How to grow small seeds in a tray or flat, part 1

In this lesson we will teach you how to grow small seeds in a plant tray or flat.

There are two methods, depending on the size of the seeds.

In this videos, we will focus on small seeds, ones that cannot be planted individually.

Here, we're sowing quinoa seeds that we grew last year.

To begin, you will need:

a plant tray or flat (this one is 20cm wide, 40 cm long, and 15cm deep or 8 in wide, 16 in long, and 6 in deep)

a bucket of homemade soil that's made of one part garden bed soil and one part compost,

and several sheets of paper.

plant tray or flat

bucket of soil

paper

Step 1: Place the paper in the bottom of the flat. This will prevent the soil from falling through the drainage holes.

Step 2: Fill the plant flat with soil.

Step 3: Scatter the seeds. Try to cover the surface evenly. They will be close together, as shown here.

The seeds will only be in the flat for a few days, just enough time to germinate.

Step 4: Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil.

Step 5: Water the seeds.

Step 6: Remember to label the flats

with the seeds' species, variety, source and date of planting.

Step 7: Place the flat in a greenhouse or similar location.

Here, your seeds should have the optimal conditions for germination.

Approximately 2 weeks later, the seeds will have sprouted and grown their first leaves.

At this point, you should transplant the seedlings into a second flat where they will grow until they are ready to be planted in the ground.