Looking Ahead | A Note from Rick Bogusch
February 20, 2026
By Rick Bogusch
While it’s cold and snowy, now is a good time to make a plan for your vegetable garden and think about what you want to grow, how long it needs to mature and what to replace it with after harvest. For example, if your favorite carrot needs 55 days to mature and you want to harvest in July, then sow by May 15th. If you want to harvest in mid-September, sow by mid-July.
It’s also a good time to order seeds and plants, if you haven’t already, and get ready for indoor seed sowing. Clean and organize your potting area and check your supplies. If you use grow-lights, do the bulbs need replacing? Does your heat mat still work? Don't forget to clean and organize containers. Make sure you have enough soil, and don’t use potting soil because it’s too heavy for seed starting. Use a labeled seed starting mix, one that’s light and well-drained.
Though it’s possible to grow healthy, sturdy seedlings on a sunny windowsill if you rotate them every day, grow-lights can be useful. Keep them turned on 8-10 hours per day. Most vegetable and flower seeds should be started 4-6 weeks before the last frost day, May 15th here on Long Island. This is a good rule of thumb for tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants and all the brassicas. Onions, leeks and hot peppers should be started 8-10 weeks before. Don’t sow too soon. Large, lanky seedlings have a tough time hardening off and often wither in the garden after planting. It’s better to start with younger, smaller, stronger seedlings.
When sowing seeds, moisten the starting mix before you fill the containers. The ideal container size is 2-3 inches deep. Plastic cell packs are good, as are peat pots, though they tend to dry out too quickly. Or use milk cartons or egg cartons or try soil blocking. Whatever container you use, fill them almost to the top and make a small depression in the center. Sow multiple seeds or a small pinch. It’s good to sow extra as some may not germinate. In general, sow seeds no deeper than 3-4 times their diameter. Fine seeds may need surface sowing, and some seeds may require darkness. Read the seed packet for the information you need.
After sowing, cover seeds with more mix, but not too much, and water either with a mister or water from below by placing containers in a tray of water for 15 minutes or so, until moisture appears on the surface. Containers with seeds on the surface can be covered with glass or plastic until germination, so seeds don’t dry out, or placed in old plastic bags.
Seeds have a temperature range for best germination. Some, like tomatoes, need it warm, say 70 degrees, while brassicas prefer 60-65 degrees. Seed packets and catalogs usually give this information and a heat mat with thermostat can improve results.
Whether you water from below or use a mister, watering is critical for good germination. Most seeds require constant moisture, so you need to check every day, even though most failures occur due to overwatering. In cold, soggy, waterlogged mix, seeds rot quickly. Cold soil for warm weather crops like tomatoes and hot soil for cool weather crops are also reasons seeds don’t germinate. Covering containers until germination helps maintain moisture and keep it just right.
After germination, remove any coverings and consider providing air circulation with a small fan to prevent damping off. Once seedlings have their first true leaves, you may thin them to 1 or 2 plants per cell or pot. Because seed starting mix has no nutrients, begin watering seedlings with a dilute fertilizer like fish fertilizer every 2 weeks.
When seedlings have just about filled their containers with roots, it’s time to transplant them into larger pots to maintain growth and vigor. To avoid root rot, use a container that’s just slightly larger than the existing. Use a potting soil that’s been lightened with perlite and/or vermiculite and let seedlings dry out slightly between waterings.
As seedlings grow and days become warmer, start putting plants outside for an hour or two each day, once daytime temperatures have reached into the 40’s. Bring them in for the night. Don’t place them in the sun, but rather gradually expose them to direct sunlight, a little more each day. Otherwise, you risk sunburn and plant loss. Do this until night temperatures stay well above freezing and your seedlings can take full sunlight after a week or two. Then, you may leave them outside all the time until planting in the garden.
Some vegetable seeds should not be started indoors but sown directly in the garden at the appropriate time. Arugula, spinach and radish are cool weather crops best sown in situ, as are beets, carrots, cucumbers and squash when the soil warms up a bit.
There are many good reasons for starting seeds indoors, not the least is that like houseplants, it yields a bit of green in a white and gray world and is a harbinger for the season to come.
In between starting your garden indoors and dreaming of your first plantings, I hope you’ll stop by and enjoy midwinter at Bridge Gardens.
Happy Gardening!
As always,
Rick
Rick Bogusch
Garden Director, Bridge Gardens
rbogusch@peconiclandtrust.org