Gardenersource : gardening resources

As spring arrives us gardeners start to get ready for the coming season and a major part of this preparation is seed sowing. Sowing seeds and nurturing them through germination into strong healthy plants is without a doubt one of the most rewarding tasks in gardening. Watching nature work its magic is something that I never tire of seeing. Wherever you sow your seed, be it on a kitchen windowsill, in a greenhouse or garden shed, following a few basic rules will aid your chance of success. Foremost is hygiene, have a good spring clean before sowing. All pots and trays should be scrubbed clean with biodegradable detergent. Staging, worktops and the interior of the greenhouse can also be done at the same time.

Now a decision has to be made as to which growing medium is to be used. There is a variety of seed composts available on the market but in general any medium that is not overly heavy, water retentive or high in nutritional value will suffice, personally I use coir and vermiculite. Coir is a by-product from coconuts, making it a renewable organic resource. The only downside to coir is the air miles involved in bringing it to this country although storage and transportation are easier now as it comes in dehydrated blocks slightly larger than a brick. When you are ready to use it place your coir brick in a tub, pour on the required amount of water and within ten minutes you have 10 litres of hydrated coir. Into this I mix vermiculite to help with moisture retention.

A seed has enough resources within it to germinate and grow up to the two-leaf stage. Warmth and moisture are the keys to unlocking these resources; some seeds also need light (e.g. primroses). All seeds have different germination temperatures, most will germinate between 15�C – 20�C. Seedbeds need to be moist but not excessively wet, as this may encourage damping off, a condition where soil and water-borne fungi attack the seedlings stem base causing it to die. Some seeds need special attention (e.g. chitting or stratification) when sowing them but in general I fill my trays with the coir mix, broadcast my seed over this, cover with a thin layer of vermiculite and water gently, individual seed in pots are done exactly the same way. Larger seed such as broad bean or sunflower I push gently below the surface of the coir before covering them with vermiculite. Whether you sow your seeds in trays, pots or plugs is a personal choice. You will need to think about the amount of space you have as I always find I never have enough. Timing is important too, what type of soil do you have? How early in the year does it warm up? My new garden is still in the creation stages and I have a heavy clay soil that is slow to warm up, so I sow my seed slightly later, this avoids having an overflow of plants hardening off in the cold frames while I wait for the right planting conditions.

Once the seedlings emerge and go past the two-leaf stage then its time to pot them on. Again we need to choose our growing medium. There are many ready-made types of potting compost available but personally I use a mix of three parts organic compost, one part coir and one part worm cast. Organic compost tends to dry out quickly which is why I add the worm cast. This not only helps with moisture retention but is also rich in nutrients. Worm cast can be purchased or you can invest in a worm bin and produce your own. It is a fantastic way of turning compostable kitchen waste into a nutrient rich soil improver. Place this new medium into your pots and prepare it by dibbing holes ready to receive your seedlings. When you lift your seedlings use a thin pointed object (e.g. a pencil), slide this under the seedling and tease it up whilst holding it by a leaf. Always hold the seedling by the leaf, should it break off it will only damage the seedling, where-as if you are holding the stem of the seedling and it breaks the seedling will die. Once the seedling has been transplanted into its new home it should be gently watered in. As your potted-on seedlings grow up brush your hand over them occasionally, this simulates the wind blowing and will stimulate root growth. The original medium you used to germinate your seeds can be put onto the garden, each year I have a different area where I do this on as often seeds that did not germinate will now do so, last year this happened to me with asparagus.

Sowing seed outside depends a lot on your soil and your local microclimate. If you have a light soil and live in the south of England then you will of course be able to sow earlier than people with heavy soil or people living further north. For early spring sowing the temperature needs to get above 5�C regularly. At this temperature the grass will start growing and of course weeds will start to emerge. Work your soil into a fine tilth and sow your seed as directed on the packet. Beware of weather though; often we have a nice warm period in March only for it to turn cold again in the beginning of April.

It is always good to experiment with new ideas, soil mixtures and environments. Last year I grew carrots in plugs, the seed sowing process was long, fiddly and tedious but in the end the results were worthwhile. The carrots that I sowed directly into the soil performed poorly while the plugs did extremely well. I was able to avoid the main period of carrot fly activity by planting them out later and of course there was no thinning needed. At the moment I am trying out two/three year old leaf mulch in seed and potting composts. I hope this will mean I can reduce the amount of coir I use.

Do not be afraid of mixing up colours, vegetables with flowers or different leaf textures. Make your garden your own. The important thing is that you enjoy your garden be it big or small. Growing it from seed whilst helping nature along without trying to control her is to me the real essence of what gardening is about. Once your plants have grown up we can then look at seed saving along with the sowing of varieties threatened by extinction due to commercialisation, but that as they say is another story.

Copyright � Gary Spencer-Holmes 2006

Any reliable seed house can be depended upon for good seeds; but even so, there is a great risk in seeds. A seed may to all appearances be all right and yet not have within it vitality enough, or power, to produce a hardy plant.

If you save seed from your own plants you are able to choose carefully. Suppose you are saving seed of aster plants. What blossoms shall you decide upon? Now it is not the blossom only which you must consider, but the entire plant. Why? Because a weak, straggly plant may produce one fine blossom. Looking at that one blossom so really beautiful you think of the numberless equally lovely plants you are going to have from the seeds. But just as likely as not the seeds will produce plants like the parent plant.

So in seed selection the entire plant is to be considered. Is it sturdy, strong, well shaped and symmetrical; does it have a goodly number of fine blossoms? These are questions to ask in seed selection.

If you should happen to have the opportunity to visit a seedsman’s garden, you will see here and there a blossom with a string tied around it. These are blossoms chosen for seed. If you look at the whole plant with care you will be able to see the points which the gardener held in mind when he did his work of selection.

In seed selection size is another point to hold in mind. Now we know no way of telling anything about the plants from which this special collection of seeds came. So we must give our entire thought to the seeds themselves. It is quite evident that there is some choice; some are much larger than the others; some far plumper, too. By all means choose the largest and fullest seed. The reason is this: When you break open a bean and this is very evident, too, in the peanut you see what appears to be a little plant. So it is. Under just the right conditions for development this ‘little chap’ grows into the bean plant you know so well.

This little plant must depend for its early growth on the nourishment stored up in the two halves of the bean seed. For this purpose the food is stored. Beans are not full of food and goodness for you and me to eat, but for the little baby bean plant to feed upon. And so if we choose a large seed, we have chosen a greater amount of food for the plantlet. This little plantlet feeds upon this stored food until its roots are prepared to do their work. So if the seed is small and thin, the first food supply insufficient, there is a possibility of losing the little plant.

You may care to know the name of this pantry of food. It is called a cotyledon if there is but one portion, cotyledons if two. Thus we are aided in the classification of plants. A few plants that bear cones like the pines have several cotyledons. But most plants have either one or two cotyledons.

From large seeds come the strongest plantlets. That is the reason why it is better and safer to choose the large seed. It is the same case exactly as that of weak children.

There is often another trouble in seeds that we buy. The trouble is impurity. Seeds are sometimes mixed with other seeds so like them in appearance that it is impossible to detect the fraud. Pretty poor business, is it not? The seeds may be unclean. Bits of foreign matter in with large seed are very easy to discover. One can merely pick the seed over and make it clean. By clean is meant freedom from foreign matter. But if small seed are unclean, it is very difficult, well nigh impossible, to make them clean.

The third thing to look out for in seed is viability. We know from our testings that seeds which look to the eye to be all right may not develop at all. There are reasons. Seeds may have been picked before they were ripe or mature; they may have been frozen; and they may be too old. Seeds retain their viability or germ developing power, a given number of years and are then useless. There is a viability limit in years which differs for different seeds.

From the test of seeds we find out the germination percentage of seeds. Now if this percentage is low, don’t waste time planting such seed unless it be small seed. Immediately you question that statement. Why does the size of the seed make a difference? This is the reason. When small seed is planted it is usually sown in drills. Most amateurs sprinkle the seed in very thickly. So a great quantity of seed is planted. And enough seed germinates and comes up from such close planting. So quantity makes up for quality.

But take the case of large seed, like corn for example. Corn is planted just so far apart and a few seeds in a place. With such a method of planting the matter of per cent, of germination is most important indeed.

Small seeds that germinate at fifty per cent. may be used but this is too low a per cent. for the large seed. Suppose we test beans. The percentage is seventy. If low-vitality seeds were planted, we could not be absolutely certain of the seventy per cent coming up. But if the seeds are lettuce go ahead with the planting.

A person might have the pleasure of building his own greenhouse. He might select from various designs and sizes he want to build. A greenhouse gives a person comfort whenever he attends to his plants, vegetables, flowers, and orchids. It also provides the needed sunlight and humidity for these plants. He may relax and enjoy every time he visits a place where he has exerted all his effort of building such a wondrous place.

He might save more money if he decides building a small greenhouse. There are supplies and materials that he can use which should be just enough according to his prepared budget. If there is enough space that can accommodate a larger greenhouse, which is more advisable because he may maximize the place where he wants to develop more plants and vegetables.

If he genuinely wants to build a greenhouse where he can produce and propagate more plants, he might look at different factors that would be required on the type of greenhouses he would like to build. Here are some tips and factors he would like to consider in building his own greenhouse.

1.  He might consider using salvage materials if he intends to make a larger greenhouse. He may use these materials in designing and planning for a low cost budget greenhouse. This will also help him minimize the expenses of the other supplies and materials needed.

2.  He ought to also determine the climate of the place where he lives. An insulated greenhouse should be appropriate for cold climate areas. This will help him provide the needed warmth and heat for his plants. For warm places, a greenhouse that has a shade control should be advisable.

3.  He also requires to make certain that his greenhouse will be designed with suitable air circulation spaces, ventilation, pest control soil, heaters for winter season, and humidity control devices. He might make an environment that would be suitable for the kinds of plants that will grow in the greenhouse.

4.  The site of the greenhouse ought to be built were there is adequate sunlight. He might select a solar greenhouse for vegetables and exotic fruit bearing plants if he would like his greenhouse to be situated on the east-west part where his place is more open to sunlight.

5.  It’s also important to consider the covering of the greenhouse. The most advisable shades are the expensive glass made coverings and fiberglass. They provide more durability and they do not deteriorate quickly compared to plastic coverings. A greenhouse covered with glass or fiberglass allows more humidity and warmth.

6.  He’s the choice to select on what kind of foundation he want to utilise. The foundations can be concrete for a more secured greenhouse. Other people favor the less expensive lightweight foundation where they utilise improvised materials such as railroad ties, which they can easily attach to the ground. It all hinges on how much he’s prepared to spend on the structure of the greenhouse.

7.  He might look at building a greenhouse that will maximize its full potential. He may add benches or materials that will be used for his comfort every time he wants to relax in the greenhouse. He may add many accessories to the place like automatic watering systems, heating systems, ventilation system and other automatic equipments that are effective in maintaining the plants.

8.  He might utilise the “good bugs” for his pest control chemical. They prevent and moderate the spread of the bad bugs in a greenhouse. If ever he may find insects in a plant, he might isolate the plant and if feasible place the plant outside the greenhouse so that the insects would not house the other plants. 

9.  He might allot a space where he can store fertilizers, potting soil and other tools that are essential in the greenhouse. He may place a tool rack nearer to the potting place so that it would be easier for him to transfer the soil from the pot of the plants. He may also place buckets and tool holders to accommodate the other equipment when they are not in use.

He can develop and grow all sorts of plants with a versatile greenhouse. He may also propagate from the grown plants to fill the greenhouse with a variety of plants.  Putting up a greenhouse will be more enjoyable if it done with the help of the family and friends.