SEEDING TIME
Having worked in the greenhouse industry, I know how the professionals plant seeds. I have been able to adapt some of those techniques for the hobby gardener. The very first thing to do is GET ORGANIZED
Read the seed packets, and sort them according to recommended starting dates. Some will say start indoors ten weeks before last frost date, some eight weeks, six weeks etc. You should know what your last frost date is. In this part of Ontario, it is usually May 24 weekend before we’re able to plant out safely, so take your date, count the weeks backwards and you’ll know which seeds to start first.
Some seeds will require stratification prior to planting. In many cases that means popping the seed packets into the freezer for the recommended period of time. Do not skip this step if the instructions call for it. By freezing, then thawing the seeds, you are mimicking nature. Think about that. A plant drops its seed onto the ground in the fall. It freezes over winter. In the spring it thaws out and begins to germinate once the ground warms up. When you place the packets in your freezer, you are merely tricking the seeds into thinking that nature’s hand is at work, not human’s.
Other seeds will require a soaking in water before planting. Usually these seeds have a hard coat that needs to be softened before the plant inside can escape. You can always nick those seeds instead with a sharp knife, but if you happen to be a klutz like me, you are probably better off soaking them. Saves a lot of time spent running for the first aid kit or worse, to the hospital.
Next you’ll want to have prepared seed flats ready. If you are doing this in your house, put a plastic sheet on top of your work surface. It makes clean up so much easier. And if your spouse/roommate is a neat freak, do it when they are not home. Then fill your seed flat with a good soiless seeding mix. In a pinch you can use potting mix but the germination rates will be decreased and more sporadic. Fill the flats to the top with seeding mix, then water in with a gentle spray of warm water. Let sit for an hour and water again if necessary. The mix should be damp, but not wet.
Ready to plant? Not quite! Being a plant addict, I tend to have about sixty to seventy varieties of seeds to start every year. Space for all the seedlings is a problem so I usually plant several varieties in one flat. This leads me to the importance of having your labels already written up and ready to place in the rows as they are sown. On the backs of the labels I write the date and the number of rows sown for my own reference.
You are still not ready to sow the seeds yet! You know what seeds to start this particular week (having sorted them earlier), but now you have to sort those seeds again by light requirements for germination. Say what?! Some seeds need to be exposed to light to germinate, others need total darkness. Gather all your seeds that require light and plant them in one flat. All the seeds that require darkness should go into another flat. Trust me on this, it is much easier than trying to cut narrow strips of black plastic and keeping them in place. Yes, I’ve been there, done that.
Now you can start sowing seeds! There are many different tools available for seeding: palm held containers, V-shaped scoops, seed spoons, battery powered seeders, or your hands. I have arthritis in my hands so I lack the dexterity for planting tiny seeds manually. I am also impatient when I have hundreds of seeds to start, so I tend to go for the professional battery powered seeding wand. Which method you use is a personal decision. As long as you are comfortable with it and it makes the task easier, then that is the right method.
Normally you want to put two or three seeds into each planting cell. Check your seed packet for germination rates. If the average rate is 89% then two or three is more than enough. If the germination rate is 50%, it won’t hurt to plant four or five seeds per cell. Assuming the seeds are quite small of course! Large seeds need only one per cell.
Read your seed packet again. Does it recommend covering the variety you’re planting with soil? How deep? Take a handful of seeding mix, with palms together, use a light rubbing motion as you pass over the rows. This should release just enough soil mix to cover the seeds. Should the seeds need to be planted deeper, make a second pass.
Insert your pre-written label into the first cell of your row.
Assuming you are planting more than one variety per flat, leave an empty row, then proceed with the next variety in the same way until the flat is full
Once you’ve planted your flat, mist it with room temperature water (spray bottles work great for this). Cover it with a sheet of plastic (clear or black depending on the light requirements), then set the flat in a warm place out of direct light.
Once the seeds have begun to germinate, remove the sheet of plastic and cover the flat with a clear dome and place under lights. The closer you can get the light to the seedlings, the better they will perform. Make sure you give the seedlings a rest period everyday! Light twenty-four hours a day is not good for them, so turn the lights off at night when you go to bed, and turn them on again when you get up in the morning. A timer is a good investment just in case you forget occasionally to shut the lights on or off.
Now comes the delicate task of keeping the moisture levels just right! This is crucial! You may need to spray the seedlings several times a day to prevent them from drying out. They are just like any newborn – constant care and attention are required for good health and good growth.
One more hint: If you are on a municipal water system, you will have chlorine in the water. Fill a pail and allow the water to sit for a day while the chlorine evaporates before using it to seed with.
A word about Damping-Off. This is a fungal disease that attacks seeds (pre-emergent damping off) and young seedlings (post-emergent damping-off), causing them to rot. The best treatment for this disease is prevention. There is a product on the market called “No Damp”. It is a chemical, therefore I choose not to use it. In twenty plus years of growing, I have found that using a sterilized soilless mix (it comes that way), sterilizing used trays and pots, and controlling heat, humidity and moisture in the growing chamber, the incidence of damping-off is negligible.
Read the seed packets, and sort them according to recommended starting dates. Some will say start indoors ten weeks before last frost date, some eight weeks, six weeks etc. You should know what your last frost date is. In this part of Ontario, it is usually May 24 weekend before we’re able to plant out safely, so take your date, count the weeks backwards and you’ll know which seeds to start first.
Some seeds will require stratification prior to planting. In many cases that means popping the seed packets into the freezer for the recommended period of time. Do not skip this step if the instructions call for it. By freezing, then thawing the seeds, you are mimicking nature. Think about that. A plant drops its seed onto the ground in the fall. It freezes over winter. In the spring it thaws out and begins to germinate once the ground warms up. When you place the packets in your freezer, you are merely tricking the seeds into thinking that nature’s hand is at work, not human’s.
Other seeds will require a soaking in water before planting. Usually these seeds have a hard coat that needs to be softened before the plant inside can escape. You can always nick those seeds instead with a sharp knife, but if you happen to be a klutz like me, you are probably better off soaking them. Saves a lot of time spent running for the first aid kit or worse, to the hospital.
Next you’ll want to have prepared seed flats ready. If you are doing this in your house, put a plastic sheet on top of your work surface. It makes clean up so much easier. And if your spouse/roommate is a neat freak, do it when they are not home. Then fill your seed flat with a good soiless seeding mix. In a pinch you can use potting mix but the germination rates will be decreased and more sporadic. Fill the flats to the top with seeding mix, then water in with a gentle spray of warm water. Let sit for an hour and water again if necessary. The mix should be damp, but not wet.
Ready to plant? Not quite! Being a plant addict, I tend to have about sixty to seventy varieties of seeds to start every year. Space for all the seedlings is a problem so I usually plant several varieties in one flat. This leads me to the importance of having your labels already written up and ready to place in the rows as they are sown. On the backs of the labels I write the date and the number of rows sown for my own reference.
You are still not ready to sow the seeds yet! You know what seeds to start this particular week (having sorted them earlier), but now you have to sort those seeds again by light requirements for germination. Say what?! Some seeds need to be exposed to light to germinate, others need total darkness. Gather all your seeds that require light and plant them in one flat. All the seeds that require darkness should go into another flat. Trust me on this, it is much easier than trying to cut narrow strips of black plastic and keeping them in place. Yes, I’ve been there, done that.
Now you can start sowing seeds! There are many different tools available for seeding: palm held containers, V-shaped scoops, seed spoons, battery powered seeders, or your hands. I have arthritis in my hands so I lack the dexterity for planting tiny seeds manually. I am also impatient when I have hundreds of seeds to start, so I tend to go for the professional battery powered seeding wand. Which method you use is a personal decision. As long as you are comfortable with it and it makes the task easier, then that is the right method.
Normally you want to put two or three seeds into each planting cell. Check your seed packet for germination rates. If the average rate is 89% then two or three is more than enough. If the germination rate is 50%, it won’t hurt to plant four or five seeds per cell. Assuming the seeds are quite small of course! Large seeds need only one per cell.
Read your seed packet again. Does it recommend covering the variety you’re planting with soil? How deep? Take a handful of seeding mix, with palms together, use a light rubbing motion as you pass over the rows. This should release just enough soil mix to cover the seeds. Should the seeds need to be planted deeper, make a second pass.
Insert your pre-written label into the first cell of your row.
Assuming you are planting more than one variety per flat, leave an empty row, then proceed with the next variety in the same way until the flat is full
Once you’ve planted your flat, mist it with room temperature water (spray bottles work great for this). Cover it with a sheet of plastic (clear or black depending on the light requirements), then set the flat in a warm place out of direct light.
Once the seeds have begun to germinate, remove the sheet of plastic and cover the flat with a clear dome and place under lights. The closer you can get the light to the seedlings, the better they will perform. Make sure you give the seedlings a rest period everyday! Light twenty-four hours a day is not good for them, so turn the lights off at night when you go to bed, and turn them on again when you get up in the morning. A timer is a good investment just in case you forget occasionally to shut the lights on or off.
Now comes the delicate task of keeping the moisture levels just right! This is crucial! You may need to spray the seedlings several times a day to prevent them from drying out. They are just like any newborn – constant care and attention are required for good health and good growth.
One more hint: If you are on a municipal water system, you will have chlorine in the water. Fill a pail and allow the water to sit for a day while the chlorine evaporates before using it to seed with.
A word about Damping-Off. This is a fungal disease that attacks seeds (pre-emergent damping off) and young seedlings (post-emergent damping-off), causing them to rot. The best treatment for this disease is prevention. There is a product on the market called “No Damp”. It is a chemical, therefore I choose not to use it. In twenty plus years of growing, I have found that using a sterilized soilless mix (it comes that way), sterilizing used trays and pots, and controlling heat, humidity and moisture in the growing chamber, the incidence of damping-off is negligible.
1 comment:
nicely done blog Bertie
May 24th last frost date? tsk tsk..
So good to live here in BC when our last frost date is usually Jan 10th...or was it December 10th, no, no, November. Ahhh what the hey!
ps ..my flowers were blooming in january, pruned my shrubs first week of february, mowed my lawn 2nd week of february, fed the racoons dog food 3rd week, and had a BBQ 4th week.
keep up the good work sis.
Post a Comment