Sowing Seeds to Grow Your Own Flowers and Vegetables
4 Materials
$10
30 Minutes
Easy
Do you love flowers in your garden? Well, you can enjoy hundreds of flowers for very little cash. Grow your own from seed. Of course, this also extends into vegetables and 'growing your own'. Best of all sowing seeds is really easy to do. This post will show you a step by step guide to sowing seeds using lupin seeds but it works for most seeds, especially annuals and vegetables.
Read the seed packet for detailed instructions on sowing seeds. Most seed packets tell you if you need to soak the seeds overnight in water and how deep to sow them. It will also tell you the best time for sowing them. This is all important advice - follow it!I soaked the lupin seeds overnight as per the instructions on the packet and you should soak yours if the packet says to.Fill your seed tray with seed compost just leaving a small space at the top of the tray (about 5mm/1/4").
Place the seeds on the compost surface. If the seeds are quite large place them individually. Most of my seeds were light in colour but some are dark brown and do not show up well on the picture. I have placed them neatly in rows so I will easily be able to see which have germinated.If yours are very small then sprinkle them very thinly. You do not want too many close together as they will not grow into strong seedlings. They will be overcrowded.
Read the packet again! If it says to cover the seeds then cover them with a thin layer of vermiculite or more compost.If it says do not cover them then do not.Water the seeds thoroughly. Use a small watering can with a fine rose so that the seeds are not moved about if you have one. It takes a little longer to water but it is worthwhile.
Add a label to the tray. You can simply place the seed packet under the edge of the tray or I prefer to use wooden craft stick that are really inexpensive to buy for children's crafts.Then place a propagator over the tray (or place the whole tray inside a clear plastic bag).
Now you need to keep an eye on the tray. Make sure it remains moist but not too wet or the seeds can rot. Your seed packet will tell you how long germination should take. In my experience they sometimes germinate quicker than you expect if it is very warm.I simply place my seed trays on a sunny windowsill but you can use a heat mat to place under the tray and keep the seeds consistently warm.Sowing seeds is really simple and there are nearly always instructions on the packet so you do not need to remember what conditions they need or when to sow them. If you want more guidance take a look at my blog at Successful seed sowing.Once you have strong seedlings you need to 'prick them out' and transplant them into larger pots so that they can 'grow on' and develop into strong young plants. You can see more about this on my blog at Transplanting seedlings.Good luck with your seeds and you can always take a look at my blog for more information on many of your gardening tasks.
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 19 comments
-
instead of buying seed trays you can use take-out containers or meat trays from the grocery store (washed well, of course)
- See 2 previous
-
Yes, they would work really well and it saves them being thrown away without being re-used. Great for the environment and your wallet! Excellent suggestion.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?