Sowing- Care of indoor seeds and seedlings starts with using the correct growing medium. Use a multipurpose organic medium. The finer the seeds the finer the growing needs to be. After filling the pots or trays lightly firm the medium before sowing, so it is less likely to be compacted after watering. For seed trays a wood block is ideal for firming evenly.Fine seeds can be can be sown on the surface of the medium and covered by gently sifting a little more over the top. Large seeds can be pushed in individually with your finger or dropped in holes made by a pencil or small stick.

Keeping Seedlings Healthy-  by managing the growing environment. Healthy seedlings are the best defense against pest or disease attack. Make sure you start with healthy viable, and preferably organic or heirloom seeds, quality growing medium, and clean, disease free, and pots or seed trays.

Temperature-  Keep seedlings at the correct temperature/ This varies according to species and is influenced by light levels reaching the seedlings. As a general rule the higher the temperature required the more intense the light needs to be.

Light-  Too little light leads to weak, spindly plants. Be careful not to expose tender plants to direct sunlight however. They burn very easily, especially if they have grown in a diffuse light for a while.

Watering-  Make sure the growing medium stays moist but do not over-water. Waterlogged conditions deprive the seedling of oxygen, while disease conditions thrive. An occasional spray with seaweed extract helps promote sturdy growth. A good way to water seedlings is to place pots in trays of water. Remove the pots once the top of the growing medium is just moist and allow them to drain.

Stroking-  Gently brushing or stroking seedlings grown indoors helps to produce stocky, root plants.

Problems- A rot problem known as damping off is a common problem in seedlings and can spread rapidly throughout whole batches. Ants and sowbugs can also play havoc with seedlings.

Space-  Give seedlings space to grown. Densely sown seedlings compete for limited light, water and space, and diseases thrive in these conditions. Spacing plants properly at growing time is the best way to avoid this.. Alternatively you must thin seedlings until the proper space is attained. Some species should be transplanted to larger pots.

Hardening off-  Young plants must be acclimated gradually to cooler less humid conditions. The best place to do this is in a coldframe. You can also use row covers or a cloche and gradually remove it gradually.