Sowing seeds
This page is about seeds, rather than "seed" potatoes, onion sets or bulbs.
First you need to get some seeds! Garden centres sell them, so do other shops at certain times of the year. But you can also buy them online. I've used Mr Fothergill's, Suttons and Thompson and Morgan. It is possible to use seeds from your own garden, but make sure that the seeds are quite dry before storing them. And, of course, some plants will self-seed, but you don't need to worry about them!
There are often several different types for one vegetable or flower, so which should you choose? Sometimes the plants grow to different sizes, so use the right one for your garden. (One day I'll rediscover the nasturtium which does not grow all over the place!) You may be interested in different colours (for flowers, and even for vegetables!) Certain vegetables may have resistance to disease. You may have used a variety previously and just want to reorder. Or you may want to try something different. Price is a factor, of course. You may be surprised at the range. Sometimes new varieties cost more. But there is also something called F1 seeds. These have to be cross-bred each time, so cost more. They will have some special quality, and you will have to decide whether this interests you, and whether it's worth the price. Some catalogues tell you how many seeds as well, which also affects the price. Or, of course, you can just order at random!
You don't have to use a whole packet of seeds at once. Many seeds last perfectly well year after year if properly stored. I do tend to use up big seeds each year, such as peas, beans and sweet corn, because I suspect they may be more likely to rot (but I may be wrong!) When storing seeds, they don't mind temperature - they survive frost and heat waves. But seeds must be kept dry. It's water which makes them to germinate, and that's what you want to stop happening. I suspect that they liked to be kept in the dark as well. I keep each group of seeds in a ziplock plastic bag (as used in kitchens) and all of those in a bigger ziplock bag, and store this in my shed. It gets nibbled by something, probably mice, but the double layer of plastic seems to keep them out!
A packet of seeds is made of paper, but there may be a smaller foil packet inside. If you open both carefully, you can fold over the foil and paper afterwards to store them.
You have to decide when to sow the seeds. The seed packet usually tells you, but it sometimes says something vague such as "Spring". It will also vary according to where your garden is. A very important date is first frost. Some plants are tender and get killed by frost, so don't sow them outside before this (early May in my garden). Otherwise, annuals need to be sown as soon as possible in the spring, as their entire growth has to take place before winter. But seeds need some warmth to germinate, so, even if they are hardy, sowing them in the winter means they don't germinate immediately, and may rot in the ground. A friend described a useful trick. Don't sow anything until the weeds start growing in the spring. If they don't want to grow, then your seeds won't want to, either. Biennials and perennials can be sown later, because they don't have to flower in the first year.
If you sow outside, prepare the soil. This means digging it over to remove any weeds, and making sure that there aren't large lumps of soil left. Usually you sow a line of seed (this helps weeding later). Make a small groove in the soil (using trowel, a stick lying by or your finger). Now put the seeds in the groove. I suggest not direct from the packet as it's quite hard to control them. Put the right amount of seeds into the palm of your hand. Then either tilt your hand to let them trickle into the groove, or take tiny pinches of seed to put exactly where you want them. The commonest error is to sow too thickly. Think about it - hopefully every seed is growing to grow into a complete plant. Some don't germinate, and anyway I can never get my head round the fact that the seed does grow into a plant, so I tend to sow too closely together! But try to space out the seeds. If the seeds are big, such as beans, they are easy to sow individually. Once sown, cover them up by putting soil in the groove. The seeds should be covered, but they don't need to be sown deeply. Mark the ends of the row with sticks. (A garden tends to have sticks lying round the place, or use prunings such as hazel or raspberry.) I don't bother to mark what the seeds are. Some people put the seed packet on a stick, but my seed packet has left-over seed in it! Anyway, the seed packet blows away or gets soggy with rain. If you have special plastic markers, and write on them, that washes away... I just recognise the leaf shape once it starts to germinate.
Some gardeners water the seeds once sown. I don't bother. If there isn't enough water to germinate the seeds, then perhaps I shouldn't have sown them! Ig I have to sow them during dry weather, I prefer to sow them dry, and wait for the next rain shower (not usually long to wait in the UK). After all, once you start watering them then you have to carry on watering them!
Now, sit and wait for the seeds to germinate. The point of sowing them in a row is that they are easier to weed, but also they are easier to spot once they do germinate. Weeds don't grow in neat lines! It is important to keep the new seedlings clear of weeds. Weeds will steal the water and nutrients in the soil, and smother the little seedlings.
The other task is thinning. You sowed the seeds too close together, didn't you! Thinning means carefully removing seedlings, leaving a few well spaced, so they can grow into real plants, with lots of room. It's quite easy to tug up the seedling you want to keep by mistake, so be careful. And it's annoying to throw the excess seedlings away. You can eat lettuce and carrot seedlings. These will be among your first crop of the season, which is nice!
Some plants are sown in rows, then transplanted when big enough to handle. This has the advantage that you can move the individual plants to where you want them, so no thinning! But some plants won't transplant, such as carrots. Transplanting does knock back growth in a plant, because you're disturbing the roots, and plants hate that. Also, it's a hassle... But I do tend to grow flower perennials and biennials from seed in the vegetable garden (if I can find room) in rows, then transplant them later.
Some flower seeds can be sown directly where they will grow. These shouldn't be sown in rows, as they will look a little odd. It does mean that they might not survive, as other plants might crowd them out. My flower beds are crowded! But some robust plants do survive. I sow them, scattered at random, in the spring, and in the summer I say "Oh, there you are!"
The final way of sowing seeds is to start them off inside, not in the garden. This is essential for tender plants such as tomatoes, which have quite a long growing season. You sow them in pots and grow them on a window sill. Or you could use a greenhouse, of course, but I don't have one of those. I use small pots to germinate the seeds. You can buy potting compost from garden centres (peat-free if you can!) You can use garden soil, but it tends to dry out quickly, and probably has weed seeds in it. So put some compost in a pot, and a few seeds on top, then a little compost to cover them. They must be kept watered. Outside, they can get their own water, but here the soil mustn't dry out. Put the pots on a sunny window sill, as they need warmth to germinate, and light to grow. You may need to repot the plants once germinated as they will outgrow their pot. Move them into bigger pots, even one pot each. You can do this more than once, but you do start using up compost quite fast. The last stage is transplanting them outside. You should harden off the plants before doing this. Put them outside during the day, and bring them in at night (in case of a frost) for a few days. Then you can leave them outside for a bit. You're probably doing this near the house, which will be warmer than the garden, but even so, watch out for frost. Finally transplant them to their final position. In fact, if you buy a plant in a pot, garden centres have done all this sowing and repotting for you, so you can see how sowing and transplanting fit together.
If you sow your own seeds, you will see that some plants show different types of leaves. The first couple of leaves are called cotyledons. In brassicas, such as Brussel sprouts (see below), the cotyledons look heart-shaped. These die off after a bit. The "normal" leaves are more jaggedy. But other plants, such as tomatoes, have different shaped cotyledons and normal leaves. You don't really need to know this! But the development of the cotyledons does seem to be part of the growth of the plant.
© Jo Edkins 2020 - Return to Garden index