Before they produce fruits and veggies, each plant starts with the seed, and how to prepare the seeds of crops before planting in a polytunnel is a way to discover.
Start by using your fresh seeds. If you have leftover seeds from the previous year, they may be tested for germination before proceeding. You can have some seeds, from as little as 10 to as many as 100 seeds, on your paper towel, moistened.
Then, please fold the paper over the seeds and place them inside the plastic bag in a warmer area. Take this paper out and inspect your seeds around twice per day, spraying them with water to keep moisture around the seeds. After a certain number of days required to germinate them, count to see how many seeds have grown and computed the germination percentage. Without further ado, let’s get to the discussion.
How Do You Start A Polytunnel With Seeds?
Things You’ll Need
To get started, you will need to prepare the following: bowl, sterile seed-starting tray, vermiculite, potting soil, optional clear plastic bag, heating mat, spray bottle, optional heater, fan, fluorescent lighting, larger containers, and your all-purpose fertiliser.
The Procedures
Start with filling flowerpots, seed-starting trays, and peat pots with your moist seed-starting mixture. Plant the seeds based on the directions on the seed packet, arranging these in two to three seeds from each container at depth with ½ inch at most. Then, cover your seeds with soil and use water to mist.
After these, cover your pots or your trays with your plastic wrap. Place these in bright and warm locations, and you may manufacture them with an electric heating mat for allowing the seed to regulate the soil temperature. As your seedlings appear, take away the plastic wrap.
Keep the planting mix moist, but avoid having them waterlogged. Then, snip the excess plant seedlings with your scissors, leaving a seedling from each pot. Allot one to two weeks for the fertilisation process using the water-soluble fertiliser at a quarter strength 5-10-5. You have learned about these steps, too, in the other blog posts we have here.
With ¼ of your fertiliser solution, water the seedling and water the plants after fertilising. Once the seedlings are eight weeks old, they are ready to get planted outdoors and harden off, weather condition permitting. Otherwise, translate these into larger containers to let them grow.
How Do You Prepare A Polytunnel for Planting?
Polytunnels are all-season homes for your plants and all-year-round structure that can cater to the needs of your crops. It is interesting to note that when it comes to preparing the polytunnel for planting anew in the upcoming year, the wintertime is the best season to reorganise the polytunnel. This involves de-cluttering and other habits.
Adding Polytunnel Vents
Conquering insufficient ventilation is a challenge for many UK gardeners. You have to make sure there are sufficient openings to allow better air circulation, and this would include slatted vents and two roof vents right on top.
The Automatic Vent Openers
One of the essential pieces of gardening equipment to have is the automatic vent opener. Automatic vent openercould be your ultimate life-saver during the warmer days, and if you forget to open vents for any reason, this will make sure the warm air can still escape, preventing plants from reaching the point of shrivelling.
The Use Of Shade Netting
It is excellent to protect your plants from the harsh sun during the summer, so you must ensure that you invest in shade netting to throw over each side of the polytunnel. You may also fit blinds indoors, but they can be pricey and may tend to get into your pots, as well as with your growing bags. Use the more affordable inexpensive shade paint that you can easily wash off.
Installing Electricity
To install electricity in your polytunnel may involve costs, but it will be worth it since it can open up to many possibilities. It will let you have the right light source to work with at night as you plug in heated mats or propagators.
You can also run electric heaters during the evening with their thermostat feature, in which they utilise power whenever you need it. You can hire an electrician for the installation to avoid mishaps.
Generating Heat
The heat source can extend the season of growth and increase the range of plants you can grow. If you have the power supply, the heater with your automatic thermostat will work for your necessities. Try to keep the polytunnel frost-free in the winter, as you aim for the temperature of four degrees Celsius or more.
Storing Water
Polytunnel plants require more water than those grown outside the polytunnel. You can use a water butt connected to downpipes if you are used to having tap water or rainwater for the plants.
Clearing The Polytunnel
Before starting on growing and sowing, you can clear the polytunnel of old plant materials that may harbour diseases. It is a good idea to compost before removing the surfaces of shelves and staging with soapy, warm water.
How Do You Prepare Seeds Before Planting?
You don’t need to be a master gardener in the UK to wow your visitors with the plants or herbs that you own—preparing seeds before planting is easy and can be done even by farmers starting in the craft.
- Place seeds within your seedpods into the paper bag as you fold the top down. Be sure to shake the container thoroughly to remove seeds from their pod. Open this bag to select the seed pods. Throw them away as you pour seeds onto a newspaper.
- Then, get going by filling your bowl with cold water, bringing in seeds with the wet membrane, including pumpkin seeds or tomato. These seeds tend to feel slimy to your touch, so you can rub the seeds with the fingers to remove the membrane. Scoop out any seeds and lay them in your newspaper.
- Take in a piece of sandpaper into your glass jar and place this on the rough side facing the pot’s interior, as well as the paper against the sides. Then, place your seeds in a single variety within the jar and cover. Shake the jar well for seed scarification.
- Next, fill your bowl with water and place in seeds you are preparing to get planted into the water, making sure they are submerged. Allow the seeds to absorb moisture as they soaked for two hours before scooping them out for planting. Use different bowls for each of the seed varieties.
- Dip your veggie seeds with your disinfecting solution after soaking to combat bacteria and fungus. Fill your tub with water and bleach, and place your seeds here, allowing them to soak for one to two minutes. Remove the seeds and lay them on the newspaper to dry.
How to prepare the seeds of crops before planting in a polytunnel may sound technical at first, but with the right strategies, you can be able to ace this in the UK.