Spring Equinox – why is it so important?

Spring has finally sprung. It’s the day of the vernal equinox, 20th March here in the UK. It is such a crucial date in the gardening calendar, this is the time that night and day become equal. There is a slight discrepancy which is due to various astronomical reasons which I will not bore you with right now as the most important thing to remember is short winter days are disappearing and the long days of summer are on their way. You will begin to see a surge of growth and activity from plants in the garden and seedlings sown earlier in the year as many plants respond to the lengthening of days of spring and the shortening cooler nights very well. It is such an important response that it has its own name, photoperiodism.

Each plant has its own inbuilt regulated response to the length of day and night. Some plants like more daylight hours, some less and others like equal length so these form 3 distinctive groups. Short Day plants, Long Day plants and Day neutral plants. Short day plants will flower best when day lengths are below a certain number of and vice versa for long day plants. Day neutral plants will flower when they are ready and are not really affected by light so much.

Short day plants : Chrysanthemum & Dahlias tend to flower later in the season, during late summer and autumn as they do not like long sunny days and prefer longer nights.

Long day plants : Foxgloves, Hibiscus & Gypsophilla like to wait for longer daylight hours.

Day neutral plants: Viburnum, radishes, tomatoes & strawberries will flower when they ready.

Horticulturists and home gardeners can of course use artificial lights and controlled environments to manipulate the day and night length and increase the growing season. Daylight lamps will force rapid growth in seedlings but the cost of this to the home gardener usually outweighs any benefit on such a small scale.

However in late spring and early summer it is much easier to shorten daylight hours on flowers for instance Chrysanthemums naturally bloom with the long nights of spring or autumn. By making the days shorter by covering them for at least 12 hours a day over the course of several weeks in late spring/early summer you can stimulating blooming.

Taking photographs and record notes for where sun lies in your garden at the equinox and which flowers are in bloom is a great to refer back to year after year when planning your garden.

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Seedling Success - My top tips

I have been growing from seed for 20+years now and have made many mistakes along the way. When do you start to sow seeds, what conditions do they need and what are the pitfalls?

Let's start by saying that nothing is for sure, but given the right conditions seeds will grow. It’s very easy to get it wrong with watering, temperature and pests but it’s the cheapest way to fill a garden and will give you many blooms which are not commercially available in the garden centres. You can also ready my Beginners Guide to Growing from Seed - The Dark art of Propagation to start off with.

I start most of my seeds indoors or in my greenhouse at home as they need to be checked on daily and watered regularly. If for some reason I can not get down to my plot one day they will dry out in the heat and die. Some can be sowed direct into the ground but I do find that by planting out sizeable plants that they are much more able to withstand pests and diseases and of course the weather. There are some seedlings which do not like being disturbed though so it is best to sow those direct such as poppies.

So with seed sowing season upon us I have compiled my top tips for successful seed sowing:

1. Do not start sowing seeds too early. It’s very easy to get carried away and sow lots of seeds too early, especially if you have a greenhouse but even if they do grow well at first you will have nowhere to transplant them as it will be too cold outside. Follow the instructions on the seed packet which will often say to sow 10-12 weeks or 6 weeks etc. before the first frosts. Seeds sown later will fair better with increased light levels and will often grow stronger and faster than those sowed too early and often catch them up. I often find that many of my seedlings sowed just 2 weeks apart flower at the same time and also when I sow seed too early it fails to germinate.

2. Moisten your compost first to allow greater absorbtion of watering later on. If you water onto a dry mix you will find that your seeds can easily get washed to the sides of the pot. Just a small sprinkling of water is enough, mix the compost thoroughly and then fill your pots.

3. Tamp down the soil inside your pots a little so that it is compact. Roots don't like large air pockets and will not grow well through them, also It will be much easier to push out the seedling for potting on.

4. Don’t sow seedling too thickly as this will just lead to disease and the seeds will have too much competition to grow strongly. Better to sow as thinly as you can so the roots have plenty of room to grow. This will also make pricking our easier as the roots will not be so much of a tangled mess

5. Check your seed packets. There are vital tips on there for each type of seed. Some seeds need light to germinate and others must not be covered at all. Use vermiculite to cover seeds rather than soil. Soil can form a hard crust on the top of the soil, especially if the seeds are taking a long time to germinate – some can take as long as 3-6 moths ! In general the smaller the seed the less cover they need with seeds such as poppies which are tiny needing no cover and sweetpeas - quite large needing to be buried quite deep.

6. If you can use a heated mat and cloche covers to keep in the moisture. It’s amazing how much quicker they will germinate. Remove each pot as it germinates and grow on in slightly cooler conditions.

7. Always label your seed trays with the variety and date sowed. It can sometimes feel like a long time while waiting for germination but in reality only 2 weeks has passed – which is perfectly normal. It’s also good to test your marker pen to ensure that it is permanent, I have used one in previous years and later found that it was not quite to permanent as the label said it was! If in any doubt then a pencil will work well and will not wash off.

9. Water seedlings from the bottom as much as you can. This will prevent any problems with disease and fungus growing on the surface of the soil and killing your seedlings. You can also use a cinnamon wash to prevent algae. Simply boil a pan of water with a few cinnamon sticks, wait to cool and use this mix to water your seedlings.

10. Take care with watering and feel the soil by popping your finger into the soil to check if they need water. Don’t let them dry out and don’t over water them. Easier said than done I know. Don’t assume that they will all need the same amount of water either. You many need to water some every day and others only every few days.

11. Ensure that you harden off plants well before moving them outside. It is very tempting to just move then from the cosy warmth indoors to get your space back and sow more seedlings but the shock of the wind & rain may kill them. If you can make a cold frame this is the best way to introduce them to the outside world as you can just prop the lid open little by little each day and get them slowly used to outside conditions. Then once you have done this over the course of about 1 week you could take them out of the cold frame during warm days and pop them back in at night before finally leaving them outside after around 2 weeks.

12. Ensure that you prick out seedlings at the right time. Do not prick them out too early, wait until they have developed their first set of true leaves and ensure that you handle them by their leaves not the stalk. Also do not leave them to get pot bound as they will end up a messy tangle as you will not be able to separate them easily, damaging the roots in the process.

13. Remember that the seed sowing compost you used when sowing will only hold enough nutrients for the first few weeks if the seedlings life –up to around 6 weeks so it is important to prick them out and pot them on after a few weeks into a John Innes number 2 or general mix potting compost. If they are still quite small then you can also give them a feed of seaweed fertilizer to keep them going until they are big enough to be moved in to the next size pot.

14. You don't need to sow the whole seed packet! Most seeds will keep for a number of years in a cool dark place so only sow the amount you need! A whole packed may contain 20 cucumber seeds but realistically for the average family you will only need about 5 plants to keep you going all summer long. Courgettes are by far the worst offender, 2 plants are plenty enough for most families and at a push 3 but any more that that and you won't know what to do with them.

15. If you are starting seeds indoors in warm conditiones they can become very leggy. Once seeds have germinated it best to grow then on in cooler conditions if you can - maybe a coolwe windowsill or look at moving then out to a greenhouse on sunny days and bringing then inside overnight.

16. Choose the right container for your seeds. If you are new to seed sowing then you may have to learn as you go through trial and error to see what works for you. There are so many pots and trays out there it can be hard to choose. As a rough guide, the bigger the seed the bigger the pot you need. However I also think about how I want to transplant my seedings and how quickly they grow and the germination rate. So for sweetpeas I grow these in 15cm pots - quite large and deep. I sow about 20 seeds into the pot and they grow quite quickly, they need pinching out once they get to about 12cm tall and staking. The deep pot allows for a cane to be inserted and to stand upright without falling over all the time. Some people sow into deep root trainers or individual smaller cells I find this a bit of a faff when I know that I wil be planting them out with about 5 around each cane support - the roots are pretty tough and can withstand being pulled appart. For smaller seedings such as Ammi or snapdragons I sow these into cell trays with the smallest pinch of seeds I can pick up into each one. They are very fiddly to prick out so this way saves a lot of time. For larkspur and most of my other seeds I use plastic fruit punnets and then prick out into cell trays afterwards as this saves a lot of space early on.

17. Some seeds require a period of cold stratification before they will germinate - The seed packet will tell you this. These are the most tricky seeds and there are a few ways you can do it. These seeds are very hardy and really are best sowed in autumn - this mimmicks their natural conditions. So you can sow them in autumn and just let nature do its job, leaving the seeds outside or in the greehouse over winter. The cold weather naturally kick starts the seeds and once the weather warms in spring they will germinate. The other way is to use your fridge to cool the seeds in spring. I just pop my seed packets into the fridge in Jan/Feb time for a few weeks. Some seeds like to be moist and cold so you can sow them first and then place the pots of the fridge!

19. Some seedlings are a bit tricky to germinate, for me its Astrantia and Bells of Ireand. So what I do with these is sow them onto a paper towel. Spray with water an fold the paper towel a couple of times. I then pop this into a zip lock bag and wait. Sometimes I just place the bag next to my other seed trays or onto a heat mat and if they require cold stratification I pop then into the fridge. I check on them every few days and when they have germinated I remove then from the paper and place into a pot with compost for them to carry on growing!

18. Fresh seeds. Some seeds like to be sowed fresh such as Hellebore and Bluebells. I collect these and sow straight away into plastic fruit punnets and just leave them ouside all summer long, through the winter and then when the weather warms in spring they germinate.

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The dark art of propagation

To many there is a mysterious world out there where little fairies plant seeds on the right day of the year, by moonlight and chanting songs, whilst sprinkling magic grow fairy dust. In reality this happens quite naturally every day of every year all over the world. Plants all have their own way of reproducing themselves. Some need a period of cold which will break their dormancy, others need to be soaked in water or chitted. By doing these things we aim to replicate their natural habitat but I will save that for another blog.

Propagation really does not need to be a dark art and you really do not need lots of experience. All you really need to do is read the seed packet. Each packet of seeds will contain the instructions you need to get started. I can not emphasise how important it is to read and follow these instructions as this will give a much better success rate especially if the seeds you are sowing do require some kind of specialist treatment. Do not be scared off by seeds needing a period of cold. They can simply be popped in the refrigerator or outside somewhere if it is the right time of year and temperatures have dropped.

Containers

Firstly you will need to decide if you are going to sow into pots, plugs, trays or even coir blocks. Pots are good for large seeds such as Sweetpeas and Zinnia and in particular Sweetpeas do best grown in deep root run pots or even empty loo rolls.

Trays are great for smaller seeds such as foxgloves. If you are short of space it is best to sow into trays as they will take up a lot less space, however it will take much more work potting on the small seedlings into larger pots to grow them on before plating out in the garden. I plant most seeds into plugs with 24 or 40 cells which eliminates to need for second stage potting on.

With the use of plastics currently under the spotlight many more people are choosing to plant into coir plugs. These are essentially dried out compost plugs which need to be rehydrated in water and can then be planted straight into. They are made from a waste product from coconuts contained in a biodegradable mesh bag. The great advantage of these is that roots do not need to be disturbed when potting on as they can be transplanted directly into their next container or into the ground eliminating the need for plastic pots.

Soil blockers are a home made version and becoming ,more and more popular. As eco friendly as I am and want to be I have used these in the past and do not necessarily recommend them for the beginner. They dry out very quickly so missing a watering session can kills off all of your seedlings and can be very disheartening for the beginner.

Soil

To a beginner compost can be an intimidating medium. There are so many on the market and you can also make your own. The idea of a seed compost is to give roots an easy root run so the particles will be sieved quite fine with no big lumpy bits. It needs to provide moisture but not get waterlogged and also provide a little nutrition. Small seedlings only need small amounts of nutrition in the first few weeks as if they get too much they will put on to much lush growth too soon which will attract disease. With this in mind you need to look for a “seed and Cuttings” compost and you will not go far wrong.

Seed compost only contains enough nutrients for the first 6 weeks of a seedlings life. After that seedlings will need to be potted on into a richer mix with more nutrients. A good all purpose compost is all you need for potting on. Beginners should not let themselves get bogged down with all of the fancy words and different types available.

Sowing

As I have already mentioned there really is no dark art to seed sowing . If you are using pots, plugs or trays fill them loosly, tap them down to get rid of any air pockets and then level off the top with your hand or a piece of wood.

It is then best to water seed trays from the bottom - you can do this by placing them in a sink with a few inches of water in for a few minutes, they will drink as much water as needed to keep the compost wet for a good few days.

You are now ready to sow your seed, and they really do come in all shapes and sizes. As a general rule the larger the seed the more space they will need around them, sow all seeds as thinly as possible. If sowing large seeds into a plug then one per plug is enough. If the seeds are very small then the smallest pinch of seeds possible can be sowed. These may need to be thinned at a later stage. You will soon learn how close is too close when your first carpet of foxgloves begin to emerge. I never ever seem to be able to get these sowed thinly enough and have spent a great deal of time prising them appart, so much so that I now sow them direct into a seedling bed on my plot. I sow then in thin rows and just pull out all the unwated ones. This can seem like a waste but if you have been able to collect your own seed then you will have literally millions of them anyway.

Ensure you follow the instructions on the seed packet for how deep to sow and even if they need to be covered. As general rule the larger the seed the deeper they need to be. Some very small seeds do not need to be covered at all and some need to be covered with vermiculite so they are still exposed to light. Follow the advice on the seed packet and sieve the required amount of compost over the top of the seedlings. Using a very fine rose so as to not disturb the seedlings water in gently, label them and then place in a greenhouse or windowsill to germinate.

A word of caution on labelling, do ensure that you are using a permanent marker or a pencil. There is nothing worse than all of your writing coming off when watering – most gardeners will have experienced this at some stage and it is truly frustrating. Label each tray/pot with the variety and also the date. This will allow you to keep track of how long they are taking to come up. Particularly troublesome seeds will be mentioned on the seed packet. Some can emerge in as little as a few days and others can take many months of coaxing. The seed packet will also tell you if your seeds need to be kept inside a polythene bag.

While waiting for seedlings to emerge it is best to keep compost on the moist side ( Not waterlogged though) and as soon as the seedlings begin to emerge try not to overwater them, they do not like sitting is cold wet soil, so getting this part right is key. Some seedlings will need to be watered daily and others much less. Keep an eye on the compost as you will be able to see when it has dried out, it will be a much lighter colour than when wet. Seeds will generally need warmth to germinate. Around 16- 22degrees so indoors during the late winter and early spring is ideal if you do not have a heated greenhouse. More advanced growers may use heated mats or propagators to give their seedlings a head start but as yet I am still to invest on one myself and I have been gardening for over 20 years so they are not essential by any means. I do find that the inside of my house is a pretty good environment and we do currently have just enough space for me to keep them lined up on windowsills and tables.

Once the seedlings appear it is best to then move them to a slightly cooler location if possible such as a greenhouse as keeping them indoors after germination does lead to the problem of leggyness. Now most of you will be thinking that this can be a good thing, afterall, who wouldn’t want long legs in their life? For plants however this is not attractive or healthy, they put on too much growth, leaning towards the light with thin spindly stems which can not support the leaves. They end up bending over and can also look quite pale. They are simply telling you that they are not receiving enough light. So if you do need to keep them inside the best thing is to chase the sun and move them to the sunniest windowsills possible and turn then twice a day. I only keep mine indoors on very cold days and at night and do prefer to get them out into the greenhouse as much as possible.

With this in mind do not be tempted to sow seeds to early. You will just set yourself up to fail, waiting until the days and nights get a little warmer in March will mean that you can leave seedlings in the greenhouse for most of the time and only bring them inside when it is frosty. You will also find that plant which have the best growing conditions will outgrow those which have been planted too early and have stalled their growth due to cold temperatures and the need for more light.

Potting on

Depending on what size of pots you have used and how large your plants are you will find that you will need to thin out your seedlings and pot then on into individual containers or put them into bigger pots. Do not be tempted to re pot very small seedlings as they will just sulk and they are very tricky to handle, as least wait until the first pair of true leaves have formed. You should see that these look quite different from the first leaves of your seedling. This is when your seedlings will need a little more nutrition so ensure that you use a good multi purpose compost not the seed compost you used when you first sowed the seed, this will not contain enough nutrients for your now very hungry growing plants . ( I will leave compost mixes for another blog - for beginners it’s best to keep things simple.)

So if this is the beginning of your plant journey then good luck, I hope you have found my words both encouraging and uselful. The sun is shining as I write this and my own seedling are calling me to the greenhouse to check on their progress!

To find outmore about the Fuchsia Blooms Story visit MySecretLife blog

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