Spring has sprung so let’s plant!

{Image source andrewasmith}

Welcome, welcome to How-to Sunday.  I hope you went out and bought your seeds, potting compost and trays for our first edition!

It seems so fitting that we are looking at planting seeds today. In the UK it is Mothering Sunday today – another celebration of the ladies in our lives that love and nurture us all.  So Happy Mothering Sunday to all mothers everywhere. To my mummy, and granny and to my mother-in-law, I love you all, I cherish your guidance that you have given me as a mummy of my two adorable boys.  Now, I hear my granny telling me ‘that’s enough of the silly stuff – it’s time to plant’.  So without further ado, from by no means an expert but a great garden lover, let me guide you into the wonderful world of plants.

How To Start Your Own Seeds

In preparation for this post I found there to be a wealth of information on how to start your own seeds here on the web.  So today I will touch more on the seeds specifically  and offer some tips that you may have not known. Yesterday Destri found a fun new blog and they had a post on starting your seeds that had some great tips on how to nurture them to adulthood.

My book shelves are filled with gardening books, all UK based, and one of my favourite TV gardeners is Alan Titchmarsh.  It was to his book ‘How to be a gardner – part one‘ that I jumped to when Destri and I chatted about this first How-to Sunday segment.  He is calm and inspiring with a quirky sense of humour – and I have had the pleasure of meeting him at a charity event too, but that is another story.  He has little tips throughout the book (indeed books) but the ones I though best suited to this are all about the actual seeds….. I mean we all think of the plants these little gems will turn into but not much about the actual seeds.  So here are his tips on how to get the best from your little packets of marvels!

He points out, rather cleverly I thought, that virtually every seed will have its own ideal conditions that it (seed) will germinate in.  The closer you can match those conditions, the better results you will get!  i.e. Read the instructions on the packet and follow them!  I know simple, but how many times have you just thrown your seeds into a pot or tray and just hoped for the best?

He then breaks seeds down into 4 simple categories: Big, medium, very small and hard.

Here’s what he says:

Big seeds – Pea or Beans

Tip – Soak for about 12 hours before sewing.  Not longer or they quite simply drown. They can be easily spaced out in a seed tray or individually in pots which will save pricking out later.  Cover with their own depth of compost.

Medium seeds – French Marigold

Red apple pip to mustard size.  Scatter thinly over the surface of the compost in seed tray or pot.  They should rest about 5mm (1/2″) apart.  Cover with compost until they just disappear.  He actually says ‘you don’t need to bury them’ see I told you he had quirky humour!  Tip – Use a sieve for a fine, even layer of compost. Clearly it has to be dry to sieve!!

Very small seeds – Begonia or Busy Lizzie

Very small or dust size. These little gems will not germinate if they are covered with compost so scatter onto  gently firmed compost in a seed tray or pot. To moisten, stand in a few cms of water for 10 minutes. Cover with plastic film or place in a loosely tied plastic bag to help maintain humidity and prevent from drying out.

Hard seeds – Sweet Peas or Canna

Ahh, sweet peas, how I love them – well these delights will not germinate until the outer tough layer has decomposed enough to let water in. Tip – use a sharp knife to chip off a tiny section of the outer layer – just until you see a greenish or white layer. Just watch your fingers. Then follow planting for big seeds.

There you go, seeds planted.  A quick note on pricking out, from Alan of course.  Seeds are ready to be pricked out when you see the first ‘true’ leaf.  These ‘true’ leaves look like miniature versions of the adult plant, not to be mistaken by sed leaves which are rounder in appearance.

tip – let the compost dry out slightly and use a dibber to loosen the compost around the roots.

And there you have it. I have written as though you are all planting away indoors, if you are lucky enough to plant outside then to prick out you just need to thin your seedlings as they grow.

And to finish – a few ideas of seeds to plant.

• Flowers: marigolds, calendula, sweet seas, begonia, impatiens, nigella (love in the mist) corn flowers, poppies nasturtium.

• Herbs: chives, chervil, parsley, garlic, basil, rosemary, mint (be warned plant in a pot that is placed into the ground or you will have mint everywhere!!), sage, thyme and chamomile.

• Vegetables: tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini), cucumbers, lettuce, chillies, potatoes, leeks and onions, carrots, corn..even popcorn is fun!

Gardening and I go way back.  We have some kind of connection and it is often where I find peace and tranquility amongst the daily chaos that threads through our lives.  I learned to walk picking up apples in my gran-dad and granny’s garden.  I used to ‘help’ him pick the broad beans and peas that he grew, then sit down and shuck them into a bowl ready for dinner – well those that were left!  He grew potatoes, red currents, gooseberries, raspberries, leeks, carrots in fact probably more but those are the ones I remember… then there was his flower borders filled with sweet scented roses (it’s hard to find a scented rose these days! My granny liked Peace and Queen Elizabeth), hydrangeas, grape hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, big daises, lots of big red poppies and all the spring time flowers that we just love to see as that first sign that the days are getting longer and a promise of warmer weather. He died when I was just coming 5 so these are strong and precious memories, my granny too loved her garden after he passed away and to her spring was just everything. When I stayed with her there was always a little posy of freshly picked flowers in my room.  Simple little bunches of primroses or as the summer drew on a rose bud with grape hyacinths or a dianthus or two.  She too has passed to what I like to think of her and grandad’s great big endless spring/summer garden.  My house this time of year is filled with flowers much to her memory – her birthday and Easter are the same day this year.  She would have been 101 if she were still on this earth…. you understand she is still with me – us even as I write this I feel her and my grandad close – reminding me to mention this and that…. to go and change the water in my cut flowers and add a little sugar to keep them longer…..

In memory of my dearest Granny and Grandad Hall who inspired me and nurtured me.

and to my mum who continues to love and spoil us all rotten.

Happy Mothering Sunday mum :O)x