You can give your plants a healthy head-start by starting your seeds inside, providing you have the space. Don’t worry, you don’t have to set up racks of grow lights to make this work either.
Seeds are usually planted out based on the temperature outside. Some seeds can tolerate colder weather, and they can be planted in spring, some prefer more heat and wait until later. They don’t really care about the time or date, just how warm it is. That means you can get a leg up on the season inside. You still need to wait for their appropriate temperature outside to plant in the garden though.
For plants that need to go out 2 weeks after the last frost, you can start seeds 2 weeks before the frost date. That means you have month-old seedlings at planting time instead of just getting your seeds into the ground that day. If you have a shorter growing season to start with, that’ll make a huge difference.
Just don’t overdo it. You don’t want to be dealing with seedlings that are too old at transplant time. They are more likely to be damaged during the move and the shift in light and climate can be pretty shocking to their systems. Each plant is unique in this, so check the seed packages. Overall, a few weeks are fine and some sun-loving plants can even be started 6 to 8 weeks before they go outside.
Planting seeds inside is just like doing it out in the garden. Some need to be on the soil surface, some just covered, and some will need to be an inch or more down. It matters, so read your seed packs. Start them off in those standard little compartment trays or use small recycled containers (like yogurt cups).
Use a good quality potting soil, mixed with a little loose compost for the best results. Older plants can tolerate a little dry soil, but not your germinating seeds. Keep the soil slightly damp at all times. Light isn’t that important at first, it’s the moisture that gets your seeds going. Once they’ve sprouted, there needs to be good light through the day.
Even if you don’t want to have your plants in the house for weeks on end, even just a few days to get the seeds germinated can provide some help for your new plants.