- Greetings from the garden.

My name is Ben, and welcome back to Let's Grow Stuff.

Today, we're continuing to learn how to start our own plants from seed.

So, let's jump in and get started.

♪ ♪ Now, as a reminder, this is the second part of our starting seeds tutorial.

So, If you haven't put anything in soil yet, that's totally fine, but we'd recommend you go back and start with that first video before viewing this one.

Where did we leave off last time?

We just finished planting seeds indoors in our trays and talking about their water needs.

Since then, we've fast-forwarded a few weeks and... [chime] we have baby plants!

These first leaves we see are called cotyledons.

These are the primordial leaves that were stored in the seed, and they help the plant get a jump start on growing.

So, let's jump ahead another three weeks to see... our first set of "true leaves!"

These leaves now resemble and better represent what you're growing.

It's important to remember not to remove your labels at this point, especially if you're growing multiple varieties of the same plant.

So, for instance, your tomatoes will probably all look the same until they start to fruit later in the summer.

So, if you had multiple seeds germinate in a single pot, it's time to thin them.

Pick the largest, tallest, and healthiest looking seedling, and slowly and gently remove the others.

I know this part can feel a little difficult, but it's really important to ensure that you get the healthiest possible plants into your garden.

If you left all the plants in every container, they would compete for resources as they grew, and you'd have smaller and weaker plants as a result.

After thinning, don't forget to continue rotating your trays every few days and monitor soil moisture.

You'll likely need to rotate less frequently as time goes on.

So, our final step is to do what we call "hardening off" and this matters because growing indoors is not the same as growing outdoors.

Once our plants move outside, they'll be exposed to more intense light levels, to fluctuations in temperature, and wind.

Start hardening off at least a week before you plan to put them in the ground.

And, as a reminder, your planting date is your frost-free date.

Begin to harden off plants by placing them outdoors for one hour a day.

And gradually increase the amount of time they spend outside by adding about 30 - 60 minutes each day.

Don't forget to keep an eye on the weather.

If it's going to be chilly or there's high winds, don't bring them outside that day.

Well, there you have it!

Starting your own plants from seed can be a rewarding endeavor and it opens up more opportunities for what you're able to grow.

As an added bonus, if you happen to start a few extra seeds than you have room for, you can always gift those plants to friends, family, and neighbors.

Don't forget, there's more to learn online at pbswisconsin.org/ letsgrowstuff There, you can find more helpful videos, tools, tips, and tricks to help you grow a better garden.

So, until next time, happy gardening!

- Funding for Let's Grow Stuff is provided by American Transmission Company, Ganshert Nursery & Landscapes, Willy Street Co-op, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.