29/04/2026
What I’ve learnt works best for me so far…sowing advice to my younger self…
1. Know your sowing area, invest in a couple of cheap temperature/humidity gauges (my polytunnel varies about 4°C from the warmest spot to the coolest spot, high at one side compared to low at the opposite side.
2. When I receive a seed delivery, I jot main points re sowing instructions on my delivery note from the supplier website, anything that is not standard such as: stratification/ soaking / scarification needed, temperature to be sown at, if you don’t cover the seed & germination times.
3. Have a system for storing your seeds. Some of mine are stored in a plastic box in the freezer, but others are stored in a fridge tray, sectioned into longevity of the plant and the colour bed / scheme they would be used in my garden of ornamentals (will leave edibles for another day)- direct sow in the colour combinations, annuals white/green/black; annuals red/yellow/orange; annuals pink/blue/purple; annuals mixed; biennials; perennials again in the colour combinations; grasses; shrubs & trees; tropical/indoor.
4. Make a system that works for you, I like pink labels for perennials and yellow labels for annuals, green for edibles. (I’ve experimented labelling with the colour label the plant is going to be as my beds in the garden are colour themed but I prefer the perennial to annual method as many perennials have longer germination times than annuals)
5. Write the sow date on that way you know if those seeds aren’t looking like they’re going to play ball & you might want to switch it up a bit like stratify them in the fridge or freezer for a few weeks before bringing them out again. If it hasn’t got a date on you might throw away something precious that is working hard in that tiny nucleus power house that takes 9 months to germinate if it is amongst lots of other plants that only take 21 days to germinate & you wouldn’t want that!
6. I prefer to sow earlier in the season in smaller modules, often I can start sowing a little too early in my excitement, my polytunnel isn’t heated, & my first sowings aren’t always successful- that’s ok, I’m fine with that, I’m out in the fresh air, having fun and not wasting much compost as I’m using smaller modules. The sowing season isn’t manic at this point so it is easy for me to keep on top of pricking out if the seeds do show their faces early and those odd days of early spring sun doesn’t dry out the seedlings before I get them in a next level home.
7. As the next few weeks progress I tend to move on to 7cm pots for sowing, this gives me more room for variation in surface area in my polytunnel and less panic about pricking out the smaller seedlings if I’m busy as they have the depth of the pot & seem to dry out less.
8. A polytunnel warms up quicker in spring, a greenhouse holds heat longer in autumn, as a polytunnel owner since March 2020, and having given away too many greenhouses (2 at this address & 1 of them still looks wonderful in the next door neighbour’s garden) to now broach this subject with my husband (I don’t think he reads my posts - just looks at the pictures lol ), I am hoping that the algorithm genie will start showing him the greenhouses I have been looking at that will fit alongside my polytunnel - as I would want him to build me a base - eek).
9. Have patience you are working with nature, & just as we have no control over time & tide, the control we have over our seeds is limited by nature & the necessary conditions even though we feel we are following germination guidelines. For example, these Mimulus Tigrinus Tiger Monkey for some reason did not germinate well this year, on the first & second sowings, I did a third sowing and was about to pop them all in the freezer if they didn’t work - the seedlings I am pricking out from left to right in the picture were sown 3/3/26, 16/3/26 & 27/3/26. Quite difficult to tell apart, they look almost identical above soil & the roots did too as I pricked them out. A bit like children, they get there in the end 🥰
10. As I have warmer & cooler areas in the polytunnel, I tend to move my sowings around quite often, this also helps me stay on top of sowing so many seeds - you might be able to see from the pictures that I have a bit of a rotation going on atm. Any that aren’t showing ➡️ move into different tray once any signs of growth ➡️ newly pricked out so I can keep a close eye on ➡️ more established plants that I don’t necessarily have to check up on every day, just a rotation here and there as watering.
11. I keep sowing & germination notes to check on viability of seeds I am buying & my sowing methods. This list includes Thompson & Morgan, Dobies, Mr Fothergill’s, RHS seed scheme, gifted & self collected seeds, sometimes old stock too I’ve had for ages - I group these together as they’re incidentals - not of my favourite brands & not ones I really intend to use again, and are my favourites due to the quality, low fuss packaging, ability to buy small volumes for more variation & they have good germination rate which I also track on my notes. Also, you feel like you are buying from a business that is all about the seeds as the postage is completely reasonable, there are no exhaustive admin fees included in the postage & packing like you get with the branded garden company sites.
Even better… You can see from my previous posts & list of seeds sown this year that I do have two preferences for seed suppliers Budget Seeds have kindly offered my readers 10% off using my code JMIMG10, thank you and drop my a 💚to show you’ve used it 🥰
If the info and / or my discount code helps anyone out…great!
Please let me know Just Me In My Garden
I’ll obviously post some updates as to how things are going as these pics were taken just over a week ago & lots of growth has happened since then!
