Seed starter soil is especially designed for seeds so no amending or adding is necessary. Seeds have their own little food supply that will last until its time to transplant them into your garden or something larger. If they do start to look a little peaked, use something mild like fish emulsion.
Add enough water to the soil to wet it - moist but not soggy. The soil will absorb water a lot better if its damp to begin with. Fill your cells and plant the seeds at the recmmended depth - that's usually two times the thickness of the seed.
The seeds will need more water but bottom water works best as you won't wash your seeds away or bury them too deep. Don't let your cells sit in water but don't let your potting soil dry out. Keep bottom watering when they need a drink. Disturbing their little roots will slow them down and may even kill sensitive plants.
Bottom heat helps in germination also. You can get mats especially for this purpose (our local hydroponics store sells them). Or forgo the mat and put the tray someplace with ambient heat. The top of your refrig. has the perfect tempurature.
Start your seeds about 8 weeks before you plan to plant them out. Then make sure you 'harden them off' before commiting them to the big bad world. You can do this by slowly moving them outside. Put them under a shady tree for a week. No matter how much light they get indoors, outdoors will be a shock.
Most of all, have fun.
Daisy
