Growing from seed
Friday, September 25 by Hamish Dodd
G’day green fingers,
Hamish here. Thanks for joining me again.
This week the fun begins. It’s now the time that the weeks of preparing my raised bed, pots and glasshouse pays off. I am growing vegetables from seed and they’ll be starting their little lives inside on my laundry bench, which gets plenty of sun. The other benefit from growing inside at this time of year is that I can control the amount of moisture.
When I sowed my tomato and lettuce plants I followed the easy step-by-step guides on the back of the seed packets. You will find all the information you would ever need here, including sow depth, time of year to sow, plant spacing and maturity guides. The seed packets have taken all the guess work out of growing from seed. If you want more information chapter 8 of the Yates Garden Guide talks all about seeds, germination and gives some helpful hints.
I sowed my Mesclun French Salad lettuce and tomato seeds into the trays provided with my Give it a Grow kit. Meaning, at some point, I’m going to have to transplant them out into my pots or raised bed. I prepared my tray with Yates Black Magic seed raising mix. I then used a pencil to make little holes in which to plant the seeds following the depth and spacing requirements as recommended on the Yates seed packets. Once the seeds were carefully placed into the holes I gently scattered a thin layer of the soil mix over the top. The trays were then watered(and I covered the tomato tray with plastic wrap to keep them warm, and hold the moisture in.
If you don’t like the idea of double-handling the seedlings, you could always plant seeds in Watkins Peat Pots. Follow the above instructions but instead of using trays use the pots. When the seedling is ready to be planted out in your garden put the pot and plant in the ground. The peat pots are designed to rot away and you haven’t disturbed the delicate roots and stems of the seedling.
Of course, if you sow seeds directly into a garden bed it avoids double handling the seedlings. The reason I chose the first option is down to weather conditions. The heavy rain fall of late, the cold winds and ever present threat of frost could spell disaster for my babies. One trick, if you want to sow seeds directly into a bed, is to cut off the end of a plastic bottle, place it over the top of the seeds, and, hey presto, you have a cheap and effective mini-glass house. The other option to protect your littlies is to use a plastic cover nailed to a frame, which can protect seedlings from heavy rainfall, cold winds, and control temperatures more effectively than leaving the young plants to battle the winter elements.
Moisture control is very important for young seedlings. If you get the seeds too wet the excess water prevents oxygen from getting to the seed and can lead to fungus diseases. If it’s too dry your seeds won’t germinate at all. Investing in a cheap spray bottle will ensure a gentle and controlled spray of water. Of course, once they are planted out in your garden it’s time to bring out the big boys; a watering can or sprinkler.
That’s about all for me this week but don’t forget to start growing your tomatoes and lettuces from your Give it a Grow kit. Now the guys at Yates have a competition in place that we will call “Hammer Hamishâ€. They are putting up a prize worth $575 of great Yates products for the person who gets the most tomatoes from a single plant using their Give it a Grow kit. My seedlings are underway and I look forward to the challenge of seeing who can grow the biggest yield from a single tomato plant.
Get your Give it a Grow kit from your local garden retailer and join the Yates Garden Club to get your free gardening calendar. You will need this to record when you planted your Grosse Lisse tomato and record its progress. At the end of Feb when the competition closes take a photocopy of your garden diary showing the details, a photo of your plant with a common garden spade alongside so they can see how big it is and a photo of all the tomatoes from your plant on a scale showing the weight of the tomatoes and send theses to Yates. “Competition details >”:/hamish-dodd/competitions/tomato-growing-competition/
Remember, Yates is giving away 150 gardening books with any purchase of Nature’s Way between 1 September and 7 December. “More information >”:/hamish-dodd/competitions/win-a-yates-gardening-book
Next week I’m talking about how to look after seedlings and seed tapes and growing carrots in pots. Daffodils are opening their golden petals in every park I come across of late, which means spring is well and truly upon us, so there are no excuses for not getting your fingers dirty.
Happy growing! Catch ya next week,
Hamish
“Back to blog >”:/hamish-dodd/
Comments (4)
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linda
Yates site member
17:37, 28 September 2009
hi hamish, i have planted my seeds in tray and they sprouted within 3 days for the lettuce and today the tomatoe seeds have started to sprout so have to get garden ready when weather fines up thanks for tips
Hamish
Yates Garden Expert
14:51, 30 September 2009
Hi all you green fingers out there Have been unsuccessful in getting to the garden this past week with the awful weather - plan on getting into it in the morning regardless so hoping it improves! The greenhouse is proving a great success especially when it comes to germinating the seeds - at least they don't get rained out in there, unlike my ones at home! Will update after tomorrow's mission is complete.
Colleen
Yates site member
09:19, 14 November 2009
Can you buy Haricot bean seeds here in nz? If so where thanks Colleen
Colleen
Yates site member
09:21, 14 November 2009
thank you for allowing me to keep in touch ,please send up-dates colleen
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