Looking down at exposed ground makes the question rise: How far in? Plant deep enough to hide seeds from weightless harm, yet not so deep that they is trapped. Plant shallow enough for quick germination. Do not plant so shallow that they are at risk from storms, birds, or dry air.
It’s got to be guesswork, right? Not exactly. There are some clear-cut layering instructions here (see chart above) that will take out all the angst. When you know which way your seeds go, there is no more blind faith or hope. There is just science. And you’ve got the power.
How to Plant Seeds Correctly
Seed depth make sense when you compare its size to weight of soil. Really small seeds (think: chamomile and lettuce) contain almost no reserves of strength. No matter how finely crumbled ground, they’ll be powerless against even a dusting of compressed dirt. In the graphic, those go in the surface sow group, meaning basically, nothing over their heads is required. Think of it as a dusting on top of soil, and let ’em get right to work grabbing some sun. Planting a lettuce seed an inch deep? Not planting, exactly; it’s burying a corpse. Harsh, but true…and means you won’t wait weeks for non-existent sprouting.
But bigger seeds is stronger: They can pushes their way up and be covered better. Corn, for example, and beans (and other large seeds) has large cotyledons full of nutrition. They’re strong enough to plow through an inch or more of soil. In the guide, they go deep, often two inches or more. That helps keep them protected from pests, who may scratch at the top, as well as from drying out.
It is a balance of strength and exposure. Little ones want light; big ones wants to stay buried. Knowing that make a difference in how you plan your garden beds.
The location for your seed-planting efforts are important (as we’ve seen), but the timing and the reason why you plant are also important. Seeds won’t sprout until the soil heats up enough. This means peas and spinach (cool-season crops) is hardy creatures who will tolerate cold soil; tomatoes and peppers (warm-season faves) want it hot before they even think about waking up. The visual aid helps show the hot/cold line in terms of temps, and clusters plants to match. Why waste time sowing heat-loving squash into cool spring earth? Impatience on your part won’t help. What’s going to happen is the seed will rot right in place. The biological on/off switch just won’t turn without the dirt warming up first.
Second, consider how they are planted. Certain things (such as peppers and tomatoes) will become transplants in a state of shock if they’re not done just so. If they’re touched wrong at the right time, or done too soon or too late, or brought outside before the world around them were ready…well, they die. Better to get those babies going indoors where you have some say over the circumstances, then shift them outdoors when the world has caught up with them.
Then there are things that don’t want their root systems messed with: Beets, carrots, etc. These is happier if they go straight into ground, and never come out again. The chart lays that out. It saves you from wasting time with a carrot seedling by preventing you from thinking you’ll get it to transplant size, only to watch it wither because you forced its hand. Respect the plant, people. Don’t force your agenda upon it.
Half the battle of all this is preparation. Prepare the soil well. This gives the seed its only chance at a clean start without things like disease or weeds competing against them. And if your seeds are little guys who don’t store reserves, like some do on their surfaces, having a humidity dome to seal in moisture helps. It sounds like more work, but it’s just the little things that makes the difference between a lush garden and a sparse one.
Labeling each row makes you feel silly about forgetting what was where when, too. Save yourself from accidentally digging up your precious onions by mistaking them for weeds.
Gardening isn’t magic. It’s a little bit mechanical. If you treat every seed with respect; taking into account its space requirements, and whether it likes hot or cool soil, and then do precisely what it asks of you, it will grow. And when that initial tender green emerges from the ground, you’ll know that success wasn’t luck, but a reward for giving it the conditions it asked for. Give every seed a good beginning…and now you know how to make sure they all get theirs.