Sowing seeds

I am writing this post for my sister who wanted to know how to grow vegetables from seed, she got very frustrated when she put some seeds into the ground and they just wouldn't grow!

I guess first things first is that a lot of seeds wont grow at all if you put them in the ground, they need to be carefully protected indoors and then transplanted outside.


I start by getting a large empty egg carton and filling it with seed raising mix (you can save these up or ask for them at any cafe etc, they are very happy to get rid of them) I like to use egg cartons because you can just plant them right into the soil for seedlings that don't like their roots disturbed and they break right in the earth, plus they are free!

(An egg carton of seeds ready to go into the airing cupboard)

I then gently press my seeds into the centre of each hole, water them, wrap them in a plastic bag (which acts like a mini green house) and then I leave them in the hot water cupboard until then begin to get their first true leaves) when they are big enough I then transfer them to a tray outside which is filled with compost and leave them outside for a while to harden off and then transplant them into the garden.

( A marigold seedling ready to go into the garden)

If the seedlings are big enough to go straight into the garden then you can just skip the middle stage. Some seeds can be sown straight into the garden, such as carrots as they don't like to have their roots disturbed, but the majority need to be raised up first. If you use the egg carton it doesn't matter anyway as it will break right down in the soil without any of the roots being disturbed.

This is just my simple way of doing it, others may have better ideas or different ways they follow but this works great for me!

(Sorry about the poor picture quality, there is a long story behind that one!)

As I have been writing up this post Aviva has been reading to me ' The patchwork quilt by Valerie Flournoy' which is such a beautiful book. I recommend it for any Mother who wants to get her daughter more interested in sewing, or just to enjoy a lovely story!

Have a Wonderful weekend! It's date night for us so I need to get going and get things organised!