Great Gardens for Absolute Beginners! Part 3 – Planting Seeds

Let us take a moment to contemplate the seed. Seeds/Fruit can be monstrous in size, like the coconut, mid-range like avocados or so small they are hard to see with the naked eye, like Nicotine. Seeds can have wings to speed their distribution, can shoot themselves from plant-cannons when they are ripe, or lie dormant for centuries until fire releases them to repopulate incinerated forests.

Undoubtedly a near-perfect way of reproduction, the seed encompasses a fertilized embryo, a source of food for immediate growth, (starches and sugars); all enclosed in a impermeable cover. Seeds are time machines, trapped in stasis until the right conditions encourage them to grow. Indeed, seeds for barley and hops over two thousand years old have been found in the Egyptian pyramids, sprouted and grown, and beer made from the results. And you thought gardening was dull.

For the modern gardener seed propagation needs containers, a growing medium, a light source, perhaps a heat source and a method of watering, all of which can vary depending on the seed. There are some seeds, like peas for example, that don’t take kindly to pre-sprouting and can go into the ground as early as March. They stay dormant until the ground around them warms to the required temperature. If, however, you live where the temperature goes below freezing in the winter months, almost everything can benefit from a head start indoors, to be planted out later.

Containers

Peat Plugs

A plug of peat moss in a plastic net, peat plugs are ideal for larger seeds. When soaked in water they expand to many times their size and the net holds the moss in place. The webbing is missing on the top and bottom for the seeds to go and the roots to grow out. Seeds can be pressed into the top to the required depth. I find it’s best to insert two seeds into each one and pinch off the weaker of the two after they’ve sprouted. Sort of seed insurance that you will get one usable plant.

Peat plugs are convenient, but can be expensive depending on how many plants you wish to start. They also need a secondary tray so they can be watered. Garden centers sell ribbed trays that will take 24 or 48 peat starts. Pick trays of sturdy construction, or double them up so you don’t drop an entire tray of your hard work on the floor the minute you need to move them.

Filled with water, plant starting vessels are heavy. After watering, you might want to invest in a turkey baster so you can suck the excess water out of the tray without attempting to tip or slant it. That way lays disaster. Also worth a word of caution is, if you push the plugs closely together the roots will intermingle when they come through the sides of the plugs and it can be a chore to separate them evenly, so each start begins with the same amount of healthy root to feed it.

Peat and Plastic Pots

Pots can be made of peat or plastic or even clay if your budget runs to such. They sell in sizes from one and a half inches to six inches. Remember, these are not pre-filled. They need a growing medium. I prefer soilless potting mixture, which is available from most garden centers. The trick here is that seedlings can be prone to damping off, where fungal infections attack the little plants and kill them pretty much over night. There are damping off liquids that stop this, but I’d rather just avoid the problem in the first place. Soilless potting mixture is a combination of milled mosses and vermiculum to avoid root compression and seems to make the seedlings less susceptible to infections. Plastic pots can be bought in sets, connected together at the top. Again, you give away a little for the convenience, as the tops of the plants can become very tangled and pushing the root ball up from the bottom can damage it, but they are convenient and inexpensive for people who want to start lots of small plants.

Trays

For small seeds or seeds that need to be strewn on the surface which are dependent on light to germinate, trays are the answer. Fill them with soilless mix and use a flat object to press the growing medium down firmly inside. If you have to put seeds on top of the soil and barely cover them with more dirt, a household sieve will work well. You can use an atomizer, (spray bottle), to water them until they sprout.

Tips

These are general descriptions of things to plant seed in, but if you want to avoid expense, or are a dedicated do it yourselfer, you can use anything that will hold soil, or soilless mix. If you want to use soil from your garden, that’s okay, too. Sieve it for critters, stone and lumps, put it on a cookie sheet and bake it in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees to sterilize before use. What’s really important is to get a good plant book, with starting instructions and to read the seed packet and the book for all the info you can find on planting the seeds in question. My all time favourite gardening book is a very old one, Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Gardening. Used copies pop up all the time on Abe’s Books and Amazon and you can buy it on Google Books. Readers Digest also publishes a comprehensive list of gardening books for more in depth study.

Warmth

A source of bottom heat insures quick germination and healthy plants. I don’t have a very big garden anymore so the top of the refrigerator is large enough to produce the desired results. A table over a hot air register works well, too. If you intend on planting on a large scale, there are electric warming mats which can be put under the containers to provide consistent bottom heat. If you are providing a secondary source of heat, make sure you lay plastic wrap over the top to avoid the containers drying out between waterings and make sure you remove it immediately when the plants break the surface.

Light Source

If you have south facing windows, a lot of what you plant will find sufficient light from them to thrive. Just turn the pots or trays a quarter turn each day so growth is roughly vertical. You don’t want all your plants laying down on the job when you go to set them out. Grow lights are available if there is no other choice, but they are expensive both to buy and in the cost of electricity.

Watering

Make sure you water your plants thoroughly but follow the instructions and don’t over water. Roots can rot if you do, without fungal infection. The turkey baster to remove excess water and the spray bottle for top watering are a big help.

Tips

Starting seeds rather than buying pre-grown plants can save you a lot of money. It also allows you to grow varieties that no long are popular enough to be commercially grown. There are a number of heritage seed growers on the web, my favorite being a start up in Nova Scotia, Canada. The proprietor, Owen Bridge, cares about his business and his customers. As a way to get closer to the process and your soon to be beautiful garden, starting seeds is hard to beat. Until next time, great gardening! All tools and products in this article can be purchased at Lee Valley Tools.

All pictures are the property of of the author.

Note: This is the third (3), , in a series of articles, published under the title Great Gardens for Absolute Beginners, written to help new gardeners get professional results. Article topics range from assessing your plot, to tools, digging, soil amendments, taking cuttings and so on. If you enjoy this one, other articles are available under the authors name.