Organic Gardening Tips Propagation Seeds or Plants, There are advantages and disadvantages of growing from seeds rather than buying in plants. With seed sowing there is the satisfaction of producing your own plants from start to finish and in the case of annuals, the time from sowing to flower can be as little as 8 weeks, then there is the cost factor where a packet of seeds is a fraction of the price of one plant and with the benefit of more crop. The cost disappears altogether if you collect the seeds of your own plants that will reproduce similar to the parent plant species delphiniums (rather than cultivars) will do this, as will some marigolds (calendula) and honesty (Lunaria) for example. On the other hand if you have your own seed of a named variety of sweet-pea that is all the same colour and sow it, you will produce sweet-pea plants in a whole range of colours. There is a bigger/larger range of varies available seeds than there is of plants that are carried by garden centres. But buying plants in can also be rewarding in that you immediately have a plant that may be/or is already in flower and you will have avoided any possible problems of germination and growing on and caring for the young plant until it is ready to plant out. Some plants are not worth growing from seed (unless as an individual you feel otherwise), for example; Hebe a shrub that is easy to grow from a cutting. Others such as Rhododendron take years to produce flowers when grown from seed and after all that time may not be the same as the parent plant, your original seedling may turn out to be a useless plant with a poor flower colour and a bad habit of growth. Growing From Seed; There are two methods of seed sowing that takes the interest of most gardeners, directly into the soil and sowing seeds in a glasshouse/greenhouse or on the kitchen window sill in trays or pots of compost or coir. Direct sowing in the garden soil; this is a perfectly acceptable ay of growing pants, after all, it is a natural way. The seeds can be own rows and then transplanted to their permanent positions when they are big enough to handle, or the ca be broadcast sown by scattering the seeds into the soil where they are to flower and this method is often used for displays of annual flowers for summer colour. Biennials such as wall flowers and perennials such as hollyhock are often sown in early summer in rows outdoors and then the seedlings are transplanted to their permanent positions in the autumn. There is a wide range of seeds and options to suit different gardener’s needs, the most popular is still loose seeds in a sealed packet, if you find that fine seeds flow between your fingers too quickly/easily resulting in a forest of seedlings all crowded together, then try to use pelleted seeds where each seed is coated to form a little pellet not like/unlike a sweet-pea seed and is just as easy to handle. Another foolproof method is a line of seeds pre-spaced on a strip of tape which dissolves when the seeds are in the ground and watered. Tips for Successful Sowing Outside • Buy hardy varieties that are recommended for growing/sowing outdoors. • Before opening the seed packet, make a label written with either a waterproof pen or a permanent marker on a plastic strip/plant marker stating the variety and date of sowing and insert at the end of the row before you sow • Check the packet as to the depth of sowing seed it can vary from surface sowing with a mere dusting of horticultural sand as a covering to 5cm (2in) deep in the case of broad beans. • If the packet states to sow in spring, don’t read that literally as the start of the spring, it just means after the frosts and when the soil would be/is warm enough for the seed sowing, the soil must also be moist but not wet and the risk of frosts have passed then that would be a ideal time to cultivate the soil, rake the surface and remove any stone. • The surface of the soil must be firm, dry and fine (not too fine) and free of lumps. Remember that the tiny hat emerges from the seeds have/has to get to the surface ad sunlight/day light, a lump of soil or a stone will prevent this/that from happening and the seedling will die. • When sowing in rows, use a length of string and two short sticks “a gardener’s line”, to mark the rows, form a drill/row at the depth recommended by pulling the end of the rake o the corner of a hoe along the line. If the soil has been properly prepared there will be no lumps or large (or any) stones in the drill/row. • Sow the seeds thinly to allow each seedling space to grow without competition. • Once the seed has been sown in the drill, cover it to the correct depth with fine soil or horticultural sand if specified, and gently firm with foot or face of standing rake in a tapping motion, water the rows of seeds with a fine rose head on a watering can or on a hose. • Some varieties of seeds such as lettuce or marigolds (calendula) will be germinated and showing after around 7-10 days (approximately), while other types such as parsley or sweet Williams can take much longer (up to 9 weeks), so resist the temptation to scrape the soil away to see what is happening. • Have faith, as most seeds manage to grow even if the conditions are not perfect. • Transplant the seedlings by easing them out of the soil by using a hand fork (or kitchen fork or spoon) taking care not to damage the roots. Hold the seedlings by the leaves and not the stems which are easily damaged/bruised, allowing fungus disease into the wound and killing the plant. Replant at the spacing recommended on the seed packet and at the same depth as the seedling was growing before. If you have plants to spare, you can thin out and dispose/ throw away the surplus or plant into containers, leaving the rest in situ at the correct spacing. Tips for Successful Sowing Indoors Seed sown in glasshouse/greenhouse or on the kitchen window sill in seed trays or even used margarine or yogurt pots with drainage holes in the bottom/base, filled with a special seed compost or coir (some people prefer to just use John Innes 2 from seed onwards), will germinate more quickly than outside in the cold. The seedlings must then be ”hardened-off” before they can be planted out. This is done by leaving the plants out during the day and bringing/taking them in at evening/night time until they become acclimatized to the outside temperature, then the seedling may be planted out. • Sow the seed at the right time, depth and temperature as recommended on the seed packet, the compost should be fine with no coarse material and low in nitrogenous fertilizer, as you want sturdy plants rather than soft lush growth. • Water the seed compost with a fine rose head on a watering can, thoroughly wet the compost rather than dampening the surface (be sure not to over water the compost). • Cover the compost with news paper to keep it warm and dark until the seeds germinate. Remove it before the seedlings become leggy from/due to lack of light. • Thin the seedlings out into trays or pos as soon as they are large enough to handle to give each plant the space it needs and to prevent over-crowding, you will need to toughen up the seedling by putting them through the “hardening off” process to prepare them for planting out and the colder weather outside. Start by giving them plenty/lots of ventilation and then setting them outside on warm days and bringing them in each evening. When you finally plant them out, take precautions against a really cold night by keeping a cover of horticultural fleece handy. Any surplus seedlings can be grown in pots, or given to family or friends, or even as a last resort they can be used as green manure or disposed of on the compost heap or in the compost bin. • Hold seedlings by the leaves not by the stems which will bruise easily allowing disease to enter. Damping off is a fungus disease that seedlings are prone to and can be caused by over-crowding, unsterilized soil, damp conditions and damaged plants. Seedlings rot at the stem base then keel over and die. Watering the seedlings with a solution of; Chesthunt compound (a fungicide) will help prevent damping off. • Don’t allow the compost to dry out, as it is hard to wet again and it doesn’t take much of a check in growth for the plants to die. What Certain Terms Mean • Hardening off; gradually getting plants acclimatized to lower temperatures so they don’t suddenly receive a severe set-back when they’re planted out. • Thinning out; reducing the number of plants in a container or outside bed to allow the remaining seedlings space to develop. • Pricking out; transferring seedlings to space out and to give room to grow and develop. • Dibble (Dib); to form a hole in the compost or soil using a tool called a dibbler (dibber) to plant seedlings or large seeds. • Broadcast; to sow seed/seeds at random, scattering them (the seeds) over the soil, for example; sowing seed for a lawn. • Drill; a narrow V-shaped depression made in the soil to sow seed in or the actual row of seedlings that has/have germinated. Note; when Sowing/planting herb seeds the same methods apply as with all types of seed. When planting/sowing Bulbs, the same methods as that of seeds can be applied, when planting bulbs, it is easier to create the hole in the compost/soil with a trowel or bulb planter.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 08:07:09 +0000
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