Seed sowing for beginners

I have never grown plants from seeds before and so this year have decided to give it a go. I have some Rebecca cherry brandy and white stock flowers that say to sew between January and March. Does this mean that I should sew them at regular intervals. E.g. when the first seedlings show their faces plant some more or does it mean any time during then will be fine? Any advice greatly appreciated. Have got lots more seeds for growing later in the spring too

 

Hi Tara, it will depend on how many you want I suppose. I always include Rudbeckias in my summer garden and grow from seed too. The mistake I ,and many others, have made is to be too eager and start too early.

Think about whether you can provide the seeds with the environment they require to germinate successfully. Light levels and heat for example. Sowing too early at this time of year can cause seedlings to struggle, they can become stretched/ leggy due to striving to access adequate light, they can also succumb to damping off and dying.

On the whole I would advise to leave it as late as possible to ensure success.

 

Presume you are sewing seeds in the house for planting out late spring. They need light and warmth, so if you can find a nice warm windowsill. We all run out of windowsill space at seed planting time ! I would leave it until early March, buy some seed planting compost about 5 litres will be plenty. You can use plastic food trays with clear lids for planting in. And follow the instruction on the seed packet ! Lot's don't and have problems.

 

I have just started gardening and seed sowing and I am sowing seeds, a packet at a time, in seed compost, in a propagator. The propagator is on a heat mat and under LED grow lights. I already have my first Foxglove seeds germinated.

 

It's often not about the germination, it's about providing the appropriate environment afterwards..

 

That’s great advice. Thank you! I will leave it for a bit a save my windowsills!

 

Okey doke. Thank you. That was going to be my next question… ( expected % of strong little fellas and how long the seeds keep!)

 

The packets I have got only have about 30 seeds max.

 

The "Snowy Mountain" packet said to sow them in January (T&M).

 

As I'm learning... I have spring onions which germinated beautifully. And are now damping off. Hmmm.