• Step 1: Prepare the Container
• Step 2: Sow the Seeds
• Step 3: Cover the Seeds
• Step 4: Leave to Grow
• Using Biodegradable Pots

Fill a container (pot, seed pan, seed trays or pack) to the rim with standard seed compost and press in lightly around the edges with your fingertips or a presser board to ensure that there are no air pockets.

Tap the container against a hard surface to settle the compost and then gently firm the compost again so that the top of the compost is just below the rim of the container.

Water with a fine rose and leave to drain for an hour.

Before sowing the seeds, make sure you firm the compost down. This will ensure that the soil does not contain any air pockets that will prevent water being drawn up by capillary action.

Sprinkle the seeds thinly on the surface of the compost to achieve an even covering. This may be done by rolling them between your thumb and forefinger so that they fall singly, or by making a channel of the seed packet so that they can drop out slowly and evenly.

Avoid sowing the seeds too densely, as this will result in thin, spindly plants that are prone to damping off. You may find that very small seeds are easier to sow if you mix them with the same quantity of fine sand; this will give a more even distribution.

If you are using pelleted or large seeds, you can sow them individually in compartmented packs or spaced out in trays.

Cover the seeds with a layer of sieved, moist compost to about the same thickness as the seeds themselves, then water lightly, so as not to disturb the seeds or the surface of the compost.

If you are sowing dust-like seeds (such as begonia), you will need to leave them uncovered and water them from underneath: place the container in water up to its rim and leave soaking until the surface of the compost is moist. However, take care to ensure that you do not leave them soaking for too long as they will become waterlogged, which may encourage seedling diseases or make the seeds rot before germination.

Place a piece of glass or clear plastic sheeting over the container to maintain even humidity: do not let it touch the compost surface as this may disturb the seeds. Place the container somewhere warm and bright such as a greenhouse bench or in a propagator, shading it with newspaper or fine netting if it is in direct sunlight. Check frequently to see how the seeds are progressing.

Remove the cover as soon as the first seedlings germinate; keep the compost moist and the seedlings in good light until they are ready for pricking out.

You might also consider sowing in a biodegradable pot. In this situation, fill the pot to within 1 cm of the rim, sow three seeds on the surface, cover thinly with compost and then water. The three seedlings may be thinned to two once they have germinated, and the whole pot planted out when the young plants are well developed.

This technique is very useful for seedlings that do not transplant well as the pot may be planted out without disturbing the roots.