How to sow seeds

A seed needs three things to sprout: moisture, air and the right warmth. Almost every sowing failure comes from too much or too little of one of them.

Sow direct, or raise seedlings?

Sow directly where the plant will grow: root crops (carrot, radish, beetroot), leafy greens, peas, beans, okra, gourds, cucumber and coriander. These dislike having their roots disturbed.
Raise seedlings in a tray and transplant: tomato, brinjal, chilli, capsicum, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and onion. Small seeds are easier to protect in a tray, and you can choose the strongest plants.

How deep?

A simple rule: cover a seed with soil to about twice its own thickness. Dust-like seed, such as lettuce and petunia, is pressed onto the surface and barely covered. Tomato and cabbage seed goes about half a centimetre deep. Peas, beans and gourd seed go two to three centimetres deep. Seed sown too deep runs out of energy before it reaches the light.

Sowing in a tray, step by step

Fill a seedling tray or small pots with fine, moist mix: equal parts cocopeat and compost works well.
Sow two seeds in each cell at the right depth and cover lightly.
Water with a fine spray, or stand the tray in a dish of water for a few minutes so it soaks from below.
Keep it in bright shade, never in harsh sun, and keep the surface moist, not wet.
When the seedlings show, move the tray to morning sun. Snip off the weaker seedling in each cell.

Transplanting

Seedlings are ready when they have four to six true leaves, usually at four to five weeks.
For a few days before the move, give them more sun each day to toughen them.
Transplant in the evening. Water the tray first so the root ball holds together.
Plant at the same depth as before (tomatoes can go deeper), firm the soil and water at once.
Shade the plants for two or three days with a leaf, a paper cone or a net.

Thinning

Seedlings sown directly always come up too thick. Pull out or snip the extras while they are small, leaving the spacing given on each plant page. It feels wasteful and it doubles the harvest.

Why seeds fail

Old seed: check the packing date. Onion, carrot and coriander seed lose strength within a year or two.
Wrong season: cool-season seed will not sprout in hot soil, and the reverse.
Too wet: waterlogged soil rots seed and causes seedlings to collapse at the base.
Dried out once: a seed that has started to sprout dies if it dries.
Too deep.
Eaten: ants and birds take seed. Cover trays with a net or thin cloth until the seedlings are up.

Saving your own seed

Let one healthy plant of peas, beans, okra, methi or coriander ripen and dry on the plant. Collect the seed on a dry day, dry it in shade for a week and store it in a paper envelope inside a closed jar, labelled with the name and year. Seed saved from hybrid varieties does not come true, so save from ordinary (desi or open-pollinated) varieties.