How to grow plants from seed: Part III Home made seed raising pots

In part I we looked at seeds, part II seed raising mix and now part III a short video on how to make your own jiffy pots for growing the seeds in.  These are great for raising all varieties of plants especially beans, broccoli, eggplant and the list goes on.  The great things about them is they are made from recycled material, they can be put straight into the earth once you transplant out into the garden as they break down (just loosen the bottom of the pot so the roots can continue to grow down easily), they are made by you, and they are freeeeeeee.  Give it a go this weekend.

How to grow plants from seed: Part II Seedraising Mix

So, in part I we looked at buying seeds and now you need something to grow them in.  Some vegetable and flower varieties do not do well when transplanted from a punnet (like carrots) and need to be sown straight into your garden bed.  But if you choose to start the seedling off in a greenhouse or on your kitchen table then this is where, in my opinion, you need to invest either your energy in making your own or your money in buying a really good quality seed raising medium.  It’s not a good idea to use potting mix as these contain fertilises that will kill your seedlings (burn) and are too coarse for the seeds to break through. Soil from your garden mixed with a little river sand and peat moss can be OK but may contain micro-organisms or diseases that are harmful to the seed/seedling.

To give your seeds the best start in life choose a good seed raising mix that has good drainage yet is able to retain moisture, has good aeration, has some kind of food (fertiliser), a nice light, fine texture, and be free of any pests, disease causing pathogens and of course weeds.

I have recently changed the mix I use and recommend Tui Seed Raising Mix.  I really do think it is well worth the money.  It contains a fungicide, gypsum (for healthy root development) a saturaid wetting agent (retains moisture) and they claim on the bag it is 100% free of weeds (enough of them in my garden as it is).  It is such a good looking mix that it looks like you could add an egg and a cup of milk and you’ll have yourself a chocolate cake (not suggesting you do!!).

Just a note here:  Always wear gloves and a face mask when handling any seed raising mix (or potting mix) and follow the safety instructions on the bag.

My gardening goal for this year is to start making my own seed raising mix.  I’ve found a recipe that sounds good and wont break the bank. 

*  1/3 Coarse river sand (fine sand skins over making it very difficult for seeds to germinate through). For aeration, drainage and texture.

*  1/3 rich well composted compost. Body of mix.

*  1/3 worm castings from my worm farm. Food.

Part III of this series will examine containers for holding the seed raising mix.  Including a video of how to make your own seed raising pottles.

How to grow plants from seed: Part I

Over the next week I’m going to bring to you a series of tips and tricks I have learned over the years for successfully growing plants from seed.  My own experience of growing from seed has certainly had its ups and downs, but I would really encourage you to give it a go!!  Today and tomorrow I’m going to focus on the things you need to buy, borrow or steal before you actually put seed to soil.

Why grow seed when it’s so much easier to buy the plants from a shop? 

The reasons can vary.  Satisfaction, saving money, experimenting, supplying demand etc.  For me, growing plants from seed has really given me an appreciation of the life cycle of each plant I have chosen to grow. You get to see the special requirements for each seed/plant variety right from the beginning of it’s little life.  You certainly do save money in the long run, even if the original start up cost may be a little more.  When I first started I would always go for the cheapest of everything: seed, raising mix, trays etc and the results were not always the hundreds of A grade, luscious, healthy looking seedlings to fill my garden.  My number one tip would be to invest a little money in the beginning to save in the long run.  With a little planning, you can grow just the number of plants that will meet your needs.

What do I need to get started?

Let’s start with the seed:

-       Buy a good quality seed bought from a reputable company. This will mean that the seed is labelled correctly, packaged well for freshness and will come with growing information applicable to that particular variety. I really recommend Kings Seeds which are available online at kingsseeds.co.nz.  They have an amazing selection of vegetables, herbs and flowers with bonus offers when you spend over $40.  Their latest catalogue is out now and can be ordered through the website. 

-       If you buy from a shop make sure that the packets are not stored in the sun.  And look on the packet for when the expiry date is (seeds generally only have a short life span) and only buy the packets that are newer.  This will ensure you have enough time to actually use up the seed.  Older seed becomes less viable.  Don’t be shy; take the seeds from the back of the row.

-       Do some research about what plants you can grow at various times of the year. 

Barbara from Kings Seeds gives this advice to readers of TheBloomingTales:

“We find the greatest cause for germination failure comes down to planting at

the wrong time of the year. With our changing seasons this becomes very difficult but you have to read this year by year. For example, last year we had the coldest October in NZ since WWII, causing many germination failures but gardeners are quick to suggest that they

"always plant ...... at this time of the year".  In most seasons they would be absolutely right but they have to treat each season as they find it”.

So, let’s start from the beginning and decide what you want to grow.  Have a look at kingsseeds.co.nz for some inspiration, write a wish list and buy your seed.  Tomorrow we will look at storing your seed and buying or making your own seed raising mix.

Growing Dahlia from seed

Botanical name:  Dahlia variablis

Common names:  Dahlia, Bloody Mary

Family name: Asteraceae

This is one of the first flowers that I attempted to grow from seed about two years ago.   I planted 12 seeds in a tray of seed raising mix on the table top in my lounge (much to the displeasure of my lovely wife, I wonder if this was due to the other 6 trays there also?) All 12 popped their leafy heads through the soil within 15 days.  Unfortunately once I transplanted them out into the garden, in early spring, only 3 survived.  I learnt my first lesson about spring frosts.  But wow, what a great flower to start with!  The three plants gave an abundance of flowers all through summer!!!  Inspired by Geoff Bryants book “Growing gardens for free” the following autumn/ early winter (after the vegetation had died off) I dug up three tubers from under one of the plants and planted each into different areas in my garden.  Forgetting that I had done so, this summer two of the new tubers sprouted and BINGO, two new plants for free.  I swear these new plants had twice as many flowers as the parent plant!!  The bumblebees loved them!

Side note for the Blooming geeks out there:

Dahlia is named after the Swedish botanist, Andres Dahl.  It was originally pronounced dah-le-a (as Americans still do I believe) and not day-le-a as heard in NZ.