The correct way to sow seeds?

[sumi]

My XDH told me the best depth to plant seeds at is 1.5 times the width of the seed. Me being me immediately thought I have never seen a plant or tree naturally do that to ensure their seeds grow, so if nature doesn't do it that way, who says it's the "best" or "right" way? I remember my MIL telling me that she puts her lettuce seeds in the fridge before planting them, or "they won't grow".

I got thinking about that this morning and want to know, just out of curiosity, what do you all consider the best way to handle and treat seeds for sowing, before and when the time comes? Do you aim for an "ideal" depth or scatter them and hope for the best, or do what I do and just stick them deep enough in the ground to ensure they are covered well enough, but not too deep so they won't find their way up?

 

[NH Homesteader]

Putting the seeds in the fridge first- that's new to me!

I just go with approximately whatever the seed packet says for depth. Because I am not a very experienced gardener so I follow the rules

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm a little haphazard in my planting. I kinda, sorta follow package directions - but not too carefully. I do broadcast tiny seeds like lettuces and/or carrots and I don't really cover them - just kinda pat them down a little. I think maybe I read somewhere that certain lettuces actually need light to germinate...? I try to get corn planted fairly deep because it tends to be shallow rooted - but heck I rarely plant corn anymore.

I do store my seeds in the fridge because I'm a seed-a-holic and am always buying tons more than I can use up in a season.

 

[Chic Rustler]

I'm kinda new at it myself. So far not so great.....

 

[tortoise]

I have heard of refrigerating seed. Some seeds have to be "stratified" (I think that's the word?). They have to be frozen and thawed to crack the outer coating - or you can knick each see with a knife.

I stumbled upon "winter sowing" and might try it. The idea is to plant in a covered container (like a milk jug sliced almost in half), leave it outside to freeze, and you get a greenhouse effect in spring. It's supposed to work especially well for certain seeds (don't ask, I don't know). It's supposed to solve typical problems with starting seeds indoors.

 

[Joel_BC]

My XDH told me the best depth to plant seeds at is 1.5 times the width of the seed. Me being me immediately thought I have never seen a plant or tree naturally do that to ensure their seeds grow, so if nature doesn't do it that way, who says it's the "best" or "right" way? I remember my MIL telling me that she puts her lettuce seeds in the fridge before planting them, or "they won't grow".

I can't think of any garden-veggie seeds that we "stratify" (refrigerate or freeze) before planting. Stratification is recommended, or deemed necessary, for the germination of certain flower and tree seeds. I believe that our vegetable seeds, handed down through ancestors in various parts of the world, generally had a very lengthy history of being fairly easy to grow — and stratification wouldn't have been easy or possible to do centuries ago.

Possibly, though, there are certain varieties of lettuce that do germinate more readily if refrigerated first. If so, I just don't know of them.

Nature generally uses the principle of produce a lot of seeds, let the winds, rain, birds, and other forces of nature act upon them. BUT, then things don't grow in rows or convenient beds and may get established very spottily here, heavily there. Horticulture and agriculture involve more human control and have enabled people to have more of what they want, when they want it, and with greater ease of finding & harvesting.

I've known people who've experimented with broadcasting a mix of seeds, or letting the plants re-seed themselves in a given area. Can't remember any of this working out too satisfactorily. The experiments were all abandoned within a year or a few.

I got thinking about that this morning and want to know, just out of curiosity, what do you all consider the best way to handle and treat seeds for sowing, before and when the time comes? Do you aim for an "ideal" depth or scatter them and hope for the best, or do what I do and just stick them deep enough in the ground to ensure they are covered well enough, but not too deep so they won't find their way up?

In my experience, ideal seed depth is a more-or-less sort of thing, with beans (for instance) being planted deeper than carrot or lettuce seed. You develop a feel or knack for that, but beforehand can consult seed packet blurbs or online gardening sites. With small seeds like carrots, lettuce, radishes planting just a little under the top layer of soil keeps them damp, and prevents irrigation water or birds from disturbing or removing them before they take root.

 

[Beekissed]

I go with the size of the seed to indicate the depth I plant. A larger seed like bean and corn have a strong stem and can be planted to half my finger depth, while smaller seeds with a weaker stem, like lettuce, need to be barely covered...I'll usually just sprinkle soil over them and pat it down to firm it.

With tomato seeds I'll normally just use a pencil and poke it as deep as the eraser into the soil, then drop in the seed and just push the soil together over the hole.

I rarely read the packet instructions except maybe for spacing in something of which I'm none too familiar.

 

[Britesea]

Like @Beekissed I use a finger to judge planting depth for most of my seeds. Like children, seeds are extremely forgiving; they can grow tall and strong in spite of your bungling, as long as you give them the best you are able.

 

[NH Homesteader]

So.... Not sowing related but seed related....

How long do seeds keep for? What's the best way to store them? I am going through what I have, which have not been in any sort of temperature controlled environment, and wondering if I should bother keeping any or just order new ones? I just don't want to toss them if they're fine, but don't want to have poor results if they're not!

If I do keep any, what is the best way to keep them?

 

[Britesea]

Here's a list of seed longevity for at least the most common vegetables:
Beans 2-3 years
Beets 3-5 years
Broccoli 3-5 years
Carrot 3 years
Corn, sweet 2 years
Cucumber 5 years
Eggplant 3-5 years
Kale 4 years
Lettuce 2-5 years (lots of debate!)
Muskmelon 5 years
Onion 1 year
Pea 3 years
Pepper 2 years
Radish 5 years
Spinach 2-3 years
Squash 4 years
Tomato 4 years
Watermelon 4 years

You could do a viability test on your seeds: take about 10 seeds of each type you want to test, put them inside a paper napkin and keep the napkin moist for the number of days they usually need to sprout. Check the seeds to see if any of them are sprouting. If you find that less than half of the seeds sprouted, it's probably not worth it; unless it's a favorite variety- then just be heavy handed with the sowing.