Growing Vegetables by Seed

By Shauna at Lockwood Park

My name is Shauna and I am one of the chores staff members out here at Lockwood Park. Rest assured, all of our wonderful animals are receiving the best care while we are maintaining the park through social distancing.

Today however, I wanted to talk to you about something that I have been up to when I am not out caring for the animals and that is growing vegetables by seed! Tomatoes and peppers more specifically! It’s that time a year again to start growing vegetables and I am here to help! Take a look below for some tips to start your plants off right.

Tip #1) Soak your pepper seeds: Pepper seeds when started from a buyer need a little extra help in the beginning. Be sure to soak your seeds in warm water for a few hours before planting to help boost germination.

Tip #2) Water peppers with warm water:  Peppers love the heat and they do best to germinate in warmer water/temps. While your plants are growing indoors give them a gentle mist of warm water at the beginning to help them out!

Tip #3) Place plants in a south-facing window to receive the most sunlight during the day: Don’t have a south-facing window? That’s ok. You will have to move them around a bit throughout the day but placing them where natural sunlight gets in will make them grow big and healthy. You can also use a garden grow light to give them help on cloudy days as well! Just be sure to do your research first. 

Tip #4) Plant your peppers and tomatoes in containers that they can grow into seedlings, especially when small ones don’t do well with transplanting. Sometimes you may accidentally damage their roots during transfer, so it’s best to grow them in a container that they can grow into and therefore be hardier. 

Did you know that Lockwood Park and the Rockford Park District has garden plots? If you are an avid gardener be sure to check them out online at the link below.