After loosening, run a rake over the bed to smooth out its surface and remove any debris such as rocks or roots.Ģ – Decide on a planting pattern and mark it out. You can do this by digging, plowing, or if you’ve been tending your garden for some years and using mulch, just raking away the mulch to reveal a beautiful, soft, open palate. Make sure that the top 8-12 inches of your soil are loose and fluffy.
If you’ve decided that direct sowing is for you, here’s how to do it in 5 simple steps:ġ – Prepare your seedbed. It is common to sow heavily and then thin when direct sowing. You can’t be sure of the germination rate you will get, so your sowing might end up patchy. Final spacing of your plants is harder to determine with direct sowing.
If you know that your garden soil is full of vigorous weed seeds that will grow faster than more tender, slower growing veggies, direct sowing might not be a great choice. Heavy weed pressure can make it difficult for seedlings to thrive.Moving through the soil (up to the sunshine and down into the earth) needs to not be a big struggle. In order to germinate and thrive, seeds need good soil contact. Rough or rocky soil can be hard to prepare into a welcoming seedbed.Chart source: Gardener’s Supply Company.See the chart for temperature ranges for several common veggies. If your soil doesn’t warm up into that range, your seeds won’t germinate. All seeds have an optimal temperature range for germination.There are some circumstances when direct sowing is not the best option: It’s important to consider your particular growing conditions, along with the specific crop in question, as you’re deciding whether or not to direct sow. The moist earth holds water for longer than tiny amounts of seedling mix in flats or pots direct sowing decreases the chances of your seedlings drying out if you forget to water for a dayĮven though it’s beautifully simple and has lots of advantages, direct sowing is not without its challenges.Low-vigor (wimpy) seeds might not make it in a direct sowing scenario (compared with being babied in a greenhouse), which automatically culls weaker plants.When seeds germinate, they send a root down toward the center of the Earth direct sowing allows natural root growth to happen unhindered by a wall of plastic or wood in a flat or pot.Seeds are incredibly cheap in comparison with transplants (baby plants in pots).No need to buy seedling mix, flats, heat mats or lights – or own a greenhouse.There are other advantages of this method of starting seeds too:
To learn how to grow all of these, plus more vegetables, check out our Online Gardening School Advantages of Direct SowingĪs we mentioned above, direct sowing is timeless and low-input. Other kinds of vegetables that can perform well with direct sowing, but are often planted as transplants are: This is mostly because they have delicate roots that don’t appreciate being disturbed. There are certain plants that generally do better when direct sown, regardless of the climate. Examples of these are tomatoes, chilis, peppers, and eggplant. In cooler climates with shorter seasons, some crops need a head start indoors in order to bear fruit. If you live in a warm climate with a long growing season, almost everything can be sown directly. Plus there’s something timeless and fulfilling about putting seeds directly into the earth. In the right circumstances, it has lots of advantages over growing or buying transplants. Direct sowing is one of the simplest, lowest-input (and low budget) ways to grow vegetables. There are many ways to fill your garden with verdant, fruitful beauty. Spring is here and it’s time to get planting.