Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

Seed Feed

Video, Lawn and Garden, Gardening Basics, Soil & Fertilizer Published 09/21/2006 by Danny Lipford

To keep seedlings healthy and growing feed them gelatin. Any flavor is okay as long as it’s sweetened with sugar - not artificial sweeteners. The gelatin contains the nutrient nitrogen, which helps plants form green leaves. The sugar actually feeds beneficial microbes already in the soil that help young plants defend against disease causing organisms. Fill the flats with seed-starting mix, sow the seeds and use an old saltshaker to lightly sprinkle the gelatin powder over the seedlings. Press the seeds and gelatin in and cover with a thin layer of your starting mix. Mist the soil and cover with wet paper towels. Simply place the flats in a warm area (somewhere around 65 to 75-degrees). Keep the towels moist by occasionally misting them and check the flats daily for sprouts. As soon as you see growth, remove the paper towels. After the plants take off, feed them liquid fertilizer with a teaspoon of gelatin powder mixed into each gallon.