Seed-Starting Soil Temps

Don't miss out on growing time by focusing only on the air temperature.

- MICHELLE BRUHN

Seed starting soil temperatures can be overlooked as gardeners focus on air temperature. This causes many gardeners to miss out on a few days, or maybe even a month, of growing time.

Seed-starting basics include what seeds need to break their dormancy including temperature, moisture, light and oxygen. Once these basics are met, watching this process happen will always be a miracle to me! Being a part of bringing seeds from dead-looking inanimate objects to living, photosynthesizing, food and pollen-producing plants is a source of joy and sustenance for more than our bellies as most gardeners know.

SOIL VS. AIR TEMPERATURE

Seed starting soil temperatures tend to warm slowly but consistently and can depend heavily on microclimates within your growing area. While air temperatures fluctuate much more, they'll also catch up in the weeks it takes the seeds to germinate and get high enough above ground to be more affected by air than soil temperatures.

Some of the easiest seeds to get growing early in your garden require a lower seed starting soil temperature than you might think to germinate. As gardeners, we know that the health of our soil is key. Remember walking on and working in waterlogged or still frozen soil can leave you with compacted soil and damage the existing soil life, so make sure the garden space and soil you're working in has completely thawed out and dried out a little from snow melt.