We are nearing the end of April and eagerly waiting for the warmer weather that will allow us to fill our gardens with all of our seedlings and plants. Last time I talked about what to plant, but today I want to cover a few tips for growing and planting as there’s not much to see in the garden at the moment, despite all the hard work that has been performed.
Seed life
So you planted those seeds you’ve had in the back of the cupboard for 5 years and they didn’t grow, you must be a terrible gardener! Not at all. Seeds have a shelf life just like many other things. Typically it’s 1-3 years. That doesn’t mean you can’t try and grow them, it just means older seeds are less likely to germinate. So if those old seeds didn’t come through, don’t give up. Next time you are doing your grocery shopping while following all of the precautions and practicing social distancing, grab a new packet of seeds. Most supermarkets have a stand in the produce section, seasonal aisle or by the customer service area.
This year none of my onion seeds came up because they were a couple of years old. I’m also struggling to get my peas and eggplants (aubergine) to sprout for the same reason. I just bought new seeds and will try again.
A thirst for growth
Keep your seedlings and young plants well watered but don’t over do it. Consistency is the key. Try to keep the soil evenly moist. Carrots in particular, because it can take 21 days to germinate, won’t come through if the soil is not kept moist the whole time. Tomato plants are also very thirsty through all their growing phases and need consistent levels of moisture for them to fruit properly.
Try putting all your seedlings in a tray and add water to the tray as well as watering from above. Little and often is usually better than lots of water at infrequent intervals. If you are watering plants that are outdoors, check the weather to see if rain is due before watering to avoid overwatering and conserve water.
Patience
Patience is a virtue best cultivated in the garden! I am definitely a work in progress. Waiting for seedings to sprout, waiting for them to be big enough to transplant, waiting for the weather to be warm enough to transplant, waiting for your seed potato order to arrive (came today!!!). Waiting for your crops to be ready to harvest.
I surprised our garden community by planting tomatoes in my greenhouse and outside under cloches already. I just couldn’t wait until May. So far they have survived so it looks like I’ll have a happy ending but I could easily have killed them with my impatience.
Getting plants growing too early might not always result in an early harvest and can result in a poor harvest.
The only thing you never have to wait for are the weeds. They are always there waiting to be plucked.
All or nothing
Succession planting means planting a few seeds, waiting a week or two and then sowing more seeds. This means that you will have a plants maturing at different times and can get a continuous harvest, rather than having everything ready at once and then nothing at a later date. For example, I put in a row of carrots a month ago and then another row 2 weeks ago and this week I will plant another row. You can do the same with peas, raddish, lettuce, chard and beets. Plants like tomatoes and peppers mature according to the variety so there isn’t a great deal of benefit trying to start them at intervals. You are better selecting varieties that mature at different times. For example I get the “early girl” tomatoes which as the name suggests fruit early. The roma tomatoes I grow for making tomato sauce mature mid season but fruit for a long time.
Only the strongest survive
It’s so exciting sowing seeds so you put lots of them in the soil and then those green shoots come up like a living carpet. Now it’s time for the tough part. You have to thin them out. No, you can’t just let them all grow. Those little seedlings are going to fight over nutrients from the soil, water and even light. Let them grow a little longer if you want but eventually you have to be brave and thin them out, leaving the strongest, healthiest looking seedlings behind to mature into the full plant.
Don’t worry, to this day, I still over sow and under thin, but over time you begin to see the benefit of sowing more thinly to start and thinning out the seedlings to the plants you end up with can give you a great harvest. Less is more.
Depending on the seedlings you could over sow intentionally and then use the excess seedlings as micro-greens. Good plants for this are broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower and beetroot.
One final thing that I recommend everyone do – talk to your plants. They love it and they are very good at listening!
As always, stay safe , stay home and always be creative.
you are much farther ahead than me, I am still picking out weeds!!! argg
There are always weeds to pick. Still plenty of time to get planting.