How to guide: sowing seed
Any keen gardener will tell you, nothing quite beats the satisfaction of growing a plant from seed. Knowing that you have created life and watched it grow from its first true leaves to the mature plant you now see before you.
In order to increase your chances of successful germination, I would recommend the following steps:
Prepare the seed tray
Ensure that your tray is clean and has small holes in the bottom for drainage. I would place a layer of wet newspaper at the bottom to prevent the soil from escaping out the bottom. You could use a purpose made plastic seed tray, or you could even recycle a fruit or vegetable tray from the supermarket.
Fill the tray with a seed compost almost to the top, leaving around a 1cm gap.
Use a spray bottle to lightly moisten the surface of the compost.
Sow the seeds
Check the seed packet instructions to find out the depth in which the seeds should be sown (planted in the soil) as well as if they require being covered to exclude the light.
Lightly press down the soil using your fingers or a small board as this puts the seeds in contact with the soil and reduces air pockets.
Keep the seeds warm
Place the seeds inside a warm greenhouse. Again check the seed packet to find the ideal temperature of the greenhouse.
Important: do not let the seed tray dry out. Keep misting the soil when it feels dry to the touch.
Signs of life
Once the seedlings start to show, uncover the tray if you have covered it with a clear bag (depending on seed packet instructions) to allow adequate air flow.
Rotate the seed tray to prevent the seedlings from slanting one way towards the light.
Keep an eye out for the seedling’s ‘True Leaves’, these are the second set of leaves that grow that look like the leaves of the mature plant. When these show, you know it’s time to transplant (re-pot) the seedling.
Time to transplant
To transplant the seedling, hold the true leaves gently between your thumb and finger. This prevents damage to the seedling compared to if you were to pull the seedling by the stem. You can use a pencil or your finger to work the seedling out from the soil.
Place the seedling into a cell tray of multipurpose compost (specially designed tray with individual compartments or cells for each seedling). There should be one seedling in each cell of the tray.
Mist the tray with water and do not let it dry out.
Keep the seedlings away from direct sunlight, as this will cause them to dry out.
Adjust to outside temperature
Once the seedlings are large enough (check the seed packet instructions) you will need to harden them off. All this means is that you acclimatise the new plant with the outside temperate, as it’s been used to the warmth of a greenhouse. You don’t want to shock the plant by it getting too cold.
After all frosts have passed, place the new plant outside in a sheltered position but bring back inside the greenhouse overnight. Alternatively you could open the windows to your greenhouse during the day, but close at night. Do this for around 12 days.
After the 12 days have passed, leave the windows of the greenhouse open for around two weeks day and night.
Finally, three days before you wish to plant out the bedding plants, leave the plants outside.
