How to plant seeds?

If you are a complete beginner in growing your own flowers, herbs or veggies, then I have a shortcut to your first guaranteed success for you today. :)

Start small and simple, with easy to grow and possibly fast-growing plant. That just might give you so much pleasure that you'll never want to stop planting seeds again...

Above is a photo of about 1 inch tall nasturtium seedling I planted 10 days ago in an outdoor planter

Today my suggestion is to try to plant nasturtium for several reasons:

• it's really easy to grow
• its seeds are approximately the size of a dry pea - which makes them a lot easier to plant precisely where you want the plant to be
  
• it sprouts in only seven to ten days
• grows really fast afterwords
• the whole plant is edible
• can be grown in the flower bed or in medium-sized pot indoors
• has beautiful flowers which are also edible and starts blooming as fast as in about 5 to 6 weeks
• has beautifully shaped leaves, grows in a bushy manner and looks good even without blooms
  
• in a flower bed nasturtium will reseed itself and keep coming back every year
• planted indoors this plant will provide almost instant greenery and thus improve your living space

You might be wondering about a lot of "HOW TOs", you might have loads of questions and - let me assure you - in gardening (like in most other things) - simple is the best.


There's no need to get all stressed out about the seeds and planting and soil and planters. Simply start where you are, with what you have.


How to plant seeds indoors


These are simplified instructions on how to plant one nasturtium seed - in other words - that's how I do it and it's working for me.


There are many conditions that affect every growth and we can't always control them all. Be creative and if one method doesn't work for you, try something a little bit different. Change one factor and observe the results.

1. any container in the size of at least 4 inches (10 cm) across will do - as long as you poke some drainage holes on the bottom
2. cover the bottom of the planter with paper coffee filter - it prevents washing the soil out of your pot
   
3. fill the pot with store-bought potting mix (garden soil in planters is usually a ticket to failure)
4. use mister or spray bottle to water - until the water shows up in the saucer underneath the planter
5. lay a single nasturtium seed on top of the soil in the middle of your chosen planter
   
6. cover the seed with 1/2 inch (1 cm) of soil
7. place to a sunny spot and check on this about-to-happen tiny miracle every day
   
8. keep the soil moist - but not soggy

How to plant seeds outdoors

Planting seeds outdoors is pretty much the same. Prepare the soil and then follow instructions from the seed packet regarding spacing, depth and sun requirements. For seedlings hand-watering with watering can is the best because those small plants are quite fragile.

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