3 ways to sow your seeds successfully
Learn how to grow vegetables from seed with these top tips from GARDENA ambassador Huw Richards
If you’ve ever grown your own plants or produce, you’ll know how rewarding it is to see them come to life. Nurturing a plant from seed is a true labour of love that requires a lot of care and attention – and no one knows this better than GARDENA ambassador Huw Richards.
An organic gardener, YouTube sensation and bestselling author, Huw is an expert in year-round garden care, particularly when it comes to growing your own vegetables. Read on to discover his three favourite ways to grow healthy plants from seed.
Direct sowing
If you want to sow directly into the soil, it’s best to plant your seeds in a row, then cover them with soil, water them thoroughly and place a plank of wood over the top. The plank acts as a barrier to reduce evaporation, allowing the soil to retain more moisture and benefit from more consistent germination as a result. Check under the plank daily and remove it as soon as the first few sprouts appear, so they can grow.
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Using modules
Module trays are great for starting your seeds off, so they’ll be more likely to survive when you plant them in your garden. If you’re a salad lover, you could try sowing a couple of module trays with a mixture of different leafy greens, annual herbs, radishes and peas (for shoots) every two to three weeks in spring and summer. This way, you can enjoy continuous salad harvests until late autumn.
Multi-sowing
This sowing technique is a fantastic way to save on space and compost, while maximising the number of vegetables, herbs or edible flowers you can grow at once. For example, you could sow three or four beetroot seeds together and allow them to grow in a clump, then simply harvest the biggest first.
Alternatively, try sowing two or three calendula, nasturtium and borage seeds together in modules to create a cluster of contrasting flowers that will add visual interest to your beds and borders.