Ice-encrusted branches, steel grey sky, sub-zero temperatures - this is winter in southern Ontario. What's a gardener to do but pull up a chair by the computer, browse through the online seed catalogues and dream of a spring garden filled with colourful annuals.
Watching your garden grow from seed over the winter is not only fun, but economical. One $2.50 packet of seed fills a hanging basket with petunias, sows a row of baby lettuces, or trims a walkway with frothy alyssum. It's also a good way to grow rare, unusual and award-winning plants seldom stocked in neighborhood garden centres.
Here are a few tips on growing annuals from seed.
Read the seed packet
Most seed packages include growing instructions. But to learn the special germination requirements for seeds ordered from horticultural and plant society seed exchanges, you may want to consult a good book on seed germination. One of the best is Nancy Bubel's the New Seed-Starters Handbook.Break dormancy
Seeds have developed survival techniques that trigger growth only when conditions are favourable. To overcome them and force germination, some seeds need soaking, others need scarification (scratching or nicking the seed coat), and still others need stratification - a period of cold.Seeds that need scarification:
Seeds that need soaking:
thrift
sunflowers
morning glories
peas
Seeds that need stratification:
monkshood
columbine
primrose
pansy
How deep, how much light?
As a general rule, seeds should be planted to a depth of three times their size. However, some need light before they can germinate. These should be scattered over the surface of the soil so that they are exposed to light.Cover and keep warm
seedlings like a moist, warm environment, so cover seedling trays or pots with plastic, or use damp newspaper for seeds that germinate in darkness. Remove the covers when the first leaves, called cotyledons, emerge from the seed.Transplant when true leaves appear
It's time to transplant seedlings when their true leaves appear - the leaves that grow after the cotyledons. Transplanted seedlings need a richer soil mixture than the soil used for germination. Prepare flats or cell packs with a commercial potting soil or your own mixture of loam, perlite and compost. Make depressions in the new soil using a pencil or dibble. Then, carefully prick-out the seedlings from the original pot or tray without disturbing fragile roots. ( I like to use a tool called a nitpicker, but a plant label will do the job too.) Hold each plant by the leaves, never by the stem, and gently nestle them into their new beds.Go To Page: 1 2
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