Growing from seed is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening. We get to see the whole plant cycle from the tiniest of seeds to a full grown plant.

To Grow from Seed follow these Simple Steps

1. Good Compost. Choose a specific compost for growing seeds. Peat based composts are the most popular. There are also other materials like loam based (John Innes no.1) and coir based composts. Peat is liked for its free draining, yet water holding properties. See more on commercial compost

2. Containers. Plastic trays and pots offer the easiest solution to keep clean and free of disease. You can also buy degradeable pots which can be planted directly into the ground. This is great for seeds which dislike any disturbance to the roots. See using plugs for seedlings

3. Sow in Right Temperature. Most seeds need a gentle heat to germinate. 15 – 20 degrees is perhaps the most popular. If sowing early a windowsill or even better a heated compost tray, enable you to control temperature. This is more important for seeds like Cucumber which need more heat than usual.

4. Pre Treatment – most seeds don’t need pre-treatment. For example, many suggest ‘chipping’ sweet pea seeds, but, we’ve always found they germinate fine without chipping. Seed sowing is not complicated – just think of nature, there’s no one going round with a penknife…
5. Covering. Small fine seeds like, Begonia, Petunia, Lobelia don’t need covering but just scattered gently on the top. Bigger seeds need covering in usually twice the depth.

Keep the soil moist, but not waterlogged. (see: Damping off prevention) After sowing, you can cover to keep moisture and heat in. But, this not always necessary.

6. Pricking Out. After a couple of weeks, when seeds have started to grow, you can prick out and discard the week seedlings and pot on the strongest seedlings into individual pots for later planting. See: Guide to Pricking out Seedlings

It depends on the seeds, for a few plants, you could plant 2-3 seeds into 3 inch pots to save the pinching out process. For other seeds, you could prick out straight from seedtray into garden. – Just be ruthless in selecting a small number rather than trying to squeeze too many into a seed tray.

7. Growing on Seeds. If you are growing on a windowsill make sure you rotate the tray so that they don’t lopsided. The seeds will need good light, but shielding from the strongest direct sun. Water with a fine spray to avoid drowning the new seedlings.

8. Harden off. If grown indoors under heat, it is important to harden off and get seeds used to outdoors conditions.

• Seed Selection at T&M

Related

• Sunflowers from Seed
• Seed Tips
• Early Seeds and Hotbeds
• Best seed companies