Direct Sowing

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Finally! Garden season has arrived and it’s time to break ground. 

Don’t know how to tell if it’s safe to start planting? Check out our resource on determining planting dates here and come back after that.

Direct-sowing means you’ll be sowing seeds directly outdoors. Besides getting the timing right as we mentioned earlier, you’ll also want to give some consideration to spacing.

If plants are too close together, they may grow wonky or not at all. Inadequate air circulation can also be an issue. Stagnant, humid air can become trapped within the dense foliage of tightly packed plants, leading to moisture-related infections and diseases.

The spacing on seed packets is usually geared toward agricultural equipment. In our little gardens, we will be sowing, thinning, watering, weeding, and harvesting by hand, and we can squeeze our plants a little closer together. As a general rule of thumb, mature plants should have a small space between them. When spacing your seeds, try to visualize a mature head of lettuce, for example, and sow accordingly. That can be harder with something like squash. If you are new to growing food, there will be plants you are seeing for the first time as they grow in your garden. What do you do then?

You can always follow the spacing recommendations on your seed packets until you are more familiar with your plants. But since we are all growing food in containers and other small spaces in this community, it can be painful knowing you’re wasting precious space. We’ve come to really love this Seeding Square as a happy medium. They’ve done the homework so you can plant things as close as possible, while still allowing adequate room for development. It comes with a colour-coded list and we use it all the time.

Now that your timing and spacing are settled, bury seeds to a depth of three times their width. For some tiny seeds, consider just scattering them over the surface and pressing them lightly to ensure good soil contact. Burying seeds too deeply can stall or prevent germination.

Make sure you keep germinating seeds moist and be prepared to provide frost protection if necessary.

Depending on how much wildlife is in your area, it might seem like nothing you plant is germinating when really, the seeds are being eaten by critters. Or if your seeds do germinate, the tiny new seedlings may be nibbled away just as quickly as they emerge. It’s ok. Here at Cottage Corners, we believe that sharing with our local wildlife is essential. After all, food sources can be scarce in urban settings. 

However, it can be frustrating if you’re experiencing heavy losses from hungry wildlife. Plan to sow repeatedly, especially critter favourites like peas, beans, and corn. Try sowing under cold frames or floating row covers early in the season. Overplant so there’s plenty to go around. Or start your seedlings indoors early and transplant them out later. 

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