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Sowing very fine seed
BenCotto
Posts: 4,718
The recommended technique is usually to mix the seed with a little silver sand to help disperse the seed and to see where the seed/sand mix lands on the compost.
Not having any silver sand I thought of an alternative approach of mixing the sand with glitter and, to this end, bought a little tub of it for 99p in the craft shop today. Is this a daft idea or is it worth a go?
Not having any silver sand I thought of an alternative approach of mixing the sand with glitter and, to this end, bought a little tub of it for 99p in the craft shop today. Is this a daft idea or is it worth a go?
Rutland, England
0
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https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/glitter-ban-environment-microbead-impact-microplastics-scientists-warning-deep-ocean-a8056196.html
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
When I sow really fine seed like petunias or begonias I open the packet carefully just above the prepared seed tray I'm going to use. I cut off the top, bottom and one side of the packet then tap the invisible contents onto the compost, then turn the packet over and give it a good tap on the back.
Sometimes the seedlings come up in clumps, but it's the best method I've found - so far
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Kili
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
Just responding to some of your comments, had pelleted seed been available I would have bought it but it wasn’t so I couldn’t. Nor could I readily source silver sand in the couple of DIY type stores I visited but passing the crafts section I saw the glitter and thought I would risk the 99p investment. I might yet try it despite the cool reception it has had.
LG I take your point about micro plastics but I really do wonder if my half teaspoonful of glitter is really going to make much of a difference to the global picture. I think most of us try to minimise our use of plastic and I have even recently made my own pea netting out of strong jute rather than buy a plastic net but I think we can take the exhortations too far sometimes. Who has switched to loose leaf while waiting for manufacturers to eliminate the use of plastics in teabags? Very, very few I would venture.
You need something that is the same size as the seed, glitter is relatively large, so when you mix them the seed will sink to the bottom and the glitter would all be on top. I suppose you could crush the glitter in a pestle and mortar if you have one.
Silver sand is extremely fine, which is why it's often used.
I stick with my method - which has worked for me over the years
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.