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Annuals/perennials from seed
Many plants are easily grown from seed. Not only is it a very satisfying part of gardening, it also helps keep the costs right down when you're trying to fill bare borders. You can sow both annual and perennial plant seeds outdoors, either in seed beds or straight where you want them to grow - in situ. There are seeds for plants to suit all types of soil conditions, too. All the information you need to tell you whether to sow in drills or in situ, sowing times, depths and spacing etc will be on the back of the seed packets. Here, we show you the basics of sowing seeds outdoors by broadcasting.
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Spade; fork; rake; hoe or trowel; seeds; watering can with rose attachment; plant labels; weather proof pen.
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Start by preparing the ground. Dig the soil over and remove stones and large unbroken clods of soil. Rake the bed or area until it has a crumbly texture, know as a fine tilth. Do this when the soil is not too wet -it should not stick to your shoes - or too dusty and dry.
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You can mark out borders into organic shapes to give you drifts of plants when they grow up.
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Scatter the seeds thinly and evenly over the ground, aiming them into the furrows made by the rake. You can do this straight from the packet, or shake them into the palm of one hand, and scatter them with your fingers.
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Rake over the soil very lightly, at right angles to your first raking. This will cover the seeds, but you should do it gently to disturb them as little as possible.
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To finish, water the seeds with your can with a rose attachment and label the row/area with the name of what you have sown. Thereafter lightly water your seeds regularly so that the soil does not get over dry. When the seedlings grow through, start to thin them out. Thin your plant seedlings to their final spacing. This information will be on the back of the seed packet. At this stage seedlings sown in drills can also be moved to their final planting spaces in your borders.
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After sowing and watering, you will need to keep birds away from the seeds for the first few days. Later you may also need to support taller plants and those with softer stems may require support. Push thin twigs or pea sticks into the soil around your seedlings when you have thinned them out. Wire mesh can also be used. Use the type with mesh about 2.5cm wide. Stretch this over your seedlings, bending it over and down at the edges to avoid touching the young plants. Secure it into the soil using sticks or pegs. When they grow up, your plants will hide the netting.
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Prepare the ground, using a rake to make a crumbly surface. |
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Mark out spaces, then sow seeds evenly and thinly. |
Label the area and water plant seeds regularly. |
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