All you need to know about seed sowing:

Factors responsible for proper seed germination and growth: 

  • Moisture 
  • Heat
  • Method 
  • Seed quality 
  • Seed orientation 

Moisture:

  • Moisture plays an important role in germination.
  • Keep media or soil moist in which seeds have been sown. Daily twice check for moisture. 
  • Moisture fluctuation leads to poor germination. 

Seed Quality:

  • Generally seeds remain viable for one year. 
  • If you have sown old seeds it won’t show you good results.
  • Seeds infected with insects or fungus should be discarded. 

Heat:

  • Germination rate is more and faster in hot weather.
  • Don’t provide any artificial heat to seed trays. 
  • In winter season germination takes more time compared to summer. 

Seed orientation: 

  • If you are growing cucumber or beans then make sure seeds should be sown in the vertical direction. 
  • The broader part must be at the bottom and narrow part at the top. 

Methods of sowing:

Direct sowing in soil:

  • Most of the seeds are sown directly in the soil.
  • If you are balcony, window, or terrace vegetable grower then it’s better to sow seeds directly in the soil. 
  • Most of the crops like okra, cluster bean, french beans, other beans, radish, leafy vegetables, tomato, brinjal, chili, cucumber, snake gourd, and other gourds can be directly sown in the soil.

Sowing in cocopeat in a seed tray or transplanting method: 

  • The transplanting technique is used in some of the crops.
  • If you don’t know the proper steps of transplanting then avoid this method. Click here to more about transplanting in detail.  
  • Vegetables that can be used for this method are tomato, brinjal. chili, capsicum, cucumber, bitter gourd, etc. only. 
  • The above crops can be sown directly in the soil also. If you are growing crops other than mentioned above then follow direct soil sowing method. 

Getting started with seed sowing process:

  1. Select the method which is suitable for you from above. 
  2. Prepare media or soil.
  3. Container selection: Minimum container or grow bag height should be 9 inches or 12 inches.
  4. Seed sowing depth: A half-inch deep in soil or media for small size seeds like tomato, brinjal. okra, cluster bean, etc. and for bigger seeds of bitter gourd, bottle gourd depth should be 1 inch. 
  5. Watering: Water soil or media before the seed sowing. also after sowing seeds water media or soil immediately. 

Environment requirement for seed germination:

Sunlight:

  • For seed germination sunlight is not required. 
  • Germination can take place in dark conditions also.
  • After germination seeds required sunlight for 1-2 hrs or more. 
  • Seeds can be germinated indoors. After germination shifts it to sunlight. 

Humidity:

  • Humidity plays a smaller role in seed germination. 
  • Humidity around 70-80% is enough for germination. 
  • Keeping media continues moist indirectly helps in humidity management. 

Methods to improve seed germination:

1) Soaking in water:

Soak the seeds in normal tap water for over night.

Plant those seeds next morning. 

This method is useful for almost for every vegetable seeds. 

2) Crushing seeds:

Crush the seeds with hands. 

Seeds should get split in two parts. Don’t crush with too much force.

This method works well with coriander seeds. 

Proper sowing technique:

Depth:

  • Small size seeds like tomato, brinjal, cluster beans etc. should be sown 1/2 inch deep in soil. 
  • Bigger size seeds should be sown 1 inch deep in soil.
  • Cover the soil with coocpeat or extra soil. 
  • Seed should not be visible from top.  

Seed sowing of leafy vegetables:

  • The technique for the sowing of leafy vegetables is quite different than regular vegetables.
  • Most of the leafy vegetables seeds are small in size.
  • These seeds have to sown on top of the soil.
  • Don’t sow in depth. 
  • Just make space in the soil and sprinkle the soil.
  • Don’t make the cluster of soil in once space. 
  • Sow the seeds in line. 
  • Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil or else keep as it is. No need to cover the seeds. 

Seed quantity and density: 

  • Vegetables should be grown in a minimum container of 9 inches. 
  • Make 3-4 holes in one pot.
  • Put 2-3 seeds in one hole. 
  • Sometimes some seeds don’t get germinated so add extra soil for precaution. 
  • But after germination, just keep a maximum of 3 seedlings in one pot.
  • Don’t overcrowd seedlings or else it makes problems in future maintenance. 
  • Depend upon the diameter of pot increase or decrease the number of seed sowing.
  • The basic rule is to keep seeds 10 cm apart from each other. 

That's it. You are all set to start seed sowing.

Still have some doubts? Feel free to contact us on our email admin@subglife.com

Watch and subscribe to our YouTube channel for live demonstration. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error: Be unique. Don\'t copy!
Independently verified
5 reviews
Need help?