Many of the most popular summer bedding plants, as well as houseplants and tender crops like tomatoes and peppers, need warmth to start growing, so they should be started indoors, usually in spring.
Seed can be sown in seed trays, but for the average garden, where just a few plants of each variety will be needed, start them off in 3 1/2in/9cm pots. Fill the pot with a moist potting or seed-starting mix and firm it down gently. (Never use garden soil, which will become compacted and can harbor disease.) Sow the seeds thinly and cover them to the recommended depth with a further layer of soil. Very small, dust like seeds may not need to be covered at all, but just pressed in. Water lightly using a watering can be fitted with a fine rose.
Label the pots and if you have a heated propagator, put them in it. If the boiler or warm cupboard is your heat source, cover the pots with a piece of clear plastic or taut plastic wrap, to retain moisture. Most seeds germinate quite happily in a steady temperature of 60-70T/1 5-200. As soon as the seedlings emerge, place them on a bright windowsill, removing any covering.
When the seedlings are large enough to handle (usually when they’ve got a couple of pairs of leaves), transplant them into a fresh soil mix in seed trays, cell-packs, or special trays divided into individual cells. Larger seedlings, which will eventually become sizable plants, can be transferred to individual pots up to 3 1/2 in/ 9cm in diameter.
To transplant them, knock the side of the pot to loosen the soil, then gently tip out the contents. Holding a seedling by one of its leaves, ease it away from the group, trying to keep the roots intact. Never handle the stems, which bruise or break very easily.
Using a pencil or dibble, make a hole in the soil mix and insert the seedling. Firm it into place with the pencil, so that the bottom leaves are just clear of the soil, then water them and return them to the windowsill. Keep them moist but not soggy and alter six weeks, start to feed once a week with liquid fertilizer.
If the plants are destined for the1 garden, it’s best to harden them off, because nighttime conditions will be much cooler than they’re used to. A couple of weeks beforehand, put them outside in a warm, sheltered spot during the day, bringing them in at night. In the second week, leave them outside all the time, but bring them in if frost or cold temperatures are being forecasted.
Credit : Mica
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