All seeds hold within the amazing promise of life. You will find that growing plants from seed can be a very rewarding experience and that you actually become attached to your little seedlings. You can grow from seed to feed you and your family or you can grow to fill your garden with an abundance of colour. However, people are often put off from growing from seed due to these not germinating properly. Sowing seeds should not be difficult, and it definitely won’t be if you know how. Read on and I will show you how easy it is to grow your own.
What you will needto germinate seed:
Germination tray and seedling trays
Germination soil mix
Seeds of your choice
A pencil
Mist spray bottle
Seedling markers
Step 1: Fill seedling trays with soil
Sowing into seedling trays gives you a better germination rate than sowing directly into our garden beds.
Soak bigger seeds such as beans, in water overnight.
Find a bench or flat surface where you can make a mess.
Start by filing your seedling trays with germination soil.
Spread the soil on top of the trays until they are covered and filled to the brim. Pressing down on top of the soil will cause compaction and hinder germination. Rather give the seedling tray a good shake, as this will allow the soil to settle without compacting it.
Step 2: Make holes for your seeds
You were probably wondering what that pencil was for; we are going to use it to make holes for the seeds.
Wiggling the pencil into the soil, create holes that correspond to the depth required by the specific seed variety. You can make notches on the pencil for different seeds.
You can use any other utensil to make your hole as long as it doesn’t compact the soil.
Step 3: Sowing the seeds
Open your seed packets and take a moment to admire the shapes, colours, and textures of the different types of seed.
Larger seeds can be handled individually and dropped directly into their hole.
Very small seeds are better sown using an empty open envelope with some of the seeds Tilt the envelope and tap it lightly until the seeds fall out.
When sowing multiple small seeds it is easier to fill the trays with less soil. Now gently sow the seeds.
Step 4: Cover with soil
Cover with a thin layer of germination mix taking care not to compact the soil.
You can overfill your trays and use a ruler to scrape the excess soil off from the top.
Never stack your trays on top of each other, as this will also cause compaction.
Now it is time to make your seedling markers. Write the name of the variety and the date sown on your markers. Insert into your seedling trays.
Seedling markers help plenty when sowing varieties of the same type, such as tomatoes or different colour Petunias.
The best spot for keeping your seedling tray is a patio or veranda which receives plenty of natural light. Just make sure it doesn’t get any harsh sunlight.
Step 5: Mist spray with water
Mist spray your trays until they are thoroughly moist.
Place the germination tray cover on top. This will create an ideal microclimate for your seedlings to grow in.
Only mist as soon as the soil has dried out. Keeping them too moist can lead to seeds rotting away.
Step 6: Looking after your seedlings
You can water your seedlings overhead as soon as they are bigger and stronger, bearing at least two sets of leaves.
As they grow, lift the germination tray cover more and more over a few days taking care to mist spray them more frequently. This will help them acclimatise to the outside environment.
As soon as you can lift the plants out their trays with all its roots, it is time to plant them in the garden.
Growing from seed allows you to grow plants that aren’t always available in seedling trays whilst providing an amazing experience. Start developing the habit of collecting seeds wherever you find them and sow them when you get the chance. To further help you enjoy the promise of spring, have a look at our seed promotions. I hope you enjoy sowing your own seeds. To inspire you here is a stunning slow motion germination video.
To sow, simply scatter seeds at a depth of 10mm in a well prepared garden bed.Keep the area moist until the seeds germinate. You can thin out the seedlings to avoid over crowding once your seedlings have popped through the soil.
Sowing is the process of putting the seeds into the soil for growing crops. One needs to use quality seeds for sowing. Sowing is done manually using mechanical equipment like Seed Drill. Seeds of a few plants like rice are first grown in a separate area and then transplanted in the fields.
Open the seed packet without damaging the directions, and place more than one seed in each cell in different spots. Push the seeds gently into the soil with a pencil or tool to the recommended depth on the package. A good rule of thumb is that seeds should be planted at a depth twice their size.
There are three different methods of sowing seeds: stripe seeding, point seeding, and broadcast seeding. Choose the right method for you depending on the type of vegetable being grown and the location where the seeds are to be sown. Stripe seeding is a method of seeding that is easy to control and widely used.
Hint: Sowing is the process by which seeds are buried inside the soil. After sowing, the seeds germinate inside the soil and then grow up to become a complete plant. Germination is also known as the sprouting of seeds. It is the process through which the entire organism grows from a seed or a spore.
Place the plant in the hole and plant deep enough that the top of the root ball is about one inch above the surrounding soil. Then, back fill by adding the amended soil around the root ball. As you add soil, press the soil down to collapse any large air pockets in the soil.
There are various steps to be followed viz. cleaning (wet and dry), winnowing, sieving, drying, tests to ascertain the dryness of seeds. One of the crucial steps in Seed Processing is refining post-harvested seed to its purest form for replanting purposes and human/animal consumption.
When pollen lands on the flower's stigma, it germinates and forms a pollen tube, which then quickly grows towards the plant's ovary. Once it finds an ovule, the pollen tube bursts to release sperm cells, which fertilize the ovule and initiate seed formation.
Introduction: My name is Saturnina Altenwerth DVM, I am a witty, perfect, combative, beautiful, determined, fancy, determined person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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