Pull out the seeds, it’s time to get sowing…with kids!
This week Jemima and I are planting the first of our Spring seeds. But first we need to go through our seed collection and choose the seeds we will plant this year. It is a courageous thing allowing your 3year old to sift through your seed collection. With some planning however, it can be an enjoyable time for both parent and child. Yes this is true! Here’s the process I have found works to keep my anxiety levels to a minimum.
Prepare in advance
From our collection I choose some kid friendly seeds just for J. Usually beans, pumpkins and peas or some we have saved ourselves that I’m not precious about. I put them in a loose pile so Jemima can ‘sort’ through them. I also grab some bowls or wee containers and have at the ready some empty seed bags, labels, and marker pens.
By now I have a happy child. I then quickly go through and select the seeds I wish to plant. I use a basket or container as a temporary holding space that I can move swiftly to a higher place if need be. Any seeds I don’t need I put straight back in the buckets ready to be packed away.
Bonus Tips
As children engross themselves in seed play it is easy to relax a little and walk away. Do not leave your child with your seed collection. Ever.
Store your seeds in a container that is child-proof aswell as mouse and rat proof. We keep our seeds in 2 old paint buckets with kid proof lids.
Organise your seeds into seasons for planting or in their vegetable families. Inside the buckets, we use zip lock bags that can hold lots of packets. We have bags for Beans and Peas, Tomatoes and Peppers, Curcubits (pumpkins), Flowers, Herbs, Cover Crops etc.
So what is good to be sowing right this minute?!
What to sow in Spring
It’s more a matter of what can’t you plant. This is such an exciting time of the year with so many vegetables, herbs and flowers to choose from so go forth and create your master list.
Vegetables – Tomatoes, Peppers, Early Pumpkins, Courgettes, Beans, Lettuce, Coriander, Melons, Potatoes, Asian Greens
Flowers and Herbs – Basil, Parley, Coriander, Sweet William, Sweetpeas, Marigolds, Cosmos, Nasturtium, Poppies, Echinacea, Stock, Hollyhocks, and Viola.
Easy tiger – Seed Sowing Pointers
Summer fruiting crops like Tomatos, Pumpkins, Eggplants and Peppers need consistantly warm overnight temperatures around 18degrees to grow well. That means that you will need to keep your seedlings in a glasshouse, warm place inside or under decent cloches in your garden beds. Consider this when choosing the amount you will sow.
Tomato Seedlings keeping warn on the windowsill
Succession planting
If you don’t want to be harvesting all your crops at once then stagger your seed sowing over the next few months. Depending on your climate each month you can be sowing carrots, beetroot, courgettes, beans, peas, tomatoes, salad greens and potatoes. For Peppers and Eggplant plant the seed once in early spring as they need a looooong season to grow and crop well, especially Eggplants.
Why not plan 2-3 successions of tomatoes? I have found in our warm Gisborne climate you can plant tomato seed as late as January for April/May Harvest.
Seed Sowing gone mad
When some commercial seed packets containing over 100 seeds it can be difficult to practise restraint. Each year is the same story for me. Spring comes around, I plan to plant just a few, I set everything up and boom I sow the whole packet. When you have a bare tray full of seed there is nothing holding you back.
Spring Seed Sowing can often get out of hand
It’s all good untill the seeds start sprouting. Then it becomes hectic trying to find space for them all as they grow into bigger seedlings, need repotting and eventually a space in the garden. Eeek. Every year I tell myself the same thing. Exercise restraint. So do your best to consider how much time and avalable space you have in the garden. A focus on quality and not quantity will see you growing a healthier garden as your seedlings grow into strong, productive plants.
50 Pepper plants anyone?
Selecting Seeds
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the large selection of seeds available in catalogues. My advice is to stick to the vegetables that you know and love. If you have the space then sure, go for the novelty vegetables. However, the novelty soon wears off when you realise they don’t taste so good or they fail to crop. I find they take up precious space which I would rather use for crops I know and love to eat.
Happy Seed Sowing!
This year we have a range of heritage tomato seeds on offer, all grown in our own garden using regenerative principles and selected from healthy plants. Check out our catalogue here and contact us if you wish to place an order.
