While for some the sowing season is in full swing, others only start later. Are there any sowing tricks for beginners that might make it easier, especially at the beginning?
Even if cultivation is generally not a complicated matter, it can be useful, especially when starting out, to know a few tips and tricks that make the work even easier.
1. Always be on time!
Each vegetable requires a different amount of time to harvest and is therefore sown at different times. So that you don't miss the time to grow your favorite vegetables, it's worth having a sowing calendar on hand. Such calendars summarize when and whatbrought forward or directly into the open fieldcan be sown.
2. Cultivation gives you a head start
For many plants in our latitudes it is still too cold in spring to be sown directly in the garden. But if you wait for the right weather, the harvest time will also be pushed back. This is why many people choose to grow vegetables indoors or in a greenhouse.
As soon as the weather is optimal and there is no longer any danger of frost, the grown plants can go outside and start the outdoor season with a big head start.
3. Save money with homemade nursery pots
Of course you can also find pots commercially. But if you start collecting early, you can create your own items out of everyday things and without much effort. Egg cartons are very practical, but toilet paper rolls are also availableother options for DIY nursery pots.
You can learn how to make toilet roll containersread here.
4. Tricks for sowing: Soak seeds
Not only if you are a little late, but also otherwise, it is a good idea to let the seeds soak before sowing (whether indoors or outdoors). In this way you accelerate germination because the seedling emerges from the seed more easily and already has a portion of moisture to help it get started. However, this is only necessary for larger vegetable seeds.
How is it done?
You don't need to plan a long period of time for this. Simply prepare a container of lukewarm water to place the seeds in the evening before sowing. They are ready for use the next day.
Tipp: You can even be a little bolder with warm germs. Instead of lukewarm water, you can also use hot water.
5. Make your own seed tapes for sowing outdoors
Sowing can take some time, especially in a larger bed, because each seed is inserted or placed in the soil separately. But tricks for sowing can also be helpful. Prepare seed tapes! There isn't much to do in the garden at the moment and you can use this free time for that.
Seed tapes as tricks for sowing: The advantages
- When you lay out just one band, you can sow a large number of seeds.
- At the time of sowing, you have already completed the annoying fiddling process (removing the seeds from the seed bag and placing each one in the ground).
- The vegetable seeds are immediately spaced at the right distance from one another so that the fully grown plants do not suffer from a lack of space.
- If you water them later, there is no risk of them being washed away.
- The material used is naturally degradable and will disappear on its own.
- Hardware stores and garden centers do not offer all types of vegetables in seed bands. This way you can make what you need yourself.
Ingenious tricks for the garden – How to make the seed tape yourself
- Together
- Flour
- Water
- Toilet paper (to make the whole thing even more ecological and cheaper, use recycled)
- Ruler/tape measure/ruler
- Paint brush
This is how it works:
- Prepare a paste from the flour and water. For example, start with a tablespoon of flour to which you add a few drops of water. Work slowly with the amount of water so that the flour paste does not become too runny. However, it should still be easy to apply with a brush. So the golden mean is in demand.
- Measure the length of the bed or flower box where the plants will later be located.
- Then tear off toilet paper to the required length. Leave the individual segments together. So you need whole strips that will fit the length of the bed.
- Since these strips are quite wide, which is unnecessary, divide them again into three long strips. To do this, fold the strip at the perforations so that you get a small stack. Now cut the package into three strips of equal width (note: from one perforated side to the other,noton the other two sides!).
- Check the seed packaging to see at what distance the seeds of each vegetable plant should be sown. Spread the seeds on the tape at the same distance. Using a ruler or measuring tape, simply place the marks along the edge of the strip (lengthwise).
- Now always apply a dab of the flour paste in the middle of the tape and at the level of the markings.
- Always place a seed on it.
- Place a second strip over the whole thing so that the flour glue and seeds are enclosed.
- Let everything dry thoroughly. Store the strips in a dry and dark place until sowing time.
Important:So that you don't mix up the tapes later, it's worth labeling them before storing them.
6. Set straight planting lines in the large bed
If you want to plant a large bed without seed tapes and value straight lines, use this trick:
- Mark a point on one of the narrower sides of the bed with a stick.
- Opposite it, on the other narrow side, measure the same distance and stick another stick into the ground.
- Connect both sticks with a string.
- You will now use this string as a guide when you distribute the seeds.
- Again, think about the correct distance between the individual vegetable seeds!
Make planting holes with egg carton
You can use a large egg carton like a stamp to make small wells at equal distances from each other in the loose, dry bed. Then distribute the seeds there and cover them with an appropriate amount of soil, depending on whether they are light or dark germinators.
A notice:For plants that need a greater distance from each other, you can simply leave out a few wells.
