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Saturday, September 6, 2014

How to start your seeds and not kill the seedlings

This post has been updated.

I have sown a few seeds just to see how it goes. It may be too soon but since I feel like it's getting cooler I thought let me try. On Sep 2 I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes/zucchinis, eggplants and capsicum seeds. These can be started this month according to this guide , which can also be found here , if I understand it right.

And here they go, a couple have sprouted already. I did't mark this batch, but from experience I know they must be courgettes and cucumbers.




And this below is an okra plant. I scattered some seeds in this area "some" weeks ago and it's actually growing. So yes you can grow veggies all year round in Dubai then, cuz okra seems to do well in summer. Last year I confused okra with castor oil plant until the pods grew gigantic. Since it was my first time growing both I thought okras were castor oil plants. The leaves look very similar, except that castor oil plant has smooth leaves and okra's leaves are kind of spiny. I actually got confused this year again, cuz I have a bunch of castor oil seedlings around.



Last year I kept a journal of what I planted when and of course I lost it. This is upsetting because this would save me lots of time. I can't remember what I planted this time last year, but I think I planted above mentioned veggies. The weather is still very hot though so this can be tricky. So what can we do to help the seeds germinate and grow?

1) Don't start your seeds indoors. Why? Because the shock will be too strong and the seedlings will most likely die. It'll still be too hot by the time you will want to transplant them and they won't survive the shock.

2) Keep your seeds in semi shade. I find it helpful. Most seeds don't need sun to germinate but need it to grow. If they germinate in shade and then you put them in the sun the shock will be too strong. Keeping them in full sun in turn will fry them.

3) Keep them watered. Keep them watered. Keep them watered. I can't stress it enough. Seeds need water to "wake up" and most seeds will die if they dry up after "waking up". I won't go into technical terms here, you can read about it. So don't let the soil dry out. You also don't want them soaking wet but during this time of the year it's unlikely to happen. If needed then water twice, or even trice a day. Or alternatively wait till October. But even then you can't let them dry out.

4) You can start your seeds in almost anything that will hold a little soil and has a drainage hole in the bottom. I use left over containers from flowers I get from souks. A few containers I have. Yoghurt cups. Disposable picnic cups. Be creative, you don't really need special seed starting packs, unless you really want to.

5) Sow a couple of seeds per container/hole. Some seeds won't germinate so it's a good idea to have at least two per cup/hole. It's not a waste cuz most seed companies are generous and seed packs contain a lot of seeds. If both germinate it's ok you can snip the weaker one later (don't pull in order not to disturb the roots). I usually throw the snipped ones into the compost or simply push it under the soil.

6) Seeds have nutrients reserve so they don't need to be fed, fertilized for a few weeks. Once they develop a set of true leaves they may need a little "meal" at half dose. But I don't do it. The soil I use is plain potting soil which already contains some nutrients. So "food" is in their final location.

7) Harden off your seedling for at least a week prior to transplanting. Expose them to sun gradually increasing the duration. Start with morning sun and move to afternoon sun gradually. UPDATE

8) Transplanting: do it in late afternoon, preferably on a cloudy day. UPDATE

9) Let children do the magic. I don't know what it is about kids and seeds, but almost everything sown by kids grows successfully :)

10) Hope for the best and be ready to start again if this batch doesn't work. I did that in the past, and not me only. Just don't give up.



8 comments:

  1. I keep reading confusing posts stating completely opposite rules for gardening. So far these guidelines have been the most representative of my extremely amateur gardening experience here. Even plants that require full sun in other regions would require partial shade here. Transplanting is a killer. Still don't know how to do it. Direct sowing into large pots is the method I've switched to rather than sowing in small pots and transplanting it into my garden.

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    1. Hello, thanks for stopping by. I understand your concerns. I still have hard time with transplants (in September at least) so I simply plant most things in the ground and hope for the best. I realize that I forgot to mention the "hardening off for a week" point in this post. It's crucial.

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  2. Hi Yana, your blog is very helpful for a newby to both Dubai and vegetable gardening! I can't wait to start watching the growth (though I have a patio so in my case it's container gardening...). I have a quick question, when you mention semi shade do you mean under a shade cloth so that only a little sunlight trickles through? Or do you mean sunshine only part of the day. My patio gets direct sunlight only in the morning. Thanks for your advice!

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  3. Hello Stefanie, I'm sure you'll like it here. A plus is that we have a long growing season.
    When I say under shade I mean dappled shade like under shade cloth or similar. Morning sun will do as it's not as intense as the mid-day sun.
    Cotainer gardening is fun and I do it too, in the part where the garden is paved.
    Let me know if you have anymore questions.

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  4. Thanks for your quick response! What would you recommend sowing at this time of year when it is still hot? Also, when I look up general information about starting seeds they always recommend a seeding mix. Here I can only find potting soil (with compost and peat added). Will this work OK for the seedlings or do you have other recommendations?

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    1. I didn't see seed starting mixes here. I usually use potting soil. I have a new video out soon about diy potting mixes.
      In regards to what you can start now you can use the planting guides for UAE and Arizona here: http://mylittlegardenindubai.blogspot.ae/p/useful.html?m=0

      I have started veggies like beans, okra, eggplants, pepper's and zucchini and going to plant tomatoes and cucumbers along with cabbage family veggies soon.

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  5. Hi I'm new to gardening. Planning start off in a week. I have a doubt. Should I have holes in the small container that I will be using for the seedling.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Dawn. Starting off now is a good time as the weather started cooling down. Yes you should have/make holes in your planting containers, be it seedlings or established plants.

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