Sow to Reap
After a slow cold start, the gardening year starts to pick up around now. It might not feel like it yet, but spring is on the way. In fact, according to the old Gaelic calendar spring starts on 1 February, St Bridget’s Day of Imbolc. The date is significant because it is equidistant from the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year) and the Spring Equinox (the half way point to the longest day of the year).
It makes sense that when life depended on the success of the forthcoming growing season, our ancestors stopped a while to ask for blessing to a female deity or female saint. While nothing much seems to be happening, beneath the surface mother nature is starting to stir. Buds are forming, roots are stretching, the earth is readying itself for that wonderful surge of new life and new possibilities that comes with warmer, longer days. What we sow now, we will reap during the growing season to come.
We may have lost our connection to the pagan and even the Christian rites of St Bridget’s day, but we can still say a prayer that nature will co-operate with our growing plans. What plants do we want to add to our garden? What new varieties of old favourites do we want to try?
One of the cheapest ways of adding new plants and, by far, the most rewarding, is to grow from seed. With the right amount of light, warmth and moisture, these hard little nuts will transform into a healthy adult plants, which feel all the more precious from having been nurtured into being by your own brilliance.
Getting Seeds
With the lockdown still in progress, gardeners need to be resourceful in tracking down sources of seeds. There may be a source locally but, if not, it’s possible to buy good quality seeds from Irish sites.
Check out:
Run from a cottage in County Galway, Seedaholic has more than 2,500 varieties of seeds to choose from. Due to surges in demand caused by the pandemic, this small business sometimes has to stop taking orders so it can catch up. Check for the reopening date (currently February 5).
The Grandaddy of Irish mail order garden suppliers, Mr Middleton’s online shop has a wide range of popular floral and edible seeds for sale, along with many of the other supplies a gardener may need.
Based in Portarlington, County Laois, the garden shop is an online supplier of gardening equipment and has an extensive selection of seeds for sale.
Based in Bantry, County Cork, Fruit Hill Farm offers organic seeds as well as propagation supplies.
What to grow
If you’re new to seed sowing, start with a few reliable germinators and easy to grow plants.
Sunflowers and sweet peas are among the easiest of flowering plants to grow from seed. For edibles, think salad leaves, peas, onions and garlic.
Plan ahead
Think positively from the start and plan where the seedlings will grow when they’re ready to be planted out. For example, both sunflowers and sweet peas like a sunny spot and both will need supports. Read the instructions on the seed packet carefully and make sure you can provide the adult plant the right environment to thrive.
Where to grow
Many seeds benefit from an early start indoors. If you don’t have a greenhouse, a sunny windowsill or light-filled room (kitchen or conservatory) will do the job. Remember that you’re going to be looking after the seedlings until the danger of frost has passed. So perhaps don’t go too crazy with tray upon tray of seeds in an area of the house that is used a lot.
What you need
Most growers swear by specialist seed compost. This might be hard come by during lockdown and ordinary compost will do. The trick is to sieve the compost to take out any lumps. Seeds are generally too fragile to push their way through lumpy compost. Dedicated soil sieves are available but, if you’re just starting, an old kitchen colander will work just as well.
As regards containers, seeds aren’t be fussy so long as the compost has good drainage. Empty plastic cartons with holes poked in the end will grow seeds just fine. You’ll need a mix of wide shallow containers (seed trays) for the initial sowing and small little pots for growing the seedlings on.
If you are going to buy seed trays, go for the heavy duty variety which can be washed and used again. It’s cheaper in the long run and far better for the environment than single use plastic trays.
It’s also useful to have some way of labelling each tray and pot. You think you’ll remember which seed is where but, trust me, you won’t.
And so to sow
It’s best to set aside plenty of time for the sowing process. Seeds vary in size but they all need space around them. Practise patience and try to keep each seed separate. It will make a huge difference when it comes to the next stage of pricking out.
Follow the seed pack instructions when it comes to the depth of the sowing and how much soil to scatter on top. Once that’s done, it’s a good idea to press the soil gently to ensure as much contact as possible between the seed and its growing medium. Again there are specialist tools but you can also just gently press down with the palm of your hand.
Watering
After sowing and pressing down, give the seed tray a good drink. It’s best to do this from the bottom up. Fill a sink (or bath) with an inch or two of water and stand the seed tray in it for 20 minutes or so. The compost will soak up as much water as it needs and no more. Best of all the seeds haven’t been disturbed.
Waiting
Place the seed trays in a sunny spot and keep an eye on them. If the room is warm, it might be necessary to water again, using the bottom up method. Within a few days (or the length of time it says on the seed packet), the first spots of green should start to emerge. The first a seed puts forth are known as the seed leaves. They rarely look like the leaves of the plant to come. The next set of leaves are called the true leaves. Once these have emerged, the seedling is ready to plant on.
Pricking out
Again this takes time and patience. Seedlings are delicate things and need careful handling. Have small pots filled with compost ready to replant each seedling before you start removing them from the seed tray.
Every gardener has their own technique for pricking out. Mine is to separate clumps of seedlings using a kitchen fork and then carefully tease them apart with my fingers. Hold a seedling by its true leaf and gently pull away from the rest. Once it’s separate, make a small hole in the compost of its new pot (I use my finger) and lower the seedling in. Fill around it with compost but don’t press down too harshly. The seedling’s roots are easily broken.
Growing on
Once all the seedlings are comfortably in their new pots, grow them on in a sunny spot. Keep them moist and, within a few weeks, you’ll have a strong healthy plant ready to add to your garden.