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In this video I share my no-nonsense approach to how I sow all of my seeds in module trays.
My module trays:
UK Containerwise Trays https://containerwise.co.uk/huw-richards-propagation-trays/
US Containerwise Trays https://allaboutthegarden.com/collections/huw-richards-seed-trays
Europe: https://thefarmdream.com/product-category/propagation-trays/huw-richards/
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Seeds: Wales Seed Hub https://www.seedhub.wales/
#sowing #gardeningtips #kitchengarden
38 Comments
Great video, Huw! I absolutely love your 10 plug seed starting trays! It is nice having them for each variety where everything is mature at the same time. I did buy some of the 20 plug trays but I really like the smaller trays.
09:04 nice subliminal message🤣. Must obey
Why peat free compost. I thought peat was good for plants.
🐝Thanks for the great video 🌻 handy dandy tips!!! Still need to make a extra table
I started using an artist grade crayon-pencil to write on my labels. It is wax based so it doesn’t wash off when I water. Hard to get a point on it though, so maybe not as efficient as Staedtler.
Thank you for teaching me to save money❤
thanks for all your info how can i get hold of the tables you showed very useful…. thanks
If you sow tomatoes under cover in a pot,wouldnt it be the same as sowing in a polytunnel directly in the ground? Whats thd difference? Saves you a step, surely
I am so glad to have found your channel, I have learnt so much from your videos already and am looking forward to receiving my copy of your book.
Huw you mentioned a video re healthy garden soil. You pointed on the screen and I cannot see it.
Hello Huw, thank you for this vid. You mention a 'peatless' seed mix, could you share that choice? Also do you save seeds, if so which? My soil has been a struggle, but working to change the result. There are raw resources on this smaller than 1/2 acre property, working to increase results. I appreciate you as resource go to. Even across the pond, there are common garden issues.
As far as language, that's God given of course. Joy!
Check your local Asda, in the UK, for pretty decent MPC. My local is currently doing a 3 for £12 deal. You’ll find you need to amend it with BF&B and it’s a bit grass/hay heavy, but it’s served me well for the last few seasons! 👍🏻
Do have a video on making your own compost?
Huw, are you using the medium or fine point Staedtler marker?
I've been gardening a long time and as you say seed compost had me confused I'm not harping back to the good old days just stating a fact when we used to sow seeds it was outside in a seed bed or outside in a seed bed within a cold frame and it was sieved soil which contained nutrients and everything done well so why nowadays have we to use nutrient free compost
Thank you once again for such a wonderful video! I have a question for you. I have compost outside from kitchen scraps and garden "waste". Would using it inside for seed starting bring in unwanted "creatures"? My compost is really full of worms, earth and red wigglers. Again thanks.
Love the video! Thank you for sharing your methods. In my area in Canada, we don’t get compost/multi purpose compost & even harder to find peat free. Would potting soil work as a comparably alternative? I have started certain seeds in it without trouble in the past, especially those that need a long time indoors. Thanks again!
I see you didn't use homemade compost any reason
I use soft tip pencils for my lables. Those are waterresistant and you can erase the pecil with an erazer and reuse them.
Book preordered! One thing, the compost you used, although generally a good grower ive had a couple of bags that have germinated but had no feed in the bag and lost plants.
Thank you Huw, I so appreciate your down to earth gardening knowledge. I even preordered your book!
peat-free compost ❤🙌
This is what I needed as I start my first raised-bed vegetable-growing,Thanks so much
So true about the potting soil! This year my biggest expense is just a couple bags of perlite to add to our "bottom soil" dirt from our sister's gully. It consists of alot of leaf mold and rich soils that wash off the hillsides every spring when heavy rains come. It is full of beautiful earth worms and is rich and black, so we're giving it a go. I just wanted to lighten it up a bit with some perlite, but we figured we are saving hundreds of dollars by doing this, instead of buying promix. Such a blessing! And you are also a great blessing to all of us! Keep up the good work! God bless you!
For ordering seeds in Germany online, I can recommend Bingenheimer Saatgut AG.
To mark my seed trays and seedlings, I write on wooden spatula with a permanent marker. When I no longer need the labeling, I throw the spatula on my compost heap.
On the marker pens, here in the States, we can get a "Garden Marker Pen" from Greenhouse Megastore and also Johnny's Seeds. I've used those for a few years. The writing doesn't disappear, even when outside! I just found some tags in my garden from last year that I can see clearly. And we use lids from the tops of oatmeal cartons, cut in 8 pie piece shapes, for labels. Also vinegar or bleach bottles, and milk cartons. Save money with recycling! I'm working on getting my beds ready. Peas are going in this week! Yum! Thanks again for your encouragement!
I recently saw a video of someone comparing how well potatoes grow in beds compared to tubs and the raised beds did substantially better over 3x the amount of potatoes (weight). It’d be interesting to see you cover this.
👍
Just came in from the greenhouse for starting seeds for the spring crops, and found this great instructional video. I use the same techniques, except I use screened homemade compost. The bunching onion seeds I planted last Friday are already sprouted, and they will be ready to transplant into the garden bed by early April.
Another lovely, encouraging and helpful video. Thank you Huw! ~ Ruby
I love to reuse egg trays for starters and they can go on a tray like would get from the deli or grocery store that has a clear plastic lid and it creates a mini little greenhouse in the cold spot by the glass patio door. I am excited to use toilet paper rolls for the first time this year for peas! Bonus is the crows won’t be stealing my seeds!
For the first time ever I tried one of those sterile starting mixes (made it myself, fortunately) for a few trays in February — it is such a pain! I used it to eliminate gnats and mold (I am starting seeds in the house) — so far no mold, but the gnats sure do not seem to mind. Also, the question of when I am supposed to add fertilizer…. I started different plants in the same tray, and some germinated while others have not yet done so — with compost, that is no problem; with this beast, I am using a stopper to water just the cells with the baby plants.
Experiment over; using pure compost going forward.
There is actual logic behind the no-nutrient-seed-mix trend. The idea is that, just like the plants tops will grow leggy looking for light, the roots will grow out more if they need to search for nutrients. So a nutrient-poor starting mix encourages root growth (if you don't leave them starving for too long). I'm personally not sure the benefit outweighs the hassle (I'm inclined to think it doesn't)…but there is logic behind the idea. Just FYI.
Hi Huw Is there a distributor in Canada for your trays yet? Shipping and exchange from US or elsewhere triples the cost…and I'd love to purchase your trays (I'm confident I'm not the only one :)).
Also I had to smile as you are getting very cheeky these days. Not wasting your time or out time watching yt or in the garden. It's great! Thanks so much.
Hey from Texas. How long do you leave the seedlings in the seed starters before moving them to the garden?
Why is it important that the compost is peat free?
Great video. I bought your HR10 & HR20 Plus Charles Dowding's CD 15 & the deep rooted modules last year. I love them as so sturdy and easy to plant out but still trying to get to grips with them. 1st lot were looked after when I was away, then I came back with covid so neglected the seedlings and they died. Then sowed loads more in October and put them on high shelf in my lean-to but I am only 5' 2" so didn't watch them and they germinated fine but dried out. Some are still surviving and I planted some in greenhouse on allotment 3 weeks ago but have not gone to check on them! Must try harder! This years tomatoes are in dining room & starting to get leggy plus fruit flies, whilst chillis & aubergines in same tray are still asleep!
How to organise time for planning, sowing, nurturing with other tasks is where I fall down…
Good advice, I just stick with bog standard compost, sieve it, get the lumps out. Job done!