This Is Your Time To Plan: Garden Planning & Seed Sowing

This Is Your Time To Plan: Summing Garden Planning & Seed Sowing

This is not the time to lose your head and just start Willy nilly sowing your summer seeds.

Central Otago can be very temperamental at the beginning of spring, one day it’s beautiful blue sky and double digits the next it could be snowing and then the following day it could be -2 degree frost.

Traditionally NZ does most of it major summer planting at Labour weekend but for us here in central I generally don’t get anything in the ground till at least the first week of November.

So to be able achieve this timing most of my seeds don’t get sown till mid September.

The only things I get in earlier are my broad beans if I forgot to sow early autumn (which 9 X 10 I don’t remember to do) and my peas. They will go into plug trays at the beginning of September.

And I’ll get them in the ground the week of labour weekend if there hasn’t been any heavy frosts for a few days. I make sure to cover with clear plastic hops for abit of extra protection.

So now is the time to clean all my seed kit - all the seedling trays get cleaned in soapy water. This helps to stop any possible issues from the previous season’s seedlings.

So, Garden Planning & Seed Sowing - let's get into the detail!

I have basic seed raising bins which I give a good scrub of, these act as mini glasshouses, they move into the house to help germinate the seeds as most need warmth and I have a perfect spot in the house in a warm sunny spot in the bedroom

They are the best thing because they are light to move in and out to the sun and as long as you remember to remove the lid so as to not cook the seedlings these are a cheap way of germinating your seeds.

I don’t have a special soil blend when I’m germinating my seeds just basic soil works but once I up pot each seedling then it’s a good garden mix with compost, this is because once the plant is bigger it is needed more nutrients to get strong but when you are germinating it really only needs something to grow in.

I check over all my protection - hops, covers and plastic wraps because you never know what’s just round the corner and rushing out to cover your newly planted courgette plants at 10 o’clock and you can’t find the blooming hops can be very frustrating.

This is the time to plan and not lose your head, spring will come and everything will be beautiful but getting seeds sown now is not the most important part.

Sit back with your favourite seed category and a cup of tea and dream of that beautiful summer garden.