This is the fourth post in the basic gardening series. Here are the links to the other posts on #1 Choosing a Garden Site, #2 Building Raised Beds, and #3 Preparing Your Soil.
Before we browse those seed catalogs, check out the seed racks at the nursery, or fill a cart up with transplants, it's important to know when to use seeds or transplants and how to plant both seeds and transplants.
There are three options when it comes to planting a garden: direct seeding, starting seeds indoors, and using transplants. All three are important and have a place in a successful garden.
-Direct seeding means you plant the seed directly in the garden hopefully into a raised bed with carefully prepared soil.
- Starting seeds indoors is important for crops that need a longer growing season and allows the gardener to grow unique varieties that are unavailable as transplants in your local nursery.
-Transplants are the alternative to starting your own seeds.
Crops to Direct Seed in the Garden
Some crops do better planted as seeds directly in your garden.
- All root crops should be seeded directly into the garden. This includes carrots, beets, radish, and parsnips.
- Other crops that do better seeded directly into your garden are cucumbers, green beans, corn, peas, summer and winter squash, spinach, Aisan greens, and melons. Some nurseries sell these as transplants, but I highly recommend buying seeds and direct seeding these vegetables into the garden.
- Lettuce, kale, chard, kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage, green onions, and basil can either be seeded directly or started indoors. I like to start these indoors. Lettuce seed requires light to germinate so the seeds are just pressed into the surface of the soil. The seed is so small they tend to float around in the garden and germinate in unpredictable places. Starting indoors also allows you to get a head start on cool season cools.
How to Plant Seeds
There are important things to consider when directly seeding into the garden.
Soil
Hopefully you have prepared and chosen a suitable garden site, built raised beds, and prepared your soil. Before planting in early spring, I add a 2" of compost and lightly broadcast a complete dry organic fertilizer on the surface. I gently turn this over with a shovel into the soil, and level out the surface. If you have been working at building your soil you can just add the compost to the surface and loosen the soil with a broad fork. You want a soil rich in organic matter with a good tithe that roots can easily penetrate and that provides pores for air and water. This also provides good seed to soil contact ensuring better germination. A compact, clumpy soil will make it hard for seeds to germinate and for roots to penetrate.
Temperature
Soil temperature will determine when you can plant. Seeds require a certain soil temperature to break dormancy and germinate. Notice soil temperature is what we are talking about not air temperature. On the back of a seed packet, the ideal soil temperature is listed. As a general guideline cool season crops can be planted when soil temperatures are between 45-70 degrees. Warm season crops can be planted when soil temperatures reach 50-70 degrees and there is no danger of frost.
To measure soil temperature just poke a thermometer an inch or two into the soil. Do not go too deep because seeds are not planted deep.
Planting Depth
If a seed is planted too deep it runs out of energy before it reaches the surface. If a seed is planted too shallow it could dry up before it takes root or it may not absorb enough moisture to germinate.
Green Thumb Rule #1
Plant seeds 3x deeper than the diameter of the seed.
Lay the seed in the palm of your hand and imagine two seeds stacked on top of the seed. That is how deep you plant the seed. The back of the seed packet also gives planting depth information.
Moisture
Moisture is essential for germination. The seed absorbs water and the seed coat swells and bursts. I find that when getting seeds to germinate it is easier to use a hose with a shower head on low or a watering can if your garden is small. You are wetting the surface. The water only needs to soak in a couple of inches at this point. It's important not to let the surface dry out so you may have to water in the morning and late afternoon. Most seeds are planted very close to the surface and winds and a hot sunny day can quickly dry out your soil.
Light
Light is not an issue when seeding directly in the garden. There are a few seeds that require light to germinate, lettuce is one of them. These seeds are just pressed into the surface so they get the light they need to germinate.
Fertilizer
The first leaves that appear are not true leaves at all. They are call cotyledons. When the true leaves appear you can fertilize once a month with fish emulsion.
Buying Transplants
Transplants can be from seeds you have started indoors; however, if you are a beginner it is easier to purchase transplants from a nursery.
- Look for transplants with 4-6 leaves. Bigger is not better.
- The leaf color should be green without yellowing leaves or discoloration.
- Pull one transplant out of the cell. There should be 50% soil and 50% roots.
- There should be an equal balance to top growth and root growth
- Avoid leggy wilted plants.
Planting Transplants
- Water the transplants prior to planting.
- A cloudy or overcast day is better. I like to have a row cover over transplants. It provides protection from a scorching sun and winds until the roots get established.
- With heavy feeding crops like tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, and broccoli, I dig the transplant hole a little bigger and add a small handful of compost and dry organic fertilizer.
- Water the transplant hole
- After the water soaks in, plant the transplant at the same level it was in the container.
- Tomatoes are the exception to planting depth. Tomato stem can grow roots so we treat these transplants different. Clip don't tear off the lower leaves. Dig a hole deep enough to bury that portion of the stem.
The next post will focus on purchasing seeds and the planting calendar. Gardening is an exciting adventure and rewarding on so many levels. Hopefully this Basic Gardening Series will give you the confidence and knowledge to successfully grow, harvest, and enjoy fresh organic produce.
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