Instructions for planting your seeds

Each seed whether tiny or huge holds the miracle of life and contains the beginning of a new plant. If handled correctly most of the seeds will grow into beautiful plants. Some seeds are easier to start than others and we have tried to include only the easy ones for our garden kits. Please read the following direction to insure that your seeds will be given a good change to germinate (grow) and give you years of beautiful plants and flowers.

Before you can begin planting, you'll need to determine your seeds' requirements,  how deep you should plant them, whether they need light or darkness to germinate (start to grow), how long they take to germinate, whether they need any pre-treatment, such as soaking and when they should be planted.

We have included some of the necessary information for starting your seeds on our seed packets. Please read the instructions carefully and if you have questions you may email your questions to our gardening forum and one of our gardening experts will reply quickly.

Here are some general directions that will help you start your seeds.

Planting depth. As a general rule of thumb, plant seeds about twice as deep as their width. A pea seed, measuring 1/4", should be planted about 1/2" deep, for example. But your best bet is to follow the planting instructions on the seed packet. 

Light requirements. A few types of seeds need light to germinate. Of course this means you can't bury the seeds! Instead, simply press them onto the surface of moist soil. Other types of seeds need complete darkness, so you may want to cover the newly-planted container with moistened newspapers or cardboard. If there's no mention of light or darkness requirements, it's safe to assume the seeds aren't fussy about this.

Germination time. Seeds can take anywhere from a few days to a month or more to germinate. Note this carefully for each variety, so you won't give up on seeds that have a longer germination time.

Pre-treatments. Some seeds -- especially those with hard seed coats such as morning glories -- will germinate faster if they are pre-treated. Treatments include soaking for several hours or nicking the seed coat with a file so it will more readily absorb water (called scarification). Another type of pre-treatment is a period of chilling (called stratification). Again, read the seed packet for special instructions.

Planting time. Most of the seeds in our packets may be started outdoors following the last frost. This is called Direct Sowing. Other seeds may be started indoors and the new plants are set out after the last frost. Remember the Holy Land is a Mediterranean Climate with mild winters. You do not want to have your tender seedlings killed by frost. The perennial and annuals included in the wildflower kit can all be directly sown where they are to grow if you prefer. Properly sized plants (2-5 inches) will transplant more readily and actually grow faster in the garden than oversized plants.

Seeds that germinate better in complete darkness (covered with soil): coriander  fennel  parsley  tomato  Callendula  larkspur  sweet pea  poppy  and nasturtium.

Seedlings that Don’t Transplant Well:  If you must start these as seeds indoors, use peat  pots or paper pots to limit  root disturbance:    poppies  sunflowers  morning glories  Lavatera  annual phlox  nasturtiums  beans  corn  cucumbers  dill  fennel  melons  parsnip  parsley  peas  radishes  squash.

by Shirley Sidell