Planting Equipment
There are so many shopping lists and so much equipment you can buy out there for planting seeds – below I will share with you what I have trialled and where I got most of it from and share some links to helpful advise you may like to look at too.
So if you haven’t already read here in previous posts I started my seed sowing journey in earnest in the Summer of 2020 -yes like so many millions of others… a direct connection with Covid-19 (or Rona coming to stay as I say! – good ol Aunty Rona HA HA)
Lockdown hit and we were house bound – I had previously sewn some seeds but mainly bought plants from the garden centre already sown and merrily growing… and planted out in the garden and a few in pots of the patio. This was not really an option moving forward in 2020 as Garden Centres were not allowed to trade, making the Sunday trip no longer a feasible outing.
Looking for another hobby that I could do at home and outside (the weather was typically gorgeous! that year).
First on my list was a greenhouse what I wanted was… something grand and magnificent – like all out dream dream dream greenhouse – for obvious reasons this was not going to happen A) cash flow B) living in rented accommodation. So I looked at cheap portable options… Zippys or Plastic greenhouse like this below. I think mine was about £60-£70 at the time… if you search them online the world is your oyster now you can get various sizes and types and £ – however during Covid times they were scares and hard to get hold of… like just about everything.
TIP If you do get one chose the least windy place to put it and fasten down EXTREMELY WELL – they do and will blow away taking all your hard work with it.
I bought multi purpose compost – basically I searched what was in stock for delivery at the time – I now search for the most cost effective I can find as I go through a lot and it can add up £££ but again the world is your oyster – I do personally believe a lot of it is preference. I have tried some of the special composts for different things but generally I just stick to an all round multi compost.
Seed Sowing Cell trays – Coir pods and Soil Blockers
Originally I borrowed – begged – any small pots or anything else I felt I could sow seeds in – again the ideas are endless – lots of people recycle plastic pots and trays that food comes in – yoghurt pots – plastic fruit punnets – milk cartons and so on – be inventive… but watch drainage – you don’t want to over water as this will cause all sorts of issues…
I purchased seed sowing inserts from homebase again these are available and many similar ones from plenty of places. They can vary in quality, price and then size. (I have written further information on these soil blocker here).
Labels and Labelling
I use this pen – artline garden marker – again these can be purchased from a range of places. They are fantastic and I was introduced to them by Zoe
I use these pens on all kinds of labels (plastic labels can be cleaned using nail varnish remover – making them reusable – I also use masking tape if a label isn’t really going to work for me. Again its entirely up to you what sort of labelling system you prefer.
Plant Feed
I use seaweed tonic initially when seeds are small but in need of a food boost… I then go onto use tomato feed. Then when my plants are all planted up I sometimes use a slow release feed added to the soil or continue to use tomato feed – for best results follow instructions regarding amounts and how frequently you should apply – be aware NOT to OVER FEED!!
PLEASE NOTE – none of these items are essential and you are in charge of you and what you like to use or would like to try – none of these products were given to me nor was I or have I been asked to advertise any of them. As usual if you have an questions please feel free to comment below 🙂