Seeds

SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE

Throughout the winter I occasionally got a bit stressed thinking about how much work there was to do in the garden before spring. There were hedges to cut, beds to dig, leaves to clear, trees and shrubs to prune and lawns to care for. I told myself that I would go out every week over the winter and slowly and systematically work my way through everything to be on the ball for the new growing season. The ice and snow put all garden work on hold, but somehow, I don’t know how, I have actually achieved most of the things on my ‘To Do’ list without out much effort. The great weather last week helped me to catch up with soil preparation and grass cutting. Later in the week I actually couldn’t see anything that really needed doing. So I swept the driveway from top to bottom, which took a good hour, but was very enjoyable. This leaves me in the enviable position of being able to get ready for some seed sowing. I’ll make the most of it before everything goes mad next month.

Different type of seed sowing

What is sowing in situ?
This is sowing your seeds where they are to grow and mature. There are different ways to do this.

Broadcast method: Sowing them broadcast means scattering them on the surface of the soil, and then lightly covering. This method is great for annuals where you have a lot of seeds and need a bright splash of colour.

Preparing the ground for broadcasting
Good ground preparation is important for successful germination. If the seed doesn’t touch the fine soil then they will either not germinate or dry too quickly and die. Rake the surface and clear it of stones and lumps of soil. When you have what is called a ‘fine tilth’ of soil the seeds are ready to be sown and then gently raked in and watered.

Sowing in drills: means sowing the seeds in a shallow trench in a row before covering them. This method is used either for vegetables or sowing each drill with different plants then re-planting them as they mature to a permanent place.
Preparing the ground for drills
Prepare the soil in much the same way as the broadcast method. Use a string line or the large straight edge of a plank to get the lines. Sow your chosen seeds in rows, then cover by raking the soil from the side of the row over the drill. Again, water gently. Small seeds will probably need to be thinned out as they grow. Larger seeds such as peas and beans can be planted about 2.5 cm apart and there will be no need to thin these.

All of the seeds will need close attention to make sure they are kept moist and are pest free. Cats, dogs, mice and birds can destroy a bed in no time. For a less stressful growing season, remember the saying “One for the Rook, one for the crow, one to die and one to grow” chuck in another one for the family pets too.
Sowing in seed trays:

When I was growing commercially I used to use a lot of separate seed modules. I found these very effective, as the roots of each plant were not disturbed when transplanting into larger pots or into their final growing place. The downside of these modules is that, like separate plant pots, they do take up a lot of space and you would need a lot of windowsills for growing loads of summer bedding. Planting the seeds in trays is the other option. Water the compost first then plant the seeds to about the depth of the width of the seed. Watering first saves small seeds from being disturbed.

Follow the instructions on the packet and check if they need to be kept in the dark for a short period, some seed won’t germinate unless this is done. If you were feeling very professional you could use a heated propagator. These have a very high rate of success when it comes to germination. One way to make sure your seedlings get off to a good start is to get the seed spacing right. There is a device called the Magic Seeder on the market to help you spread the seed evenly and efficiently across the compost. I am giving two of them away this week in a free prize draw.