It's seed sowing time, people! And is
there a better sight than seedlings finally pushing their way through?! A sure
sign that harvests can't be too far off. But what's the best way to start
seeds? How even do you begin? Hi I'm Ben and today we're going to sow some
seeds together, talk through the best ways of encouraging them to germinate, work out what
to do with them once they have and expose a few very common mistakes we often make without even
realizing it. So grab your seeds and let's go! Let's start with our seed starting mix. Let me
show you what we've got. So when sowing your seeds you've got two options: in most cases, especially
for larger seeds, you can use an all-purpose, general purpose or multi-purpose potting mix.
This is some example here. It's got a nice crumbly texture, it's moisture retentive
but it doesn't get too saturated and wet. It drains well for finer seeds though. And
to guarantee perfect germination you might like to use a seed starting mix. The differences
are that it's got a slightly finer particle size more in scale with the seeds. The other thing is
it's a lot lower in nutrients. Seeds don't need any nutrients at all to germinate; the seed itself
is full of nutrients. So you want a low nutrient mix to help it germinate, that works just fine.
So you can decide what to use and experiment a bit but I'd say if you want to err on the cautious
side use the seed starting mix and for smaller seeds, but for bigger seeds like say squash and
beans, an all-purpose mix is absolutely fine. Whatever potting mix you use do make sure it's
peat free. Extracting peat releases carbon and it destroys natural habitat. Now when it comes
to sowing your seeds you've got two options: you can use pots or seed flats or seed trays like
these or plug trays (also known as module trays) like these. So what's the difference? Well pots
are more space efficient. Imagine you're growing these on a warm windowsill. It takes up a lot
less room than several of these plug trays. It also means there's less wasted seed
because every single seedling that germinates can be transferred into its own plug tray once
it's germinated. Plug trays on the other hand mean there's less transferring of seedlings.
You can simply sow direct into the plug trays and then either grow them on as a cluster or thin
them out to leave one seedling per plug. It means that the seedling will spend all its life in
the plug tray until it's time to plant them out. Or you might need to pot them on if the roots do
fill the plug before it's time to plant them out. There is a little bit more wastage with
growing in plugs because obviously you'll be thinning the seedlings, so
that's the main difference. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves
when we're sowing. We want to sow at the correct time. Sow too early and plants will be too big
before it's time to go outside, but sow too late and there won't be enough of the growing season
for the plants to mature before the end of it. If you're unsure, often the seed packets usually
give a really good indication as to when to sow. Our Garden Planner can also help. It uses data
from your nearest weather station to calculate the exact planting and sowing dates for crops in your
plan. The blue bars here indicate the best time for sowing indoors, while the green bars indicate
the best time for sowing or planting outdoors. Great, so let's finally get on and sow some
seeds. I'll be sowing into a pot and also into plug trays. It's very easy to do but hopefully
you might glean a few tips along the way. So the first thing is to fill our pots here, right
up to the top. Don't worry about overfilling it. And then I just give it a good tap, like that, to
settle it and then push it down to get it nice and firm and level. It's really hard to over compress
fresh potting mix so don't worry too much about that. Seedling roots need plenty of matter to get
their roots into so it's better to slightly over firm than under firm. Right, we're ready to sow.
Now get my seeds and then sow them over the top. Now in most cases you'll get, (if it's fresh seed)
like 80 to 90 percent germination, so think of each seed as forming its own seedling. And try not
to over sow. It's really best if you can keep the seeds nice and spaced apart. Now any excess seed,
if you're putting it back into the packet, do that over the pot or plug tray you've just sown. That
way if any seeds will escape and drop they'll fall into the pot you've sown rather than into the
potting mix elsewhere and having random seedlings then pop up. Now to cover our seeds: most seeds
need to be covered to about twice the depth of their actual width, so that is very very little
in most cases - about a quarter inch or half a centimeter say. So just very very mere suggestion
of potting mix over the top and then pat it down. And that's ready to water now. Some seeds
are just a lot easier to sow into plug trays, especially like cluster sown vegetables like
beets or beetroot, salad onions and as I'm going to be sowing here, radishes. So fill the
plug tray so it's brimming over and then again a good firm tap. Add a bit more if necessary, level
it off and then I like to make little depressions to the right depth with my fingers,
like that, ready for the seeds. So out they come. And I'm going to say
just aim for about two or three seeds per cell like this. They're all sown in there and
then it's again just lightly covering them over like that. Finally and I almost forgot myself,
do label your seedlings. It's so easy to forget what you've got, especially if seedlings have
very similar leaves. So be disciplined and do it! Write down the variety and the date as
well. When watering your sown seeds, use a watering can fitted with a fine rose. That way
you won't blast the seeds out. Just go over it, let it drain through and then go over it
again. It's really important. You want to waken the seeds up from their slumber. They've
been asleep basically. And it's very very hard to over water with this potting mix because
it's very free draining. So just let it drain through and then once that's done take
them where they're going to germinate. I'm impatient and want to see these seeds
germinate as quickly as possible - who doesn't?! The easiest way to achieve that is to give them
ideal conditions, which in most cases means a little warmth. These early sowings at this time
of year are best germinated indoors therefore. The seed packet should give an
indication as to ideal temperatures. In most instances, a tucked away corner
of a warm room should work just fine, or on top of any appliance that gives off a little
warmth; the top of fridges or freezes for example, or on a warm mantelpiece. For
warm season crops like tomatoes, keep the potting mix nice and damp and the plug
trays and pots cozy by covering them with some sort of clear cover. Now you could use a purpose
sold humidity dome like this for that purpose, or if you've just got a few pots, simply cover
them over with a bit of clear polythene secured in place. The seed packet should give you
an indication of how long germination takes, but please do check back regularly anyhow because
that's half the fun anyway! And once half the seedlings are pushed through, move them to
somewhere nice and bright and take the covers off. A common mistake is to grow your seedlings on on a
windowsill. But the quality of light is rarely as good as that outdoors. Sure, you can try turning
the pots so they don't all lean to one side towards the light but that usually gives leggy
seedlings ultimately and they rarely recover from that. So if you don't have an outdoor protected
structure and it's early on in the season, you might want to invest in some grow lights. This
is my set here. It's pretty ancient but it still does the job! Let me show you. So this grow light
has an adjustable lamp unit that can be moved up and down. Mine's actually broken, so it's
propped up by placemats here. And I can raise the seedlings up and down on old biscuit tins
for example. It still does the trick! So you want the lamps themselves to be about four to six
inches (that's 10 to 15 centimeters) above the top of the seedlings. That means they get a
good diffused light; a nice even spread of light and also the leaves won't get too hot by
being too close to the lamps themselves. The lamps should stay on for between say 12 and 16
hours a day and the longer you leave them on, the faster the seedlings will grow because there'll
be more time to photosynthesize and actually grow. So that's a good trick if you're running a bit
behind schedule. Keep them on for longer. Mine, mine go on when I first get up in the morning and
then as I go up to bed. So they're on for about 15 hours or so. When should you move them? Well
you can move them out as soon as conditions are warmer outside. Or in the case of cool season
crops, once light conditions have improved and it's less gloomy. At this time of year it's lack
of light that's the killer rather than cold for these cool season crops. In most cases you'll need
to transplant or prick out seedlings once they've germinated into their own pot or plug tray. Now
usually you do this once they have two sets of leaves: their seedling leaves and their first
pair of true or adult leaves, but I often like to transplant seedlings a bit earlier than this. It's
important to get on and do them before they get overcrowded, when the seedlings can become leggy
and that also encourages disease. It also makes the seedlings a lot easier to tease apart
because the roots aren't as knitted together. To prick out the seedlings you can use an
all-purpose or multi-purpose potting mix for this, that's fine at this slightly later stage of
growth. Fill up your plug tray as before, tap it down, adding a bit more if necessary and
wipe it level. Now if you're going to transplant all of these seedlings, at this stage you can get
all of the seedlings out onto the table, but just lift out what you need if you're going to
keep the rest in the pot for another time. Right so we only handle the seedling by its leaf
because the stem is really delicate. Make your hole and then just guide the root down like that.
If the seedlings are a little bit leggy you can just lower them down a bit further so they're
buried a bit more and then lightly firm it in. It's also really important not to damage the the
root system. And that's actually one advantage of transplanting the seedlings
when they're still quite small. They're really fast growing at this stage
and they've simply got less root to damage. So if you carefully lower it in, it's a lot
easier that way. Once you've transplanted all your seedlings they'll obviously need
watering. You can water them from above but another option is to water them from below by
sitting them in a container and filling with water to about a third to half of the way up the
plug tray. Then when you see moisture, beads of moisture at the surface you know the moisture
has permeated all the way up - or it's usually about 15 minutes. Then just lift them out, drain
them off and pop them at the side to grow on. Check the moisture of the potting mix from time
to time. You can usually tell because it's darker, but if in doubt just put a finger in there and
feel for the moisture. Another way is to lift up the pot or plug tray and judge how heavy it is.
You'll get used to gauging that with experience but really if it's heavier it's got more
moisture in it, so there's less need to water. Seedlings of more tender crops will need to
be acclimatized to the outdoors before they're planted, in a process known as hardening off. To
begin with, place them outside for about an hour each day, then gradually increase the period of
time that they're outside over the course of a week or more. Cool season crops like lettuce will
need little of this hardening off, but warm season crops like tomatoes will. Another way to toughen
up plants, whether indoors or undercover in a greenhouse or cold frame, is to gently run your
fingers over the foliage. This actually mimics the wind and creates stockier sturdier seedlings.
If you're indoors you could use a fan for this. Experienced gardeners hedge their bets!
So much depends on so many variables: is the start of the season unusually cold or warm?
Will your first seedlings be snaffled by birds or slugs? So it's worth making a few sowings a
few weeks apart and it's really worth making early sowings because if they fail, well you can
always try again. And put in place pest prevention measures; that's netting or row covers for birds
and slug traps for slugs. Quick growing crops such as lettuces and radishes are harvested little and
often, so make small sowings in smaller batches every few weeks so you get a nice succession
of crops rather than them all coming at once. That's smart planning! By following these simple
tips you'll give your seedlings the very best chance of survival and set yourself up for a great
harvest to come. What do you hope to be sowing in the coming weeks? Join in the conversation down
below. Over the next few months there's some really super advice coming up for both new and
seasoned gardeners alike; tried and tested stuff, as well as light bulb moments I know that you
will just love! Don't miss any of it! Subscribe and turn on those notifications! Next week
we'll be looking at a few pitfalls to avoid as a new gardener, so if you like the sound
of that do tune in. I'll catch you next time!
