If you’ve read our previous articles, you understand how products like the garden mixes and compost offered by Soil Kings can benefit your garden. Now that you have a better idea of what kind of products you want to use, what should you keep in mind when it comes time to plant your seeds?
Natural Plant Reproduction
Plants reproduce in a few different ways. The most common way is through the airborne reproduction, similar to how a dandelion will spread its seeds with fuzzy aerials. Another method is external or internal carrying by an animal. Internal is when an animal eats a plant but the seeds are preserved in such a way that they can be planted in the earth after digestion. External plants release small seeds which can latch onto an animal’s fur and be replanted further away. Other plants like peas will burst open and shoot their seeds to another area of a garden. For your garden, you will likely already have picked out the seeds you want to grow.
Saving Your Seeds
Saving seeds from the plants you’re currently growing for a following year or later in the season is a great way to extend the life of your garden. If you grow edible plants, save the seeds that you pick out of fruit and use them at a later time in your garden! Seeds should be stored in a dry package (an envelope will do) in a dark place. Be sure they’re not exposed to moisture or sunlight, which could cause the seeds to open.
When you’re ready to plant them, ensure that you’re planting the seeds appropriately. If you’re using our aged compost as a soil amendment, make sure that you do not plant the seeds directly into the compost. Ensure that the compost is tilled about 2” deep into the soil before you plant the seeds.
Protection
Always be sure that you are planting in soil that gives soft, aerated soil down to an adequate depth so a plant can root properly. It’s always worth googling the features of your plant to identify it. That way you’ll know what nutrients it might need and how best to care for it. If you notice that one of your favourite plants has seeded in another area of your garden, let it do so. Reuse an old plastic container with some holes in it, place it upside-down around a plant to make a tiny greenhouse home for it as it buds. This will help to protect it from being stepped on, signpost it so you will know where to find it next time, and give it a little extra warmth and humidity to grow.
We wish you all the best with your Calgary garden this summer. Visit our soil products page on our website to learn about all the varieties we offer and what the benefits of each are. Soil Kings is your preferred place to buy bulk soil, aggregate, and mulch in Calgary with discount savings. Call us today at 403-452-LOAM (5626)!
