how to plant seeds in a basic seed tray
hello and welcome to videojug we're at
Kapil manor 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 hardly enough to be
washed and reused year off the 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 border 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 sieve
some soil a good seed sewing and cutting
compost as ideal a watering can with a
rose
an indelible pen and plant labels all of
these are available from your nearest
garden center step 2
fill the tray put the soil into a sieve
breaking it up as much as you can with
your hand sift this all over the tray
working the lumps out as you go keep
adding soil and sitting 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 one centimeter of soil
step3 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 for water turn the rose
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 so 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 demonstration
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 7 label lastly you should label
your seeds use an indelible pen to put
the date on one side of the label and
the seed type on the other
step 8 leave to grow different seeds
require different growing conditions
check the packet it's usually somewhere
warm and sunny like a greenhouse or a
windowsill 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
you