News from the Noteworthy from Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties
Seed Starters Have Been Planning, Planting
The plants sold at Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego’s annual Otsego Master Gardener Plant Sale are produced through the careful work of the Otsego Master Gardener Volunteer Seed Starters, who raise the plants. The Seed Starters have set a goal to raise 2,000 plants for the 2025 Otsego Master Gardener Plant Sale, which will be held this Saturday, May 17, rain or shine, at CCESO’s Otsego Education Center, 123 Lake Street, Cooperstown. Come meet some of the seed starters at the sale, to be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will be delighted to tell you about the plants they raised!
Seed Starter Committee Chair Carol Phelps explains how the work of the Seed Starters will get your garden off to a good start.
How does the Seed Starter Committee decide what to grow?
The committee meets in the fall to plan for the plants that will be grown for the spring sale. We choose plant varieties that will do well in upstate New York’s climate and match our growing season. For example, we look for pepper varieties that bear fruit in about 60 days. For basil and cilantro, we select varieties that are slower to flower and bolt. We also choose varieties not commonly found in garden centers. Over the years, we’ve learned that there is a demand for our herbs, native plants, and blight-resistant and heirloom tomatoes. Then, we buy the seeds from companies with whom we’ve had success in the past.
What is each seed starter asked to do?
Once the Seed Starters Committee decides the varieties of plants we will start, individual seed starters choose which of these seeds he or she wishes to start. Some become specialists in one variety, like Lemon Gem marigolds or heirloom tomatoes. Not all varieties are planted at the same time. Each seed starter plans so each variety they are growing will be ready for the plant sale—some begin in February and some later, depending on the seed.
Before planting their seeds, each seed starter sets up shelving and lights where the plants are grown. After planting the seeds, plant germination must be monitored daily and, as the plants grow, they need to be carefully watered, transferred to bigger pots, lightly fertilized, and rearranged so all the plants get the right amount of light, since notall varieties grow at the same rate.
Hardening off the plants is the most time-consuming part of the process. To do this, each seed starter moves the plants they are growing outside for increasing amounts of time, then back inside, to get them ready to always be outdoors by mid-May.
What is something seed starters have learned over time?
We have refined our watering technique to get the plants we are growing to top quality for the sale. Many seed starters have also overcome the challenges of starting “difficult” to start plants by learning about cold stratification and how to coax germination from tough plants like rosemary.
What are some of the high points of being a seed starter?
Personally, two high points each year are seeing the first seedlings sprout, and then three months later admiring our combined efforts as we finish setting up the plant sale. As the years go by and we learn more, we take pride in better quality plants, and in growing some of the more challenging plants to the optimal size for the plant sale.
What is your greatest seed starting satisfaction?
Being part of a group that works hard to provide a wonderful community event, and connecting with and encouraging fellow gardeners, brings great satisfaction. And the work the seed starters do to raise plants helps to raise the funds for the Otsego Master Gardener Volunteers’ education and outreach activities in Otsego County.
Francine Stayter is an Otsego Master Gardener volunteer.
