I am ready :)

[wendya]

I was shocked to find these yesterday and have been gardening ever since.
Hubby not keen on me using his tools, so bought me some.


Not that I have used all yet.

I have also today been trying to sow Toad Flax in my small grow houses, I was amazed at how small the seeds were, so goodness knows what will happen, but they look a bit messy, but hopefully they will germinate. First try ever, so I am not counting on it



I now have no idea how i am going to sow direct, if the seeds are all this small.......... so this will be fun

[Jilly]

What a very nice OH you've got wendya  .

I must admit I've never had much success with sowing direct in the ground, with 2 cats of my own in the garden plus visitors it's a bit of a losing battle frankly, I usually sow in a pot & transplant later, with things (like poppies) that don't like root disturbance so are always advised to be direct sown, I just sow a few into each cell of one of those trays you buy bedding plants in & transplant the whole cell into the ground when they've germinated.

I've never mastered the trick of not sowing too many of the tiny seeds either, I find one of the best tools is a pair of eyebrow tweezers, just be ruthless & pick of the overcrowded ones.

[Tig]

Well done your OH (hope he never needs to borrow your tools wendya )

Seed sowing is one of my favourite pastimes. You wonder how bits of dust can ever grow into enormous, healthy plants. It is one of natures miracles. Not all seed is like dust, some are much easier to sow singularly into separate modules, or direct when the time comes.

Another very handy tool for pricking out small seedlings without damaging them is a cocktail stick

[Jilly]

I remember you telling me that Tig & I've been using them ever since  , they're also very good for propping up anything that has gone a bit leggy & believe me wendya, it happens to all of us 

[Ladygardener]

Now there's a tip worth remembering Tig Jilly thanks.

wendya you'll do some serious work with those tools, well done your OH.

I too sow most things into cells/pots/containers of some kind as they seem to disappear when sown onto the open ground with the exception of Poppies. I still take a pinch at a time and sprinkle like I would salt. Some people advocate mixing very tiny seed with sand to help it scatter and then too you can see where you've sown but I've never tried it as I have no access to sand. Some seeds are big and able to be sown just a couple into a pot or as in the case of Sunflowers, one into a pot. Good luck.

[wendya]

Thanks everyone, i hope the next seeds a bigger or I will have to go to Spec savers

I will have to try with the poppies and see what happens, i will of course only put a few in the ground direct, of the Red poppies and the Californian and maybe they may be ok. But will have to wait until the weather is better as ground very soggy today.

Do you all stake the ground if you sow direct with a string so you know where sown? as seen all this about making a drill with a line of string?
I have cornflowers too that need direct but think Lady gardener said i can sow under cover too.


Yes Jilly i can see cats also being a problem as think i had cats or foxes walking on the downstairs planters last night as big paw marks oh well i don't mind I adore all animals.

I am thinking now best to sow both poppy types and corn flower in pots not the grow pots? as they don't like to be moved too much.

[Barbara]

The california poppies don't like being moved Wendya so best to sow straight into the ground with those, if you're worried about cats try and cover where you sow with some broken twigs.

[Ladygardener]

wendya yes the Cornflowers can be sown either in pots or into the ground but I'd only sow poppies into the ground. I don't do the whole staking thing when sowing direct because I've not done a lot of sowing direct except for last year. I don't even do it at the allotment when I'm growing veg although I agree it does look better to see veg growing in rows and it would be easier to hoe in between. As to the borders/containers, if you sow in a circle or drill, it does make it easier to see which growth is weeds and which are your seedlings.
I do what Barbara has said and put twigs/sticks/cuttings from Roses in the border to help keep out the cats.

[wendya]

When they are directly sown, do you then cover lightly in that area, I presume. I think i had best check how big the seeds are for the Poppies

[Ladygardener]

Mar 1, 2014 15:54:31 GMT wendya said:

When they are directly sown, do you then cover lightly in that area, I presume. I think i had best check how big the seeds are for the Poppies

Poppy seeds are tiny round and black wendya.A tip I once heard about covering seeds is that you only cover a seed with the same amount of compost as the size of the seed. So if you're sowing something very very tiny barely cover the seed. It has always worked for me. Gently rough up the soil where you're going to sow your Poppies as they don't like to be sown on even soil, so I've heard.

[wendya]

Thanks for tips I will get some sown direct next week hopefully