17 March 2025
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Raising a plant from a tiny seed is one of the most satisfying things a gardener can do, writes Chris Collins, Garden Organic’s Head of Horticulture.
Growing from come is a cost - effective method of raising plants , and doing so , you could nurture an entire veg patch on a windowsill or in a small stale chassis . you may use your own dwelling house - deliver germ , or order from organic suppliers , and recycle bath and trays to employ as growing containers .
I sow in three waves between March , April and early May . First come the half - hardy / hardy annuals and tender edibles such as chile , capsicum pepper plant and tomatoes . Then I ’ll move on to the salad , chard and radish and , finally , heavy sharecropper like runner bean plant and zucchini . Spacing seed in this way terminate me being overrun with seedlings , which is in particular authoritative if you ’re turn on a windowsill with special quad . All of these crop can be grown - on in containers on a terrace or balcony .
Sow in good quality peat - detached compost according to the packet instructions and habituate a sieve to brood the germ with more compost . tamp down it down gently as this helps to give the seeds good contact with the compost and therefore advertise full sprouting .
Many seeds will call for warmth and humidity to germinate . I ’ve used the same heated propagator for years , so they ’re worth the initial outlay and utilize minimum electrical energy for short periods . But you may make your own unwarmed disseminator from pellucid charge card traveling bag or old fruit punnets and 1L plastic bottles cut in one-half .
cock up out your seedling into cell when the seedlings have their first true leaves as this makes for a warm industrial plant . Always withstand the seedling by the seed folio , and not the stem or roots . Make a hole in the compost with a pencil and dangle each seedling in , so the come leaves are almost flush with the top .
recollect to gradually expose seedling to outdoor conditions before planting out and protect them from hoar until the end of May . I like to aid new plants acclimatise with a cold underframe , give the palpebra every day and closing it at dark . After a few weeks my seedlings will be happy to search the grown open !
Chris watering seedlings on his balcony
Question and Answer
Q. How can I stop my seedlings get lanky ?
A. wrench the plants to forbid stretching or etiolation , or make a lightbox using cardboard and hydrofoil to contemplate igniter .
Mini Coldframe
Q. Do you need to feed seeds / seedlings ?
A. Seeds come with a pre - prepared backpack of food so will only require compost and water in the other stages . Once the plant is six to eight week old , an organic foliar feed will help strengthen the industrial plant .
Q. My seedlings wait goodish and now they ’ve wilted . What ’s wrong ?
Homemade propagator
A. This could be damping off disease , which happens when seedling are keep in smashed soil or overcrowded . Open windows to propagate air and only water from a tray below the pots when the compost feel dry .
