates.
The soil can be put into the trays for the seeds at about two inches deep. This will allow the new plants to generate a good rooting system. The plant's life is in its roots. You need to make sure the roots will be able to expand.
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