If you grow your own plants from seed…

• Stock up on essential seed starting and potting up supplies with consideration of the total quantity of plants and different varieties you intend to start from seed, such as:

  • Seed Starting Mix and Other Soilless Mediums (store in a cool and dry location until ready to use)

  • Indoor/Outdoor Potting Mix (store in a cool and dry location until ready to use)

  • Seed Starting Trays/Pots (small tray cells for seedlings and larger pots for up-potting mature plants)

  • Grow Lights/Replacement Bulbs

  • Liquid Fertilizers

  • Soil Amendments (vermiculite or perlite)

  • Plant Labels / Markers

  Tip: I usually find that a lot of these products go on sale at this time of year. Therefore, I do my best to stock up on what I need in December / January to avoid having to purchase at unfavorable prices at a later date or deal with product availability issues.

• Check your supply of garden tools and accessories. Repair or replace where necessary during winter sales. A few items to check include:

  • Hand-tools such as Pruners, Snippers, and Hori Hori (Garden) Knife.

  • Irrigation tools such as Hoses, Spray Nozzles, and Drip Lines.

  • Accessories such as Garden Twine / Twists, Gloves, Trellises, and Weed Plastic / Cloth.

• Clean and/or prepare your seed starting trays / containers for use. While it might feel like "busy work," it is a critical step to ensuring your seedlings survive. Here are a few reasons why this is so important:

  • To prevent damping off, a fungal disease that causes healthy-looking seedlings to shrivel up and die. These fungal spores can survive for years, and adding warm water and fresh soil to a dirty tray can essentially wake up the dormant spores.

  • To remove mineral and salt build up left behind by fertilizers and tap water.

  • To minimize risk of fungus gnat and spider mite infestations by removing potential food sources for these pests through cleansing.

  • When the your calendar indicates it’s time to plant seeds, you don’t want to have to spend time scrubbing dirt from trays at that point in time. We want to focus on the task at hand!

  • Tip: Here is a straight-forward method I use to clean my trays / containers:

    1. Scrub: Use warm soapy water and a brush to remove all visible soil and debris.

    2. Sanitize: Soak the trays for 30-45 minutes in a solution of 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water and one or two drops of dishwashing liquid.

    3. Rinse & Dry: Rinse thoroughly with fresh water and let them air dry completely before using.

• Start mapping out your garden or growing space for the 2026 season, with specific focus on reflecting on the 2025 season (what performed well, what didn’t go well, pest or disease issues, etc.) and where you intend to transplant or direct sow your seedlings (with consideration of spacing and growing conditions.) This is important for several reasons:

  • Determine what you’d like to change or do different in the next year.

  • Know exactly how many square feet you have for each plant prevents over-crowding.

  • Ensure your tall plants (like tomatoes or trellised cucumbers) are on the northern side of your garden so they don't cast shadows over sun-loving low-plants like peppers or squash.

  • You can plan to put heat-loving plants in "hot spots" in your garden or yard, and sensitive plants like lettuce in areas that will receive afternoon shade.

  • Helps streamline succession planting by showing you exactly when and where space will open up for your next set of plants.

• Determine which seed starting method you intend to use based on plant variety and your current outdoor climate / temperature - e.g., winter sowing, direct sowing (for warm planting zones) and/or indoor sowing.

  • Tip: Start preparing the designated area(s) you intend to utilize for seed sowing. Such as:

    • Outdoor seed starting - Amend your outdoor growing space if you live in a warm planting zone.

    • Winter sowing - Prepare empty milk jugs / large zip lock storage bags and identify the best sunny location to ensure successful seed germination if you intend to partake in winter sowing.

    • Indoor seed starting - Tidy up your indoor seed starting area and set up your growing space if you intend to sow seeds indoors. See section below for additional tasks.

• Add “reminder” notifications to your e-Calendar for each weekly sowing milestone (e.g., 12 weeks BFLF, 10 weeks BFLF). This way, you will be reminded of when you need to start seeds in case you forget or get side tracked.

  • Tip: Alternatively, you can add your weekly sowing milestones to a wall calendar and tape or affix it next to your seed starting area.

• If you live in a warm climate, there are several seeds you can start sowing in January. Check out my list of “What You Can Direct Sow in January” for the specific varieties.

If you plan to sow seeds indoors…

• As you begin to receive your seed orders in the mail, make a final determination on which seeds you intend to start indoors and organize all of your seed packets into categories (e.g., 12 weeks before last frost (BFLF), 10 weeks BFLF, etc.).

  • Tip: I use a shoe-box size storage bin to organize and store all of my seed packets designated for indoor seed starting. I organize them by weekly milestones (e.g., 6 weeks BFLF, 4 weeks BFLF, direct sow, etc.). This keeps me organized and allows me to quickly grab what I need when it is time to start sowing seeds.

    Check out my blog post for more tips on how to group your seeds by start date to make the seed start process more efficient: https://www.tigreblumeinthegarden.com/blog-posts/seed-starting-simplified.

  • Tip: Check the back of your seed packet for a general timeline on when to start your seeds indoors. If your seed packet doesn’t contain this information, do an online search using the following prompt “when to start XX (seed name) seeds indoors for zone XX (planting zone number)”. Pay attention to additional recommendations or tips provided by the seed company or discovered as a result of your own research - such as cold stratifying seeds in advance of sowing, soaking seeds in water in advance of sowing, or seeds with slower average germination rates. You may need to adjust your timing to account for these additional recommendations or tips.

• Update your seed starting plan or template as needed to account for any changes to your seed starting lineup.

Check out my Seed Starting Calendar Template (see snippet below) if you’re looking for a very simple way to map out when you should start your seeds indoors.

This automated template allows you to map out your entire spring/summer garden - from the earliest slow-growers like onions and celery to the heat-lovers you sow directly into the soil.

To use the template, find your Average Last Frost Date (e.g., April 15th) by doing a Google Search and enter this date into last frost date field on the template. The specific dates for each weekly milestone (e.g., 16 weeks, 10 weeks, etc.) are automatically calculated based on the last frost date. You can print and affix it next to your seed starting area for quick reference.

If you’d like to download my Free Seed Starting Calendar Template, sign-up below and join the “TigreBlume In The Garden” community to get your copy!

Additionally, check out my blog post for more tips on how to use this template: https://www.tigreblumeinthegarden.com/blog-posts/seed-starting-simplified.

• Add “reminder” notifications to your e-Calendar for each weekly sowing milestone (e.g., 12 weeks BFLF, 10 weeks BFLF). This way, you will be reminded of when you need to start seeds in case you forget or get side tracked.

• Tip: Alternatively, you can add your weekly sowing milestones to a wall calendar and tape or affix it next to your seed starting area.

• Tidy up your indoor seed starting area and start setting up the following (as well as ensure everything is fully functional and operating as expected):

  • Heat Mats

  • Grow Lights and Timers

  • Temperature Monitoring Device (if needed)

  • Power Supply (Extension Cords / Surge Protectors)

  • Bottom Watering Trays

If you typically source tubers or bulbs from online sellers for spring/summer planting, now is the time to start browsing.

• Preliminary Selection: Review online inventories and catalogs to decide what you want to plant in your space this spring or summer. Bookmark your favorites or start a preliminary shopping list.

• Plan Ahead for Sales: Many large online sellers begin running significant promotional sales and deals as early as January. Getting your purchase list ready now ensures a smoother online experience and allows you to capitalize on these early-season discounts when they become available.