Head Starts With Starts
Often in the depths of our winter doldrums, farmers, nurseries, and gardeners around Montana are getting busy seeding and tending to our favorite plants. With the cold and lengthy winters in Montana, several crops that we love to grow and eat need to get a jump on the season. Typical nighttime temperatures in spring and early fall allow us 120 frost-free growing days, on average, which isn’t a lot compared to other places in the United States. Many tomatoes, melons, peppers, and winter squash varieties can require over 100 days to mature.
While some of our favorite plants are capable of braving the cold (read about those here), many others will wither away at the first touch of frost. Extending our seasons by starting these plants in controlled environments like greenhouses allows us to grow many crops that we otherwise simply couldn’t produce in our climate.
Starter trays of onions at the PEAS Farm greenhouse.
Crops that Need an Early Start
Tomatoes Peppers
Onions Cabbage
Squash Cucumbers
Broccoli And More!
Growing Starts
It is certainly possible to grow starts in our houses, utilizing sunny areas and supplying supplemental lighting. However, starting seeds at home can be surprisingly tricky. Often our home starts don’t receive the adequate amount of light to sustain proper growth or they may be sitting in a drafty window. This and many other factors, such as too much water, too little water, nutrient deficiencies or poor soil mix, can result in lanky, stunted, or otherwise stressed plants. We want our starts to be as healthy and vigorous as possible when we plant them outside. The process of leaving their comfortable, pampered lives in their climate controlled homes will be stressful enough; we want them to hit the ground strong.
Most homes are not designed with plant growth as their primary function, and most people’s days are already busy enough as it is. For this reason, many gardeners decide to leave the starts to the professionals. Greenhouses are designed for the sole purpose of promoting plant growth, and are maintained by folks who dedicate their days to ensuring successful starts. Farmers markets and local nurseries are great spots to look for strong and healthy starts. They are also great places to make sure you are picking the right varieties for your local area.
If you want to experiment and start those starts yourself, it can be an incredibly fun and rewarding! There are a few things to consider when starting seeds at home.
Choose the right varieties for your climate and eating preferences; sauce tomatoes vs. slicing tomatoes, for example. And always check the days to maturity. It should be 90 days or less.
Sow the seeds indoors at the proper planting time. Check this handy planting calendar by the MSU Extension.
Re-pot or “pot up” if necessary. If you see signs of nutrient deficiencies or a plant too big for it’s pot, it’s time to find it a bigger home for it until you can plant it in the ground
“Harden off” your starts before transplanting to reduce shock by gradually easing them into the outside environment one or two weeks prior to planting. This can be done by setting them outside in a partly shaded area once the temperature is above freezing. Using cold frames or floating row cover is also a great idea. Start by easing your plants into the outdoors at a few hours at a time and work your way up to all day and then all night.
Lastly, make sure that the beds and weather are suitable for the plants before we transplant them outdoors.
P.S. To keep it simple, many crops can be directly seed into the ground and will do great with our natural climate.
Crops that are Best Direct Seeded
Carrots Beets
Peas Radishes
Corn Chard
Kale Most Greens