Tips wanted for growing vegetables from seed

[cheryl68]

I have a hit and miss relationship with growing vegetables by seed, sometimes successful most times not.

I have tried so many different ways but can never count on them coming up.

Does anyone have a tried and successful way they have used?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @cheryl68. It's great to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

Some tips I've found that increased the success rate for germinating seeds for me were:

• Plant seeds carefully, sow your seeds into damp soil,  make sure they are at the correct depth and spacing as per the packets instructions.

• Use a quality seed raising mix instead of a standard potting mix.

• It is important to keep the seeds moist while they‘re germinating, do not let them dry out completely but make sure not to overwater.

• Whilst germinating keep the seeds in a warm environment.

• Mini greenhouses can ensure the temperature is kept up and moisture loss is kept down. A couple of great units are the Saxon Mini Green House With Seed Tray and Mr Fothergills Jiffy 36 Peat Pellet Greenhouse. I find I'll get a 95% success rate in the greenhouses and around 70% in an outdoor garden bed where I am less likely to tend to the germinating seeds.

• Seedlings may need shading while they establish, however, they will then need to be moved to a spot that gets a significant amount of sunlight.

Let me mention a few of our keen gardeners @Noelle, @Adam_W, @Ricardo and @mich1972 to see if they have any tips for successful seed germination.

We look forward to hearing about you increasing your success rate with seeds and encourage you to let us know if you have additional questions.

Mitchell

[Adam_W]

Hi @cheryl68 
Mitch has covered it all pretty well.
Seeds need warmth & moisture (not wet, moist) to germinate.
The real key is a quality seed raising mix and I like to very lightly cover my seeds with vermiculite as it is very good at retaining moisture and is super light so seeds can easily push through.
A mini greenhouse can be super handy but do make sure if it's sunny you either open the vents or remove the lid or your seedlings will fry.
If you are direct sowing into beds it's a bit harder to control conditions.
Soil will need to be friable - very open and easy to turn over - but will need to be suitably improved to suit the plants you're growing. Trick there is to make sure material such as manure or compost is well broken down before you put seeds in or they will be scorched by the stronger material.
I find I can get more control with seed depth in beds by using a light cover of either vermiculite or propagating sand. This is easier than trying to be consistent with how deep to plant seeds. I find the sand very useful with seed tapes too. And that's another option - try seed tapes.
Single most critical thing though will always be making sure they are moist.

[Jason]

Great tips @Adam_W, many thanks for sharing. I will feature this discussion as I'm sure it will be helpful to many Workshop visitors and members. 

Jason

[David12345]

Hi.  If you look on the back of the pack of seed it will have a time of year that the seeds are most likely to grow.  bunnings seeds are from australia so will only grow when it is much warmer. Seeds that are from New Zealand will be more likely to grow in spring. (i'm not sure if i can name them on here as this is a bunnings forum)

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @David12345. It's fabulous to have you join us and many thanks for contributing to the discussion.

Have you had much success growing plants from seeds in your own garden? This year I've grown a variety of plants from seed and have been very happy with the result.

We look forward to hearing more about the projects around your house and garden and would encourage you to let us know if you ever need assistance or have something to share. I trust you'll find loads of inspiration from the community as our wonderful members are contributing their own projects here every day.

Mitchell