Episode: 11
Title: Seed Sowing
Broadcast: November 3, 2018
Presenter: Bonnie-Marie Hibbs

If you’re interested in growing your own produce, spring is the perfect time to start sowing the seeds in your garden.

• Now is a great time to start sowing tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini and many more spring and summer fruiting vegetables. One option with sowing seeds is to use a seedling tray. Using either seed raising mixture or vermiculite (both work well), fill your tray almost to the top, place your seeds, then lightly dust over with more mixture and mist! It is really important that the seeds do not dry out. As soon as the seeds are exposed to moisture they are growing. If they are left to dry out it is likely that germination will fail. Check the seedling trays daily for watering.
• Another way to grow plants from seeds is using peat pots. I love using these. Sit them in a tray of water until they finish absorbing and expanding. Once they are nice and plump, make a little hole at the top if there isn’t a gap already, place the seed and then lightly close over the hole. The wonderful thing about these pots is that they keep the seed moist for longer periods of time. So, you can get away not watering these every day.
• If you live in a cooler climate, it is important to keep seeds in a warm place. You can keep them in the laundry on a bench, in an undercover area or ideally in a greenhouse. This will protect them from any late frosts when germination occurs but most important it will keep them warm.
• Most vegetable seeds, in the correct conditions can take 8 – 12 days to germinate. If it takes longer it could mean that the seeds are not in a warm enough area or are getting too we, and sometimes they are just being a bit stubborn and taking their time to make an entrance. So, patience is key when growing plants from seed.
• Once the seeds have germinated and are about 2 - 3 inches tall you can place them into a 10cm pot. At this stage giving them a very gentle feed with a seaweed-based fertiliser will encourage strong root growth.
• Leave them to grow in this pot for a further 2 weeks. This will ensure that the roots are very healthy and strong before being planted out into the garden.

The Garden Gurus
W: www.thegardengurus.tv
W: https://vegepod.com.au/