How to propagate seeds

By bringing on crops such as celery, leeks, onions, tomatoes, peppers, early salads and herbs now, you'll have an advantage when spring arrives, placing young plants into your garden or allotment after the last frost when neighbours are just starting to sow in situ outside.

You needn't invest in special equipment - while there are numerous sophisticated electrically heated propagators available to buy, you can opt for a simple seed tray and lid or even just a yogurt pot and a transparent freezer bag to create the greenhouse-like conditions required by some crops to germinate. Ensure windowsills are clear, too, so your seedlings can be positioned on them where they will receive plenty of light.

On top of moist potting compost, space your seeds evenly apart, then cover with a fine layer. Keep hydrated with water sprayed from a mister. Once the seedlings have appeared and produced two true leaves (the mature ones that appears after the initial pair), holding them carefully by this foliage (the stem is too easily damaged at this stage), transfer them to individual pots where they will have space to grow. This step is called ‘pricking out' and you may need to perform the task once or twice more as the plant increases in size, before the ‘hardening off' stage (acclimatising it to outdoor temperatures) and transplanting the home-grown specimens to your plot.

Getting started

Books to read

'Grow Your Own Garden: How to Propagate All Your Own Plants' by Carol Klein (BBC Books, £11.46)

'RHS Propagating Plants' by Alan Toogood (Dorling Kindersley, £9.66)

'The Plant Propagator's Bible' by Miranda Smith (Reader's Digest, £13.99)

'The Gardener's Guide to Propagation: Step-By-Step Instructions for Creating Plants for Free, From Propagating Seeds and Cuttings to Dividing, Layering and Grafting' by Richard Rosenfeld (Lorenz Books, £12.99). Due out 1 Feb 2011.

Seeds in Association with the RHS: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Successfully from Seed by Jekka McVicar (Kyle Cathie, £8.24)

Go on a course

City and Guilds in plant propagation

To learn everything you need to know about growing plants from seed, this ten-week evening course at Hadlow College in Kent will also teach you how to take cuttings, layer and graft. It costs £150. www.hadlow.ac.uk

Propagation from seed

Kingston Adult Education in Surrey runs one-day courses in propagation from seed, as well as vegetable growing for beginners and propagation from cuttings. The Saturday courses run 10am-4pm and cost £42. www.kingston.gov.uk

Plant propagation

This six-week evening course at Truro College in Cornwall gives you a thorough understanding of  all the different methods of propagating plants. It also runs courses in organic gardening and vegetable growing, if you want more information on a specific area. The course costs £60 and runs from 10 January 2011 for two hours every week. www.trurocollege.ac.uk

You might also like...

Do-it-yourself gardening: seeds