"I trade for many of my seeds and sometimes the sowing depth information is not always included on the packet. What is the correct depth that I should sow my seeds?" I sow my seeds twice as deep as the seed's smallest dimension. ===================================================== As examples: Foxglove seeds are the size of dust so just pat them into the soil surface. Columbine seeds are the size of fleas so just pat them into the soil surface. Grass is small and narrow too so just pat those seeds into the soil surface. Marigolds may be a 1/2 inch long but they're quite narrow and flat so sow them just under the soil surface. A bachelor button seed is maybe a 1/16 of an inch wide so sow them an 1/8th inch under the soil surface. Next size up would be a coneflower seed....sow that about a 1/4 inch under the soil. A pea or a corn seed is getting bigger. That's about a 1/4 inch across so sow that about a half inch down. A navy-bean seed is bigger....maybe 3/4 of an inch down. And a scarlet runner bean is quite fat....that should be a full inch down. An acorn....well, hmm. How deep is "squirrel depth"? ============================================== I hope this info was not too much "in depth", LOL! Trudi

It depends upon how much time you have to care for seedlings before they are tranplanted into permanent spots in the garden. If you are growing garden annuals that you want blooming as soon as they go into the ground they need to be started indoors several weeks ahead of your planting date. Seed packets will offer germination information to guide you...keep in mind that the information on the back of the packet is based upon ideal circumstances. Most garden perennials do not bloom their first year from seed so they can be started anytime. Starting indoors will require care to prevent damp-off and repotting if felt necessary. Outdoor germination you will need to protect the soil from desiccation by wind and sun, the seedlings should also be protected from slugs or snails, if a hail storm is coming you can help protect young direct-sown seedlings by turning an old laundry basket over them for the duration of the storm. Direct-sown seedlings are often a tasty treat for birds and bunnies. A scarecrow and fencing can help protect the seedlings from critter damage, however a starving animal will ignore devices used to deter or scare them away. Vegetable packets offer a "days to maturity" guideline to suggest when to sow your seeds. Those days are generally based upon how long it takes to grow the first ripe produce after a seedling is about four inches high, those dates are not indicative of how many days needed to produce ripe fruit after germination. Germination requirements can vary from species to species, though some plant families may have similar requirements. If you have no seed packet to read for germination requirements then you can look up the information on the internet by typing in the plant name + germination. The information may also be found in books at the library. Winter Sowing, done outdoors, goes on all throughout winter. See the Winter Sowing Forum FAQs for information. There is also forum with FAQs for Starting Seeds Under Lights.

You read a post heading and if it attracts you then click on it and open it up...Let's see how to make a trade with "Gardener_Jane" "HAVE: Marigolds, cosmos, banana melons, and others seeds." Okay.....you go ahead and click on the link and there's Jane's list and you like a few things on it. Let's see Jane's list.... I have these seeds to trade: ANNUALS: orange marigolds pink cosmos green nicotiana purple balsam PERENNIALS: blue sea holly pale pink halberd-leaved marshmallow black knight butterfly bush orange conflowers unknown vine with white trumpet flowers....nice VEGGIES AND HERBS: Banana melons habanero peppers (Ultra HOT!!) cherry peppers (hot) feverfew SO....you need to reply to the post. Here's some adaptable examples of good replies: Hi Gardener_Jane! I'd like to trade for your marigolds, cosmos, banana melons, and habanero peppers. I've got white zinnias, mixed morning glories, mixed portulaca, and heirloom yellow boy tomatoes. Please let me know if you would like to trade. Thanks, Overall_Jim OR...... Dear GJ, I like your list and I would like to trade for these seeds: marigolds cosmos banana melons habanero peppers Please look at my trade list on my member page. I hope we can trade.....let me know. Thanks, Overall_Jim Those post replies are very clear. Jim tells Jane exactly what he wants to trade for. Jane likes that, she's a busy person. She doesn't have to take the time to send extra emails and she can make her trades quickly and easily.

It's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to keep track of who you are trading with. You print a copy of the trade for your records, or save it into a notebook. An easy way to do this is to print out the address correspondence and write on it the day you mailed out your envelope. Save your correspondence in a brightly colored pocket folder and use it ONLY FOR YOUR TRADES. Keep it by your computer and never walk it out of the room!!! If you don't have a printer you can keep track of your trades by writing down the info in a spiral notebook. Use one sheet per trade/sase. Write down the email of the person you're mailing to, what was sent, what is expected in return, and write down the day it was sent. An excellent suggestion is to put a piece of long ribbon through a ring-hole in the spiral binder and TIE IT TO THE COMPUTER TABLE so it can't disappear. When the seeds come in you can look up right away who they're from and send a THANK YOU via email. Then draw a line through the page to indicate that the trade has been completed....now you're done! I save my "address" emails to a folder in my inbox that I've created called "seed trades". When the seeds come in, I pull up the corresponding letter, and I hit the "respond button" and I say, "thanks, I got the seeds!". Once you say THANK YOU your responsibility is done....all GOOD TRADERS acknowledge the receipt of the other trader's seeds and say thank you. You can then delete the email or move it to another folder called "completed trades". Once you've sent a "Thank You for Trading" you're done with the trade. Store your seeds where they'll be safe and dry until you sow them, and dream and plan for your new garden and future trades. =====================================