I've always thought that planting seeds was a straightforward process—just dig a hole, put the seed in, and water it. However, I've had several failed batches, and I'm starting to wonder if there's more to it than I initially thought. Have you tested different planting depths for various types of soil or seeds?
3 Answers
You can make a simple dibber from a wooden paintbrush handle. Just measure various depths and mark them with a pencil. That’ll help you create holes at specific depths. For fine seeds, I usually just sprinkle them on the soil and lightly cover them. If you have a greenhouse or start seeds indoors, that helps keep the soil in place and protects your seeds from wind. In nature, seeds get blown around and then covered with loose soil, so we sometimes overdo it and plant them too deep, which can lead to them rotting before they have a chance to germinate. Once those seedlings are up and have a good root system, you can repot them into deeper soil for more support as they grow.
The RHS has a guideline that you should plant seeds at a depth twice the height of the seed. So, if a seed is about 1cm tall, you should plant it 2cm deep. I generally follow this rule, and I've found that it really boosts my germination success! Hope that helps!
I've noticed that seeds which say 'cover lightly with soil' on the packet germinate better if I don’t cover them at all. I've had good luck with Gomphrena, for instance. It seems there's a lot of variation based on the seed type and the instructions on the packet!