Gardening is a hobby that I love. It is wonderful to get to be outside and watch things grow. I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when I garden. I love seeing a tiny seed many months later turn into a beautiful healthy flower with many intricate parts. It really is incredible when you think about it. How a teeny tiny seed, some only millimetres big can grow and develop into a stunning flower or plant.
I’d like to share some of my tried and true tips and tricks to successful seed planting.
First, I have found that using a soil mix specifically for seedlings is a great start. This soil is light and fluffy and the seeds have a greater germination rate. Potting soil or top soil is often more compacted and dense making it difficult for the seeds to poke through.
My second tip, is to use great tools, above in the picture you can see a new tool I purchased. It is the Fiskars Hand Seed Sower. When I bought it, I was excited because it had two ends that I thought would be perfect for planting seeds. It has a skinny trowel for the dirt and a slender spoon like end. It wasn’t until I was looking up a link for this tool that I realized the small yellow end slid out. This tiny tool is called a widger. Apparently it can create holes to plant seedlings that are very small and you can use the widger to gently dig out the new seedling with minimal damage. What a great idea!
It is important to gently water the seedlings once they are planted, but not over water them. A few years ago I purchased a seed sprayer from Lee Valley. It is a fantastic tool and gives the seedlings a little delicate rain shower, by simply squeezing the silicone bulb.
Lastly, it is important to cover your new seeds with a cover. Most seed trays come with a clear lid that can be used for the first few days to encourage germination and a warm environment for your new seed babies.
I hope that you found these tips helpful and hopefully in a few weeks I will have some new seedlings to add to the garden.
Update: Everything is looking good and has sprouted!
My zinnia seeds are growing! These seeds from West Coast Seeds are on the move and looking healthy.
I over planted the initial pots with seeds and most of them sprouted right away. Once the first set of leaves had developed they needed to be given more space. With the help of my Mom, we transplanted each individual plant into its own mini pot. My Mom and I had great fun and lots of giggles while transplanting these into their larger homes.
While we were working with the seedlings, my Mom asked what type of seeds we were repotting. I told her it was a wide variety of zinnia seeds. She then shared a story that warmed my heart. She told me about the day that I was born. My Dad had brought her a bouquet of hand picked zinnias to the hospital from their garden at home. She smiled and I could tell that those garden grown zinnias had been special to her just like my Dad.
I guess this is a very good reason for why I adore these flowers so much, because they were the first flowers I ever saw! Interesting how life leads you along and you develop favourites and then someone you love shares a story and ties it all together in a neat little bow.
Most of the transplants have done very well, with only the loss of a few. Some are even developing their secondary set of leaves and the stems are getting stronger.
I purchased an amazing cart from Ikea for my indoor gardening trays. This three level cart on wheels is wonderful for seedlings. It allows me to spin the cart daily so that all the sides are receiving equal amounts of sunlight.
Once these little darlings grow a little bigger, I will be upgrading their homes to larger pots for greater growth.
Planted by hand, with love.
