Seed-starting - Understanding When and How

Is it too early? Is it too late? Do I need a greenhouse? So many questions and every person or group you ask will give you a different answer.

Like The Byrds song Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season), practically every plant will have the perfect season and, whilst there may be some which survive outside of that season, most plants will do best when planted at approximately 'the right time'.

There are Summer crops such as tomatoes, chillies, eggplant, zucchini, beans and fennel. Then there are the cold loving crops such as cauliflower, leeks, cabbage etc. You can try and grow them the other way around but you will encounter problems such as bolting, non-germination, stalled growth, pests and fruit not ripening.

Step 1 of your seed-sowing journey is to get the right season then you won't be disappointed. Step 2 - understand the needs of the seeds and plants - e.g beans need a soil temperature of 19 degrees to germinate, tomato growth will stall if planted out in cold or cool temperatures, lettuce will bolt if too hot. Step 3 - understand how your location can affect germination and growth - northern parts of New Zealand have an almost sub-tropical climate, whereas those in the southern parts will struggle to grow a lemon tree without a greenhouse. Step 4 - adjust with the climate - yes, climate warming does affect when and how we grow things - here in the Bay of Plenty our Summers are much warmer (and windier) than they used to be and we need to mulch and irrigate more than before. More recently we've seen a fabulous snowfall in the South Island in late Spring - my condolences to those that had their vege garden planted. Step 5 - realise that seasons are longer now so if you want to start some tomato seeds in November then go for it! There's a very good chance you will still be enjoying the fruits of your labour in March. 

My go-to bits and pieces for seed starting - good quality seed-raising mix, reading and following the sowing instructions, labels, heatpad, greenhouse, seaweed / fish fertiliser and resilience - not every seed will grow, but I know if I've done the basics right there's a good chance more of them will grow.