Sowing Vegetable Seeds
Suzanne walks us through the simple steps to growing your own fruit and vegetables from seeds.
Sowing vegetable seeds
Compost:
At the moment, use whatever compost you have at home. If you don’t have any, you may be able to pick up some from bigger supermarkets when doing your food shopping. Compost is not regarded as an essential item at the moment, so if you need some, try not to do a separate trip, combine getting some, with your essential food shop, so you limit how much you are away from home.
Getting hold of seeds
If you have some seeds already, great! If not, shops like Lidl and Aldi often have seeds for sale in the entrance area. If getting hold of seeds is tricky, please let us know in the comments section, we can arrange to order seeds and find a way to get them to you!
You can also try using seed from fruit and vegetables you are eating at home. Sometimes seeds will not germinate, but it is definitely worth a try. You could try sweet peppers, tomatoes, squash or cucumber. There are lots of YouTube videos and information pages online where you can find out more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJuXpiEjdcc
https://www.diyncrafts.com/4732/repurpose/25-foods-can-re-grow-kitchen-scrap
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/reduce-food-waste-regrow-from-scraps/
https://www.gardentech.com/blog/gardening-and-healthy-living/growing-food-from-kitchen-scraps
Sowing in containers indoors:
Great if you are short of space outside and if you have a limited amount of seeds. It is also easier to protect them from the cold or pests and diseases while they germinate. Make sure you label your seed trays or containers when you sow your seeds. It is a good idea to put the date on the label to. Most seedlings will germinate in roughly 7 and 14 days. If you don’t see any sign of the seedlings after 3 to 4 weeks, you might have to start again.
You might be tempted to put loads of seeds in the pots/containers. Try not to! – Some seeds are tiny and are harder to space out than larger seeds. Spacing them out when you sow them, will save you loads of hassle when you come to separate the seedlings (‘prick-out’) into their own pots later on!
The seedlings will need ‘pricking out’ or ‘potting up’ once they get big enough. Wait until the seedlings have at least 2 pairs of leaves. The first pair of leaves to appear are known as the ‘seed leaves’ and look different from the leaves that follow later (seed leaves often look similar to each other – another reason to label your containers). Once your seedlings have at least one, but preferably 2 pairs of ‘true leaves’, which follow the seed leaves, they are ready to be potted up.
I will put some information up next week about how to ‘prick out’ and ‘pot up’ seedlings!
If you don’t have small plant pots or seed trays at home, you can re-use any plastic containers you have, just make sure they are clean. Make some drainage holes in the bottom of the container, to let any extra water drain out, otherwise the seeds will become waterlogged and may rot. Grape or other fruit and vegetable punnets work well as they already have holes in the bottom. Put a tray/plate under the containers or use the lids from the containers to collect any water that drains out.
If you’ve started seeds indoors, you will need to ‘harden them off’ before planting them in the ground or in containers outside.
This means you will need to get the seedlings gradually used to the outside temperature, over a week or so, by putting them outside during the day for increasing amounts of time and then bringing them in at night.
Sowing direct outdoors:
If you have the space to sow seeds direct in the ground or pots outdoors, this will reduce the amount of work you have to do - they can be left undisturbed and don’t need to be moved into bigger pots later. Follow the instructions on the seed packet for spacing out and when to sow your seedlings outdoors. Generally speaking, as we are in the North East and it is a little colder, add 2 or 3 weeks to the ‘when to sow’ information on the seed packet.
For example, if the seed packet says sow from April, we usually wait a few weeks until the temperature is a bit warmer up here…start to sow at the end of April instead. Tiny seedlings will not survive outside if the night time temperature drops and there are still frosts.
Here are some suggestions of fast growing vegetables you could try:
https://morningchores.com/fast-growing-vegetables/
…And some perennial (come again each year) vegetables you could try:
https://www.ruralsprout.com/perennial-veggies/
…And fruits and vegetables you can grow in hanging baskets:
https://www.naturallivingideas.com/fruits-vegetables-hanging-baskets/
Top Tips for successful seed germination.
1. Follow the seed packet for specific directions. The packet will tell you whether to sow direct or indoors, when to sow (remember to add 2 or 3 weeks for the North East) and to what depth and spacing.
2. Firm the soil a little in your container to remove air pockets. The roots need to be in contact with the soil to grow.
3. Watering. Seeds need moisture to germinate. Keep the soil moist and make sure the seeds have good contact with the soil when they are sown. If possible check the seeds daily to make sure there’s consistent moisture. Use a spray bottle to finely mist water over the seeds. Or water from below by putting the pot/tray into a dish of water. This allows moisture to be sucked up into the soil mix without disturbing the seeds. Remove your container and pour away excess water from the tray when the container feels heavy and the soil feels moist.
4. Put your seed container in a protected warm position. Keep the seeds in a humid environment until they germinate, a sunny window sill is ideal. Cover the tray/pot with a clear plastic bag or plastic bottle. Remove the cover once the seeds have germinated.
5. Label your seeds. Make sure you label your seeds! Seedlings will often look similar when they germinate. Check the seed packet for information on the expected number of days to germination and label your seeds with the date they were sown so you can keep track.
6. Feed your seedlings. Once a seed germinates, it will quickly grow its first 2 ‘true leaves’. At this point your plant will have used up all the nutrients inside the seed. It will be totally reliant on you for food to grow. If possible, feed seedlings weekly with a liquid feed. If you don’t have any, pot the seedlings up as soon as they are ready and they will get food from the extra compost in the larger pots/containers.
The pdf below has a visual step by step guide to sowing seeds on page 10 (and step by step guides to other gardening tasks). There’s also loads of YouTube videos to follow if you need them. Search ‘seed sowing videos’.
https://www.thrive.org.uk/files/images/Shop/Gardening_for_Hearts_and_Minds.pdf
You can also find loads of information on gardening, via the link below, if you have physical difficulties. There are always ways to adapt the task so you can still carry on gardening!