This is when the risk of late frost in Whanganui has generally passed and both day and night temperatures are rising.
Raising plants successfully from seed is a good way to get many plants cheaply. It is also very rewarding to go through the stages from choosing what you want to grow, to choosing what to grow them in, directly into the soil or in some type of container.
Then comes the stage of transplanting (”pricking out”) into larger pots and finally into your own garden. The whole adventure continues as you grow them to flowering or harvest.
Some of the flower seeds that can be sown now include petunias, impatiens (busy lizzies), bedding begonias and lobelia to name just a few.
Some of the vegetable seeds that can be sown now include: tomato, capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, pumpkin and watermelon. Cold-sensitive herbs such as basil can also be started off in the same way.
Here I will outline some tips for being successful at growing plants from seeds. Firstly, reading the packet is a good start, but if you’re taking the time to read this article then you will probably also read the seed packet!
If you are sowing cold-sensitive plants like those mentioned above, then they need to be sown indoors in pots or trays.
The tray should be filled with a specialty seed-raising mix such as Tui Seed Raising Mix or Yates Black Magic, these are blended to ensure the right water-holding capacity and fertiliser requirement and will often contain a fungicide that helps prevent seedlings dying after they have germinated.
A mistake sometimes made is to use garden soil in trays. Garden soil tends to retain too much moisture as it doesn’t escape out the bottom of the tray/pot. The water then fills up the air gaps in the soil which the roots need to breathe.
The seedlings then can effectively suffocate and die. In a garden situation, the soil is generally much deeper and thus water can drain away from where the roots would be growing.
Seeds should be sprinkled evenly on top of the seed-raising mix and then covered lightly with more seed-raising mix.
The depth of this will be specified on the back of the packet.
A general rule is to cover the seed with an amount of seed-raising mix that is twice the diameter of the seed.
Next, lightly firm the mix to ensure direct contact of the seed with the mix which holds moisture and nutrients. Then water gently to thoroughly moisten the soil without washing the seeds away.
Cover the tray with newspaper and place in a warm location.
Check daily that the mix has not dried out and to see if any seedlings have germinated. As soon as you see seedlings coming through, remove the newspaper and ensure they are in a position with some light.
It is at this stage that many people go wrong; seedlings left in a position near a window but not rotated regularly can become “drawn”. This means the seedlings have elongated or stretched as they crave more light than they are receiving.
The result of this is a weak plant that will not transplant well into the garden at a later stage. As soon as seedlings have a second set of leaves they should be carefully transplanted into individual pots.
Plastic pots or yoghurt pottles with holes drilled in them can be used. Peat pots are great to use as they are fully biodegradable so when it comes to planting into the garden they go in pot-and-all, meaning zero root disturbance and no setback in plant growth will occur. Egg cartons and cut-down toilet rolls can also be used to the same effect.
Once potted individually, seedlings should be grown on until they are about 15-20cm high and all danger of frost has passed. Once we are into mid-September seedlings should be gradually hardened off - bringing them outside for a few hours a day will allow them to acclimatise.
Many seeds such as beans, carrots, radishes and corn should be sown straight into the garden. You need to ensure the weather will be warm enough for these crops because they will be exposed to the elements from the moment they are planted.
Carrots and radishes can be planted now but corn and beans are best sown in the garden from October to December.
When sowing seeds in the garden, soil preparation needs to be the first consideration. Soil needs to be dug over and all clods broken down finely. Next, water the soil and then make a shallow groove along which the seeds should be sprinkled, lightly covered with soil and then water again.
Marking each end of a row with stakes will help ensure you remember where you have planted your seeds. Watch out for cats and birds: cats sometimes presume the finely worked soil is to be a litter box and birds presume it is an easy place to shop for worms. Sometimes some bird netting secured loosely with a stake on each corner can be a necessary deterrent.
An exceptional range of seeds that we promote in our store is a range of superior vegetable seeds called Chefs Best, distributed by Ican. The Ican brand has been developed by a group of independent garden centres with the aim of putting quality and value first, addressing the issue that we are in an age where price is often pushed lower at the compromise of quality.
Garden experts have carried out extensive trials and sought advice from vegetable seed specialists in NZ and internationally to find the very best varieties for the NZ home gardener. The group of independent garden centres have chosen 15 of the very best vegetable varieties.
The seeds to plant now direct into the garden include:
Broad Bean - Mr Green seed: Broad beans that look and taste good. They remain green after cooking.
Beet root - Red Lightning: A strong, vigorous hybrid, upright, early-maturing, deep red and tender—very uniform.
Carrot - Europa: The best carrot available. Fast, strong germination, vigorous, resistant to alternaria and bolting. Rates very high for taste.
Lettuce – Trendsetter: This cos type has become popular for modern salads. Easy to grow, space-saving, green crisp hearts, early-maturing and holds well. Resistance to downy mildew, sclerotinia and aphids.
Leek - Baby: Fast-growing, ready to eat in eight weeks from planting out. Best harvested when finger thickness. Can be close-planted to save space.
Parsnip - Trafalgar: Strong, vigorous germination and rapid growth. Long, straight parsnip with good canker resistance. The best home garden parsnip yet developed.
Peas - Magic: Dark green pods on vigorous, high-yielding plants. Good resistance to fusarium and powdery mildew means you keep on picking till the last pod produced.
Radish - Olympus: Vigorous, consistent variety, medium-large and round. Pleasant taste. Fast-maturing and disease-resistant. The best radish available.
Spinach - Nutriplus: Vigorous hybrid, a highly nutritious variety. Strong germination and fast-maturing. Resistance to downy mildew. Very consistent.
The ones to sow in trays indoors for planting out at the end of September are:
Tomato - Flavoursome: A taste sensation. Early-maturing, medium-size fruit. Excellent resistance to virus and soil fungus diseases. Keeps well.
Pumpkin - Dry Delight: Dry with superb flavour. Vigorous, heavy cropper, of uniform large fruit with a sweet, nutty taste. The best buttercup variety available.
Cucumber - Prolific Mini: Prolific producer of small, 10cm long fruit starting earlier than other varieties and goes on producing for months. Shiny, smooth skin on an early-maturing cucumber with intense taste. Great in containers. Outstanding variety.
Corn – Tender Sweet: Extra tender and full flavour. Strong germination and vigour and early-maturing. High disease tolerance. Rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and dietary fibre.
Dwarf Bean - Supreme: The best dwarf green bean available. High yield of fleshy, very tasty, straight, 14cm beans. High disease resistance. Preferred by chefs for cooking whole. Each sowing produces over 2-3 weeks, therefore sow at 2-3 weekly intervals for continuous supply. Harvest 7-8 weeks from sowing.
Courgette - Leader: An upright but compact grower, producing copious quantities of easy-to-pick, shiny, dark green courgettes. Excellent virus and powdery mildew resistance. The best variety available.
If you have not grown anything from seed before then why not give it a go?
For more gardening information visit: www.springvalegardencentre.co.nz
Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre.
