I have a seed, now what?

Image from https://www.homefortheharvest.com/types-of-seeds/

Never planted anything before? Take a breath and relax!

Ingredient List:

• Seed(s)
• Container (a plastic cup can work for now)
• Dirt (enough to fill the container)
• Water (a little)
• Light (a window works)
• Heat (for some seeds, room temperature is fine, others might want your desk lamp closer)

Quick Start Directions:

1. Fill container with dirt
2. Push seed into dirt and cover seed with a little bit of dirt
3. Spray or gently pour a little bit of water over the dirt, enough for dirt to be moist (a darker brown)
4. Place container indoors on a window sill or under a lamp

(Image credit: brozova)

That's it? Isn't there more to starting a seed?

Okay, yes, there is a bit more to know about your seed

Different seeds have different requirements, these are usually included on the packet where you got your seed from (or a Google search)

• What kind of soil? Rich? Loamy? Potting soil? Cactus soil? Flower soil? 
• How deep to plant? 1 inch deep, 1/4 inch deep, surface sow?
• How much water? Water it only when the soil gets dry? It doesn't "like its feet wet"? It likes moist soil?
• How much Sun or Shade? Does it need 6 hours of sun? 12 hours of sun? Full sun? Part Sun? Shade?

Tip: Not every seed germinates, so it's a good idea to plant a little more seeds than the number of plants you are hoping for. If more seeds germinate that you need, you can either pinch the extras (killing them off) or you can try to gently pull the extra plants out and put them in their own pots, but this may disturb the roots of the plant that you want to keep.