Pricking Out When the true leaves have formed (the first pair of leaves that appear after the seedling or 'cotyledon' leaves) seedlings in seed trays are ready for pricking out. Prepare a new seed tray, cell pack or pot for the seedlings; poke a hole with a pencil or dibber into the soil. Taking a plant label, knife or pencil prise a block of seedlings from the seed tray. Using the sharp point carefully separate a seedling. Holding the seedling by a leaf (never the stem or roots) lower it into the hole in the new pot. Continue until all have been pricked out, water gently with a fine spray.
Larger seeds, such as marrow, courgette and sunflowers, can be planted two or three to a pot to ensure against seed failure. After germination, pull out the weaker plant and allow the remaining plant to grow on.
Hardening off When seeds have germinated and been grown on undercover, the transplant shock into the big world of the garden is considerable. The climate is cooler, night temperatures are lower than in the protected greenhouse, and wind will lower temperature. To ease the transition seeds should be 'hardened off'.
The ideal for this is to have a cold frame with a glass lid. By closing the lid overnight, the plants are protected from late frosts and cold temperature. The glass is gradually raised during the day until it is completely removed and the plants are then tough enough to make the transition to the garden. If you don't have the luxury of a cold frame, take the seedlings outside for a longer and longer period each day.
Transplanting into the garden When the seedlings have grown on they can be transplanted into the garden. Take the seedling out into the garden, which should be weed-free and worked up with the hoe to a fine tilth. Using your dibber make a hole in the new bed, and gently remove the seedlings from the pack, taking each plant at a time, plant to the same depth in the garden. Water in gently.
Do not transplant seedlings in the heat of the day, in bright sunshine or very drying, windy weather.
To protect newly transplanted seedlings or to get them started earlier than open planting you can cover the seedlings with a cloche. If you do not have a cloche then a soft drink bottle with the top cut off makes a fine individual cloche. Damp newspaper, weighted with earth, laid alongside new seedlings will help to retain soil moisture.
Sowing Direct in the Garden Some vegetables and flowers are not suited to transplanting, for example most root crops, and should be sown directly into the garden.
Allow soil to warm before sowing seeds. Sowing seeds into cold, wet ground is a waste of time, they can rot and you may well have to re-sow later. Most vegetables need soil at 7o C before they will germinate. If sown earlier they will lie dormant, or rot and have to be re-sown.
If you have wet soil, you can sow other vegetables under glass and move them out when conditions improve. Or you can place a cloche over the soil for several days or until it has dried sufficiently, and then plant under the cloche. Always remember to check seeds planted under a cloche as they can quickly dry out.
Preparing soil for sowing The ideal soil is moist but not wet or sticky, if it is compacted (i.e. flattened) when you walk on it, wait and sow later, or use a plank to distribute your weight.
If you must sow into cold ground you can cover the ground with black polythene or cloches, to raise the soil temperature and allow the soil to dry.
To prepare soil for seed sowing, first ensure that it is weed-free. Then break it up with a hoe and rake until a fine tilth. On dry or clay soils shuffle up and down, using your feet and the hoe to break up any clods, and then rake it. On very dry ground, water the soil sometime before you sow to allow the water to soak in.
Once you have achieved a nice, fine seed bed, use a line (length of heavy string drawn taut between two sticks) to draw out a shallow drill using the side of your hoe. The depth of the drill depends on the seeds you are sowing. If it is very wet and you must sow, add some fine sand to the base of the drill. Sow the seeds thinly in the drill.
Sowing the seed With plants that need space to develop you can sow three to four seeds together at intervals, space the seeds at the eventual desired spacing for the plants. The seeds can later be thinned, but the seed that would have been sown in the intervening spaces has been saved. Try this with beetroot, cabbage, etc. You can sow a fast maturing crop, such as radish, between slower crops. The faster seeds will germinate and act as a marker for the slower crop, and can be harvested before it fills out.
With large seeds (peas, beans) place each seed individually at the correct spacing. Peas and French beans can be sown in drills 15-20cm wide, in effect getting two rows close together.
Mark the end of the rows with sticks and /or labels or you may loose track of where your new seeds have been planted. Cover the drill carefully with a rake and tamp down with the back of the rake. Water gently.
If you are sowing in blocks then cover the area with short rows or broadcast the seeds (i.e. scatter the seeds over the area & gently rake in). One way is to rake in one direction, sow the seeds and then rake again, at right angles.
Thinning When the seed has germinated and seedlings have developed true leaves you can begin to thin. Thinning seedlings prevents overcrowding allows good development of the remaining plants.
Thinning more than once will mean the some baby carrots or tender lettuce can be used in the kitchen. Check the seed packet for ideal spacing for maturing plants.
Succession Sowing Don't sow all the seeds in the pack, you'll have far more flowers than most gardeners require or a sudden flush of lettuce or carrots and then weeks with none at all. Save some seed for next season (check the packet for viability dates) or do successive sowing to provide a long season of salad vegetables, carrots or late season sweet peas to pick.
Succession sowing is easy, just plant more seed every few weeks during the season to ensure a steady supply of salad greens, cabbage and carrots.
So get growing from seed It's fun and not all that hard, after all, seeds are programmed to grow!
Annuals such as Marigolds (Tagetes sp.) are easy to grow from seed
What Seeds Need Seeds are programmed to grow, but they have basic needs before they can.
Moisture Dormant seeds contain very little moisture. Water content may need to increase by up to eighty percent before the seed embryo will begin to grow. Conversely, continuously wet seeds will drown.
Oxygen Seeds need oxygen for growth. A good seed mixture will have lots of tiny pockets of air to supply oxygen. In very or continuously wet soil these pockets fill with water, effectively 'suffocating' seeds.
Warmth A steady warm temperature will encourage germination. Hardy seeds germinate in temperatures of 10-18oC, half-hardy seeds at 16-21oC.
Light Depending on how they have evolved, buried in the litter layer or falling on the soil, some seeds need darkness to germinate, others need light. Check the packet.
A cold frame is ideal for hardening off seedlings
Gently remove the seedlings from the pack, one at a time, and plant to the same depth
In a nice, fine seed bed, use a line guide you in making a shallow drill
Sow seeds at the desired spacing for the plants
Thinning seedlings prevents overcrowding
A cloche lets you sow outside earlier and can be used for hardening off
What it's all about - veges and flowers grown from seed
Collecting Seeds Division, cuttings, 'slips'. There are many ways to increase your stock of favourite perennial plants and to carry annual veges and flowers from season to season.
Collecting seed is one method often overlooked.
Some plants seed freely and widely. So much so that gardeners deadhead them quickly before they can takeover the gardens.
Other plants are worth collecting seed from. Wait until the seed heads or pods have dried, but not opened! Either cut them or shake them into a brown paper bag. Not a plastic bag as moisture is trapped, sweats and the seeds go mouldy. Label each bag as you go, it's even harder to recognise seeds than plants!
Clean the seed by removing seed coverings, pods, petals and stems. Store in a cool dry place until ready to sow. Many seeds germinate better when fresh, hellebores often have prodigious numbers of offspring under their canopy as the seed has fallen and germinated fresh, but they are reluctant to germinate if even slightly stale.
Kids Project- Sunflowers Programmed to grow... just like kids. Kids love to see how seeds grow. Sunflowers are an ideal way to learn about seeds and gardening. See our Kids Project for more
It's fun and not all that hard, after all, seeds are programmed to grow!
Division, cuttings, 'slips'. There are many ways to increase your stock of favourite perennial plants and to carry annual veges and flowers from season to season.
