Sowing seeds in containers
These can be any one of a number already mentioned. Refer to Plant propagation pages on www.ipsophyto.co.uk for some detailed discussion on germination.
Rules of thumb
Always use a container large enough to allow the seedlings space to develop into the size at which they are to be pricked out.
Fill the container with compost to a heap, then to ensure even distribution and elimination of air locks, lightly firm it into the corners and base using the finger-tips.
DO NOT COMPACT.
Remove excess compost to the top of the container with a piece of board using a sawing action. With seed trays you now want to press down with a wooden presserboard (or your carefull hands) to 1/4 – 3/8 in below the rim, ensuring the surface is level. For other containers it is possible to find a suitable improvised tool to level.
You are ready to sow.
The seeds should be sown evenly, either by station sowing with larger seeds, or for smaller seeds, by gently shaking the packet.
When shaking the packet, keep the packet low over the compost so preventing the seeds bouncing on the surface and giving eneven distribution.
If the seeds are very fine they can be mixed with sand to ensure even distribution. Sow them by shaking the seeds across the container, using about half the seeds. turn the container 90 degrees and repeat. The RHS Plant propagation book states that as a general rule, seeds do not need to be covered with compost deeper than their own thickness.
Label the seeds and water them in, either by standing them in a shallow bath or on a wick of capilliary matting.
Alternatively, use a watering can with a fine rose, remembering that an upturned rose allows the water to fall with the weight of gravity only. Start pouring away from the container then position it directly over the container once an even flow is attained. Do similar when finishing, by pouring away from the container then stopping the flow preventing drips and drops. Cover with a piece of glass and place in a warm dark place, ie an airing cupboard. Otherwise cover with glass and a piece of paper and leave in any warm (21 C / 70 F) environment.
Tools
In order to propagate plants successfully it is important to have a clean and tidy working area, efficient and effective tools and kit and to follow a standardised procedure.
Failure in any part of these factors may result in frustration and more importantly, delays that will reduce the probabaility of success.
The most important of gardeners tools and special equipment for plant propagation are a sharp knife, a pair of secateurs, a dibber, suitable compost and a selection of trays and containers. Not all fancy tools and equipmen neceassrily will necessarily enhance the success of propagation, but the important ones will because they make the job easier, and if the job is easier it often succeeds more.
The use of suitable tools helps give the plant the very best start. To avoid crushing or tearing, for example, always use a sharp knife or razor blade and a clean sheet of glass when preparing a soft-wood cutting for planting. If the plant material is damaged , it will most likely die and become a site for possible rots to infect the cutting. Similarly, it is important not to push the cutting into the compost; always first make a hole with a dibber of suitable size and then plant the cutting in that hole. A dibber should be roughly the same diameter as the cutting to be planted. Anything you find to hand should do, I have used nails, knitting needles the list goes on!
Many people will use a kitchen table to propagate, although the most suitable place is a bench in the garden shed, garage or potting shed with a convenient shelf for all the bits and pieces of kit, tools etc. The height of the bench is a crucial comfort factor if considerable time is spent propagating or potting up. Incorrectly sited benches will encourage backache and cricks in the neck. It is also advisable to have good lighting directly over the bench itself.
Plant propagation has been likened to surgery, and nowhere is there more routine and standardised procedure than in an operating theatre – where all concentration is centred on the patient. Therefore the secret of propagating success is to have clean tools to hand, in good working order, so that any technique of propagation can proceed smoothly, and all concentration can be centered on the plant material.
After use it is good working practice to restore all equipment to its correct place so that it is readily available on the next occasion.
Tools and equipment you will likely need.
Knives, razorblades, secateurs, sharpening stone, oil for lubrication, Cleaning rags, solvent, emery paper, Dibbers, pressers(for firming compost), Sieve (1/8th inch mesh), Labels, notebook for records, soft lead pencil, polythene bags and tape, polyprop twine, split canes, hand sprayer, watering can,
Fungicides and pesticides are advised by the RHS…but
Alternatively…! If you want to use EM, simply refer to their applications manual.
Rooting powders are great, but exist cheaply only as long as we have a petro-chemical industry churning them out; I wouldnt have a clue how to get raw materials and make auxins…would you? Folklore says use a pint of water which has had a dozen chopped up willow twigs from softwood prunings soaking in it for a fortnight…(let us know your stories!)
Lastly, panes of glass for covering seed trays, panes of glass for cutting, pots, trays, composts and fertiliser are all that is required apart from plants!
Equipment you will need and ponder over
Pots and Trays
Now comes in a staggering array of plastics and dimensions.
Plastic containers are increasingly available second-hand at recycling centres, whilst ‘freecycle’ groups accross the south west will periodically have some available. Various thicknesses and rigidity’s are available.
Recently, 14in x 8.5in x 2.25in has become the common size seed tray. These are what wespecifically refer to when we say seed tray/flats. In the last decade, technologys have advanced enabling the creation of new designs for growers.
Relatively new on the market are ‘Rootrainers’. These natty designs are hot in commercial and hobby gardening circles bacause of the benefits they bring. These include being flat packed and snap-together, with an ability to both pull one side off in order to examine the roots. Plants are also easily lifted from the cell. The cells are moulded with grooves to allow good root formation and come in a variety of sizes: 8,10,12 and 20cm depth cells cater for a range of different plants.
They are available to purchase via our online market as of Spring 2007. All at Ipsophyto and Pop Up! gardens are growing more excited about the prospect of using them this year. We know many who currently use them to grow with success. Pictures of roots will be posted to allow the curious to see the proof of the pudding.
Conventional trays are approx 14 inches x 8.5 inches and up to 2.5 inches deep. In the days of black and white t.v they were made from softwoods but these types of seed trays are cost prohibitive to most people nowadays.
At the other end of the economic scale…
Recycled containers used by ipsophyto include 1litre tetra packs as well as the kids favourite- yogurt pots. The former will last a growing season whilst the latter brings thoughts of unequality and losses if attempting anything more than hobby gardening! If you are lucky you will come across clear plastic sandwhich triangle cartons to fit on top of your tetra-pack thus creating mini greenhouses!
There are many different techniques and materials that could be used for sowing seeds such as soil moulds and coir blocks and they will be briefly described later.
The most important characteristic sought after is a flat surace with adequate drainage.
The most important characteristic is ………..
…adequate drainage.
Pots come in all shape and sizes with an old rule of thumb that ‘a pot is as deep as it is broad’. Recent innovations have been toward obscure sizes, such as numerous angles on the ‘long tom’ or deep pots as well pans with shallow yet wide bases. These compliment the increasing ranges of thickness of plastics. It is also possible to get square rigid plastic or flimsy square pots. Plastic film ’sleeve’ cyclinder pots can be bought, also with numerous heights and depths.
Square Vs Round
Both have their pro’s and cons although for pure economic terms the square comes out on top because they make use of all available space and better comparitive use of compost. Round pots will contain less volume per surface area compared to the square pots. A conventional 3.5 inch round pot will only contain as much compost as a 2.75 inch square pot. Look for pots with nearly vertical sides conpared to sloping sides as these provide greater stability and can hold a greater volume of compost.
Rigid Vs Flimsy
Pots with ridges or rims around the top of the pot are popular because they can be lifted whilst retaining structural integrity and they are easier to stack. Rigidity is amust for any propagator.
Clay
Terracotta, They look pretty, but are not that practical because they dry out rapidly. They do look good against a blue sky though! And they are pretty expensive, especially in urban areas. If you use them, keep a close eye on the compost contracting leaving gaps around the edges of the pot, which is a no-no for two resons. Firstly; roots which extend to the edge of the pot will dry out, causing stress and burnt leaf tips, and secondly, because light will reach the roots, also causing them to burn, die, and stress the plant. You have been warned.
Soil blocks
An old school method made by compressing the compost into blocks with a six sided mould. The mould is pressed into damp compost and released. To make sure the compost is suitably damp, grab a handful, squeeze it, gently but firmly…the compost should tend to crumble. If it falls apart then the material is too dry, whereas if it does not start to crumble, it is too moist. Because the blocks can sit snuggly, side by side, the rate of drying out slows.
The hexagonal moulds may be prohibitively expensive for gardeners who don’t produce larger numbers of seedlings but they are as eco-friendly as you can get. The growing roots will ‘pull’ the compost together enabling them to be handled with relative ease and peace of mind.
Paper pots
Many people like sowing their seeds in paper cyclinder pots, which have their place in the armoury of economical and eco-friendly gardeners for sure, yet they are mostly too risky and flimsy for me with seeds taking more than a fortnight to germinate. A big advantage with these as like all the degradeable pots is that the plant can be moved to its final home without disturbing the root ball.
Ipsophyto wants to hear about your stories with paper pots…
Peat
Can be found as compressed pellets, a la ‘jiffy 7′ that older eco-gardeners may have liked a few years ago as it offered biodgradeable solutions to sowing and transplanting. Peat pots are still available and cost the earth-literally. Not for ipsophyto
Coir pots
These are widely available. The material is a waste product from the coconut industry so on the face of it, a pretty eco-friendly product, until we learn of the conditions of the workers who process this dusty and dangerous product. Dangerous, because of its irritability to the lungs. Its a minefield, ethical consumption. The material itself is used by many hydroponic growers and it cn hold up to 7 times its volume in water. Its popularity is obvious.
Other, more frugal ways of beating the sowing/ transplanting conumdrum:
Use some guttering cut into desired lengths. Fill with compost, tamping down firmly. Do not compact! Sow seeds, either broadcast or by dibber in drills. Make sure the seeds are in sufficient contact with the soil by lightly pressing them in. If possible, cover surface lightly with vermiculite which retains more moisture when watered. The seedlings which grow can all be moved and transplanted as one unit… creating very little, if any, transplant stress.
Yet more ways..
- Buy plug plants from Pop Up! Garden services or ipsophyto.
- Buy seeds from Pop Up! Garden services or ipsophyto and follow the growing tips desribed on ipsophyto
- Buy Rootrainers from ipsophyto or Pop Up! garden services.
Lengths of plastic guttering are often used by market gardeners and allotment holders to sow rows of crops which can then be slid into place when required, thus alleviating the problem of rootzone disturbance. This resource can often be found in skips on the street.
Coming up in our comprehensive series of horticultural musings especially designed to equip anyone to grow their own food and medicine: Tools, Composts, Sowing in containers, Watering, Pests & diseases, Growing without a garden, and lots more including an informative and extensive glossary!
Brought to you by Pop Up! Garden Services- An Unltd millenium awards trust sponsored project.
