we're at KAAL Mana College in greater
London head of horticulture and
Landscaping Tom Cole is going to show us
how to plant seeds in a basic seed
tray this type of tray is Hardy enough
to be washed and reused year after year
it's ideal for finer seeds check your
seed packet to find out when best to
plant we're going to be planting brussel
sprouts step one you will need some
seeds a seed tray a striking board which
is a strip of wood indented on one side
to fit precisely into a seed tray this
can be bought or made a firming board
this is a piece of wood used to press
down the
soil a
Sie some soil a good seed sewing and
cutting compost is
ideal a watering can with a
rose an indelible pen and plant labels
all of these are available from your
nearest garden center step two fill the
tray put the soil into a SIV breaking it
up as much as you can with your hand
siiv the soil over the tray working the
lumps out as you
go keep adding soil and sving until the
tray is
overflowing tap the tray allowing the
soil to settle into the corners drag the
Striking board across the top of the
seed tray to sweep off the Overflow if
you don't have one you can use your
hand then fit the indented side of the
Striking board into the tray and sweep
off about 1 cm of
soil step three firm the soil use a
wooden firming board to push the Earth
down into the tray until the board is
level with the lip if you don't have one
you can use your hand step four water
turn the rows on the watering can
upwards start running the water at the
side of the tray this will prevent
disruption to the soil surface as you
water the soil pass it over the tray
four times gently sprinkling the
soil step five sew open the seed packet
and shake a few into the palm of your
hand take a pinch of seeds and drop them
onto the soil leaving a little distance
between each
one step six cover most seeds need a
covering of soil check the seed packet
to see if yours do for demonstra
purposes we're going to cover half of
the tray so you can see how much soil is
needed the soil cover should be twice
the height of the seeds just a light
layer then press down again with the
firming
board step seven
label lastly you should label your seeds
use an indelible pen to put the date on
one side of the T and the seed type on
the other step eight leave to grow
different seeds require different
growing conditions check the packet it's
usually somewhere warm and sunny like a
greenhouse or a window sill top tip to
check if the seeds need more water dig
your finger into the soil up to the
knuckle if it doesn't feel moist water
them
done