How to Grow Healthy Seedlings: Tips for Success from the Soil Up
Growing seedlings is one of the most rewarding parts of gardening. Whether you're starting a veggie patch, adding new flowers to your garden, or just experimenting with growing food for the first time—raising your own seedlings puts you right at the heart of the growing cycle.
It’s not just satisfying; it’s also cost-effective, empowering, and deeply grounding. From the smallest seed to a thriving plant, the process is nothing short of magic. And the best part is—anyone can do it, no matter how much space you have.
Here are our tried-and-true tips for growing strong, healthy seedlings:
1. Light and Warmth Are Essential
To get started, most seeds need consistent warmth and plenty of light. A sunny windowsill often does the trick, or you can use a heat mat or hot water cupboard to get them started. Once sprouted, seedlings need to be moved into bright light to avoid growing long and spindly.
2. Choose the Right Containers
You can raise seedlings in all sorts of things—egg cartons, old punnets, or toilet roll tubes—just make sure there’s good drainage. For something more long-lasting, we recommend our Crafty Gatherer wooden seed trays, made from untreated macrocarpa and built to last season after season.
3. Use a Fine, Fluffy Seed-Raising Mix
A good-quality seed-raising mix makes a huge difference. It should be light, fine-textured, and free-draining so young roots can grow easily. Avoid using garden soil, which can be too heavy and may contain weed seeds or pests. You can make your own you just need drainage, nutrition and something to hold moisture - a good combination can be equal amounts of coconut coir (absorption), fine pumice sand (drainage) and compost (nutrition)
4. Water Gently
Keep the mix evenly moist but not soggy. Too much water can cause seeds to rot, while too little can dry them out before they’ve had a chance to grow. We like to mist with a spray bottle or use a gentle watering can. Bottom watering—sitting the tray in a shallow dish of water—is another great way to water without disturbing seedlings.
5. Some Seeds Prefer to Go Straight in the Ground
Not all seeds like to be started in trays. Root crops like carrots, parsnips, beans, peas, and corn can be sown directly into the soil where they’ll grow.
6. Be Patient and Curious
Every seed has its own timeline. Some will pop up within days, others might take a couple of weeks. Observe how things are going—watch for moisture levels, temperature, and the condition of your mix. And don’t worry if it doesn’t work out the first time. Each attempt is a learning opportunity.
Where We Get Our Seeds
Love Plant Life, Setha’s Seeds and Paheko Seeds—are fantastic NZ-based suppliers with strong ethics around biodiversity and local resilience. There is also Koanga Institute who sell heritage seeds and Kings Seeds have a great organic range and really good germination rates. You can also find a local Crop Swap where seeds are often exchanged, Seed libraries, we have a local one called the Tauranga Seed Swap and Farmers Markets will also no doubt have local people selling seeds too. Swapping seeds with friends is a great way to get a diverse range of seeds too.
We believe that growing your own food—even from the tiniest seed—is a powerful act. It connects you to the land, to the seasons, and to something bigger. If you’ve never tried raising seedlings before, this is your sign to give it a go!
Want to start off strong?
Check out our handcrafted, reusable seed raising trays—built to support your garden for many seasons to come.
