There’s no doubt that gardening is beneficial to our well-being! Not only does it improve physical, psychological and social health, it is also great for the environment too. Engage your loved ones to an amazing seed growing journey and experience the magical process of planting a seed, watching it transform into a plant with board, green leaves here. Here’s how you can start your gardening journey with us.
Gather Your Supplies You’ll need
1. Seeds
2. Container
3. Soil Mix
4. Water source
5. Fertiliser
Step 1: Fill the seed tray with soil mix
▪ Do not use garden soil from the ground as it is lumpy, contain pests and diseases, and dry out faster.
▪ Good sterile soil maximizes the chances of germination
▪ Seed tray doesn’t need to be filled to brim as seedlings will eventually be transplanted. You just need enough for the initial stage.
Step 2: Moisten the surface of the compost
▪ A watering can with fine rose is ideal as it slows down water flow (so it does not flood the compost) and water can be evenly spread across the compost.
Step 3: Sprinkle seeds evenly over the composted area
▪ Pour the seeds out from the packaging onto your palm. Using your finger, sprinkle the seeds over the compost as evenly as possible.
▪ Do not cover small seeds with compost. Larger seeds can be pushed down slightly below the surface of compost/ covered with thin layer of compost.
Step 4: Cover the seed tray & place them in a warm shaded area
(temperature may vary between plants)
▪ Generally, for flowers and vegetables, a translucent or transparent plastic cover will do the trick but do note that for some particular plants, they require a dark environment for germination.
▪ Do not place seed tray under direct hot afternoon sun as the greenhouse effect may raise temperature too high and destroy the seeds
▪ Keep the tray indoors/shaded locations
Step 5: Uncover the seedlings once they germinate
▪ It is vital to expose seedlings to brighter light once they germinate. ▪ Seedlings rapidly become leggy if they don’t get enough light.
▪ Try to keep them as close to a bright window as possible.
▪ Rotate the seed tray every few days so that all seedlings are expose to the light as equally as possible
▪ May start to feed seedlings liquid fertilizer diluted to half the recommended strength stated.
Step 6: Transplant the seedlings into pots and keep them in slightly brighter location
(Not direct light)
▪ Transplant seedlings when they start growing leaves
▪ Ensure the compost is moist first before removing delicate seedlings to minimize damage
▪ Gently tease the seedlings out of the compost using a small stick
▪ Delicate seedlings dry out rapidly under strong sunshine so keep them out of direct sunlight for a few weeks until the roots have established themselves in the new compost.
Once seedlings established itself through hardening, you can plant it in their final location
▪ You may observe that roots start to emerge from bottom of the pot and plant has grown reasonably in height, with numerous leaves.
▪ Gradually expose them to harsher conditions such as direct morning sun but partially shaded by netting, and outdoor growing conditions.
