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Locations
Once you know germination requirements, you can find a good location around your home for germinating almost any type of seed.
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Warm Spots
Many seeds like steady warmth for best results; the top of a refrigerator has given us good results with these. A spot under a grow-lamp is nearly ideal, though a countertop in your kitchen or bathroom will also work well, if these rooms are kept warm.
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Cool Spots
Other seeds like a cool spot. A cold frame or raised, protected bed outdoors during cool weather, an unheated garage, an attic in winter, or a basement or closed room (during cold weather), or a north windowsill all have worked well for us. These locations can also be employed to satisfy any initial chilling or freezing that is required by a specific type (this fact appears on the packet). Your refrigerator or freezer can do the same.
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Watering
Once seeds have been sown, check the moisture of your sowing medium every day. Moist medium is darker brown, becoming lighter in color as it dries. Touch the surface . . . if it feels dry, sprinkle the top gently, or better, water from the bottom with water at room temperature. Allow water to soak up until the surface becomes moist, but not so heavily that the medium stays soggy. Aim for a constant, moderate degree of moisture.
NOTE: Keep your seed flats out of direct sunlight, which is often too hot or drying, until the seeds have emerged. Then be sure to furnish additional light.
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Emergence
Emergence occurs as the baby plant breaks out of its seed coat, and the first stem rises out of the soil. The first leaves which appear on many seedlings are the so-called seed leaves (cotyledons), which often bear little resemblance to the later leaves. Shortly after the first true leaves, which are more or less typical of the plant, appear, the cotyledons will drop off . . . don't worry when this happens. With some types of plants, like corn and lilies, the first part to appear is a true leaf, which will not drop off but instead remain and grow.
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