Sowing seeds: Part 2

Posted:14 April 2010

Pricking out seedlings, hardening off and sowing outdoors.  There’s still time to sow more half-hardy annuals and vegetables. If you haven’t already, sow under glass courgettes, marrows, pumpkins, sweetcorn and greenhouse cucumbers.  Outdoors, sow beetroot and turnips, peas and broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots and chard amongst others.  Continue to sow lettuce and salad leaves.

Seeds sown a few weeks ago should be sprouting now and ready for pricking out.

• Fill a seed tray with moist John Innes No 1 potting compost or similar.
• Firm the soil then mark out planting holes with a pencil or dibber, approx 1-1-1/2” (2.5-3.5cms) apart each way.
• Gently ease out a small clump of seedlings, with some of their compost (a small plastic plant label is ideal for this delicate task).  Hold each seedling by one of its leaves and tease it away from the others (never handle by the stem).
• Lower the individual seedlings into their planting holes and firm the compost around each.  Take care not to damage the roots.
• Label, then water with a fine mist sprayer.  Place out of direct sunlight for a day or two, then move into the light.  Keep the compost moist, but not wet.

Once established – four to eight weeks after pricking out – harden off young plants.

• Move the tray or pot to a sheltered spot outdoors in fine weather, bringing back indoors at night.
• After a week or so, leave outside permanently, but protect from harsh weather and shelter at night.
• A cold frame is an ideal place to harden off young plants.  For the first few days, open the frame slightly, during the day only.  Increase ventilation gradually, until by late spring the cold frame is completely open.

All hardy annuals and most half-hardy annuals can be sown directly outdoors.

• Prepare the soil: In autumn, work in some compost or well-rotted manure.  Come spring, as soon as the soil is reasonably dry, break up the soil further, sprinkle in a good general-purpose fertilizer, then rake thoroughly creating a fine, crumbly tilth.
• In dry weather moisten the soil a day or two before sowing, then again two or three days after sowing.
• Sowing in drills: Make shallow drills approx 1-1.5cms deep (for planting distances check the seed packet carefully). Sow thinly to avoid too much thinning later.  Cover seeds by running the tip of the hoe along the ridge of the drill, then tamp down to lightly firm the soil.
• Once seedlings appear, start to thin out the weaker seedlings.
• Sowing in borders: Prepare a sketch plan of your desired layout, and mark out the sowing areas with a trail of sand or the edge of a hoe.
• Scatter seeds over the area, then rake over gently.
• As with sowing in drills, water the area in advance then again a few days after sowing if the weather remains very dry.

The Garden House sells many hardy and half-hardy seeds – see SHOP on this website for more details.  Our seed packets are beautifully illustrated by Brighton illustrator Vicky Sharman – see PICTURES on this website to view the individual seed packets.