For our outdoor plants, before we can sow seeds we have to make sure our growing area is suitable. In our first gardening club sessions you will get hands on doing some weeding in your garden. We may also put some additional compost into our beds if they are low on soil.
Why do we need to remove weeds?
Weeds often start growing before we may begin to sow seeds in our gardens and therefore it is good to get on top of them before we do any planting. Weeds will be in competition with our plants, using up nutrients and space, as well as competing for sunlight. Therefore, to give our plants the most resources to grow successfully we need to remove these weeds as competitors. Weeding will continue all through the growing season and you can use ID guides to spot which weeds are coming up most in your gardens.
A weed ID guide can be found here: https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/garden-identifier-weed-seedlings/
What is compost and why may we use it?
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil and help our plants to grow. We may do our own composting too to make our own nutrient rich compost from plants and weeds we may take out of the beds, which will rot down. If buying compost, we will use peat free vegetable compost as this is the more environmentally friendly option. Peatlands are important habitats which stores lots of carbon and help prevents climate change and so we want to help the planet by avoiding using it.
Sowing seeds:
Sowing seeds is an essential part of developing a vegetable garden and making it our own unique space. You can buy plug plants (plants that have already been started) but sowing seeds is a cheaper way of starting vegetables and it’s great to watch the seedlings grow! The way in which we sow seeds is dependent on what plant we are sowing, but by looking at the back of the seed packet we will find information on how to sow and how far apart seeds should be sown. The seed packet will also tell you if you can sow your seeds directly outdoors or if you need to sow your seeds in pots and look after them indoors on a windowsill.
The way we sow seeds will often vary depending on the size of the seed, with smaller seeds usually sprinkled thinly into beds or compost, and larger seeds being planted individually.
