Sowing seeds

March is a good time to start sowing seeds under cover. You can also plant a few directly into the soil. I’ve never had much luck with this, but I do find nasturtiums can be sown directly from seed, and friends also have success with poppies.

Last year I interviewed local flower grower Sue Oriel of Country Lane Flowers( country lane flowers. co.uk) about how to sow seed in autumn. The rules are very much the same in spring.

She always uses seed compost, because it drains better than ordinary compost. Then she sows seed very sparingly – if she wants 15 plants, she’ll sow 15 or 20 seeds, each in their own module, then she’ll keep the rest for another year.

She’s found seeds last longer than their “sow by” dates if stored correctly in a dry, dark place.

It’s also a good idea to have some back-up seed in case this batch doesn’t germinate.

Sue advises against watering seeds – or seedlings – from above with a watering can. Her seed trays all have drainage holes in the base. So once she’s planted the seeds, she fills a slightly larger tray with water and lowers the seed tray into it.

She leaves it for about 10 minutes so that the seed compost is properly damp.

Sue places the newly sown seed trays in a heated propagator, but as soon as the first green shoots emerge, she moves the seed tray to somewhere cool and light.

At this stage, they have tiny baby leaves which don’t look like the leaves they’ll have later on.

“Don’t pot them on (transfer to pots) until their true leaves emerge,” she warns. “Then always harden them off before planting outside.”

This means giving them a few hours outside the first day and increasing the time they’re outside over around seven days. And, of course, never forget to label a tray of seeds!