growingadvice

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” ― Audrey Hepburn

Pre-cultivating

Do you know the feeling of yearning after summergreen plants after the long winter when only in january? You are not alone. But be patient, in time we will all be there with soil under our nails and livingrooms filled with babyplants.

We can start with the varieties that have longer developmental-time, such as wild carrot, but the rest we can wait until we have more natural light. Generally, mars-april are good months to start. However, that depends on which country your live in and what climate you have, which you know alot better than me.

The first thing a seed needs to germinate is heat, and light. Personally, we use trays and pots and put them on our heated floor, but there are also heat mats and sometime it is simply a warm windowseal that works best. Sow the seeds in good seedstarting-soil and keep it moist.

When the seed germinate and begin to grow they want colder climate but most important alot of light. If we start to grow them too soon, we risk that it is too long time before the natural light comes and the seedlings will start to reach for whatever light they can get. Resulting in them pushing in height instead of growing compact and sturdy. You can use extra light, which is a good compliment, but there is also a risk in that in relation to that when the plant is large enough to be planted outside it is still too cold for them. So you keep them inside in their pots, but they will outgrow them or get stressed because of the tiny space. So it is better to start in relation to nature, give them a little push with extra light but not start too soon. A good tip is to water from below, so that the roots strive downwards. 

Directsow

When the risk of frost is over and the soil is warmer it is time to directsow. When this is depends on where you live, but approximately sometime during may. Sow the seed in the right depth in the soil and cover, make sure to keep the soil moist until germination. 

Directsowing seeds gives, mostly, stronger plants. They grow up in their natural environment, they get both light and heat and the plants is naturally acclimatized as it face all kinds of weather growing. It can be more difficult to keep the soil moist, compared to pre-cultivating where you have the plants more near you inside, and if you have problems with for example snails or ants it is often better to pre-cultivate as they tend to enjoy eating baby plants.

Soil, pot size and re-planting

Early spring, when the light and varmt isnt really here, the seed needs an extra little push to grow. Therefor it is good to use good soil. In Sweden there are both sowing-soil and planting-soil, if thesame goes for you country you can use either only sowing-soil or place planting-soil in the bottom and then top with a layer of sowing-soil. In that case, the plant can stay abit longer before re-planting in bigger pots. 

The plant is ready to be re-potted when it is large enough to being handled without the risk of damaging it or its roots, but remember that most plants can handle more than you think. Use a smallsized pot in the beginning, when the plant dont like too much space for the roots. Then the plants energy will go to producing roots instead of growing. if you want to try something fun, try making soilkubes by using soil blockers in differens sizes.

Acclimation & Distance

Plants which have been pre-cultivated wants to be planted in their final place when the rist of frost is over, although some hardy annuals can handle some frost. But since the tiny plants have been grown inside, in an environment safe from wind and weather, they need to be acclimatized. That means that you gradually acclimate the plats to be outside, in all kinds of weather. Place your plants in a good place little by little each day, extending the time each day until it has be acclimatized to both wind, the sun and rain.

Planting-distance vary depending on what variety you are growing. Generally one can say the bigger the plant the bigger the distance it needs. But you can also plant/directsow with a smaller distance than recommended. For most annual flowers the suitable distance is 10-30 cm, for larger plants around 40-50 cm. With a small space in-between the plants get better support from each other  and if you chose a larger distance the will have more space to grow bigger with the possibility to produce more flowers.

Sow in cold weather or boxes

Fill a box with soil and then sprinkle your seeds instead of sowing them one by one. Cover with a thin layer of soil or vermiculite, remember that some seeds need light to germinate, and keep the soil moist for the whole germinationtime. Sowing in cold weather is almost like a mix of pre-cultivating and directs - you pre-cultivate your seeds but then put them outside directly. In a sheltered place they will lye in the soil, waiting for the spring warmth to come and then germinate. The plants grows strong and acclimatize automatically. Not all varieties are suitable for cold-cultivation, but please experiment and learn how it works in your own garden and area.

Nutrition

Almost all flowers wants and needs nutrition, to grow and flourish. We want to inspire to grow according to season, the natural changes of seasons and in line with nature. Therefor, use as much organic and certified nutrition as possible, collect from your nearest farmer or make your own nutrition from for example nettle or why not try "liquid gold".