Having come to grips with containers and trays, the next thing to consider is soil and water. Seems pretty simple however, if growing from seed, you’ll need to think about more than just bunging a seed in a pile of mud and hoping for rain.
Being no expert on growing from seed, I see this as a great opportunity to share learnings based on personal trial-and-error. There will be a lot of the latter!
If you look in the plant store, you’ll see ‘mix’ for tomatoes, bulbs, containers, pots, succulents, organics and plenty more. While I am sure everything is fit-for-purpose, it can also burn a big hole in your pocket. One thing I would recommend to get things germinated, is simply Seed Mix.
Seedling Mix
This is super fine and ready for any seed raising. Buy in bags as you need it. Otherwise if stored, ants will love to call it home without a flinch.
While you can plant some seeds directly into the ground and others into potting mix, there are some finer seeds that will really struggle without the finer soil. This was certainly learned first hand.
Potting mix can have quite hard pieces of bark, sticks and debris that can hinder seeds germinating. When they are young and weak, they may not have the energy to push past heavy obstacles. Failing that, you can ‘sieve’ out some of the finer soil if you have the patience. I must get my hands on one of those!
Identification Markers
Whether it’s a cut up ice-cream container or a popsicle stick – write the name of the seed and date you planted it. Believe it or not, this will be super handy! Seeds can take between 5-21 days to germinate and you’ll soon define the fast-growers from the slow-coaches.
You can also keep track of the success and failure rate (number of seeds to germinate from each seed pack). If something was meant to have germinated within 7 days and you are looking at a mound of nothing some weeks later, you may have to re-examine your planting techniques.
Many young seedlings look the same. When it comes to planting the seedlings in your garden, it may be handy to know which is the Jalapeno and which is the modest Capsicum.
Just add water
Spray Bottle: These little wonders are really handy. When the seeds are super fine, using a watering can may be too disruptive for the seed (literally splashing the seeds around, or battering the fine stalks as they protrude from the soil). Spray the first leaves and the top of the soil (particularly in a greenhouse/indoors where the sun’s rays can’t burn the leaves).
Watering Can: The trusty watering can will never go amiss. Once seedlings are at a certainly level of robustness, you can ‘water can’ away to your heart’s content. Remove the sprinkler head and the spout can be directional for topping up the saucers too (if you are going away overnight, this will keep the soil moist).
Seeds, and plenty of them
Of course we need the seeds! Buy in packets, beg and borrow from your friends, or dry your own seeds. Once upon a time, a ‘seeded parsley’ would seem the ruin of a perfectly good herb — now, see it as an opportunity to store and regrow next season!
We will keep you posted on our seed-mining progress, in the meantime — there’s nothing wrong with a bought one (packet of seeds, that is).
Remember seeds need heat, light and water. They don’t need slugs, butterflies and birds. This is where a greenhouse comes in handy. The main thing is heat/light/moisture during germination. This can be achieved by plastic film, perspex lid also.
