Gift of Seeds-Sunflowers

Sunflowers are well known, cheerful and they are very quick and easy to grow.

Sow in spring and summer in full sun at a depth of 10mm. Watch your sunflowers bloom and provide a pop of colour for your garden.

• These cards have a dual use; card and seeds in one!
• Home grown produce saves food miles and put you in touch with nature.
• The gift of seeds is eco-friendly and continues giving year-round, long after they are sown.

A tear-away non toxic  plant label is included which can be used to mark out where your seeds are planted and a recycled brown Kraft envelope is included for mailing or gifting purposes

When starting seeds indoors, follow these easy steps:

1. 1. Find some trays or pots and fill them with seed raising mix
      You could use a seed raising tray, an old pot, or even an egg carton! We use fresh seed raising mix to germinate our seeds as it is clean and weed free and seedlings can easily rise up through the fine texture. The soil should be slightly moist.
   2. Place your seeds into the soil
      Make sure that you only place the seeds approximately twice as deep as the seed is wide. For example, poppy seed is tiny and will only need to be sprinkled onto the surface. Compare this to sunflower which is quite a large seed, which will need to be pushed  down to about 1 cm deep. Our Gifts of Seeds indicate the sow depth on the inside of the package.
   3. Spray the seeds with water from a spray bottle
      Give the soil a good misting to ensure it is moist. Spray bottles are nice and gentle and will ensure the seed isn’t dislodged while watering.
   4. Keep moist
      Whilst waiting for your seeds to germinate, make sure that the soil stays moist. If the top layer of soil is dry, give it a good spray. Make sure the tray is in a position where they receive lots of light but nothing too harsh. If you live in a cool region you can cover your seeds with something clear to keep the moisture in. Germination trays often come with a clear lid for this purpose, or you can repurpose a clear plastic bag or milk bottle for example.
   5. Feed the seedlings
      When the seedlings have sprouted and have their first set of ‘true leaves’ (which is generally the second set of leaves) they will need to be fed. Otherwise they tend to just stay at this small size and they generally won’t grow anymore. We like to use worm juice from our own worm farm. If you don’t have access to a worm farm you can also use a liquid fertiliser such as Seasonal.
   6. Harden the seedlings
      Before the seedlings can be transplanted, they need to be ‘hardened off’ which means getting them accustomed to the sun. If you miss this step, there is a good chance that your seedling will not survive very long once transplanted into the ground. About one week before you plan to transplant, start to introduce them to gentle sunlight and then increase their exposure slightly each day.   Make sure you continue to water the seedlings, but don’t overdo it either. Too much water will produce weak roots.
   7. Transplanting                                                                                                                                          The final step is transplanting your seedlings to either the garden or a pot. Remove the seedling from the tray by squeezing either side of the container gently. Dig a hole as long as the roots, and place the roots into the ground. Push soil around the seedling and gently push the soil down to firm it and stabilize. Don’t forget to gently water the seedling once it has been placed into the ground/pot to allow its roots to soak into the soil.When direct sowing seeds, follow these steps:This method is actually a lot easier and in my experience the seedlings grow into strong plants as they are accustomed to the soil and sunlight right from the beginning.The final step is transplanting your seedlings to either the garden or a pot. Remove the seedling from the tray by squeezing either side of the container gently. Dig a hole as long as the roots, and place the roots into the ground. Push soil around the seedling and gently push the soil down to firm it and stabilize. Don’t forget to gently water the seedling once it has been placed into the ground/pot to allow its roots to soak into the soil.                                                                                                          1.Prepare the garden bed
      Prepare an area of your garden by pulling back any mulch and pulling out any weeds or old plants. A sunny spot is generally best as most flowers, herbs and vegetables prefer lots of sun. Till the soil a little so you have a nice base to bury the seeds into. You could also add some seed raising mix or potting mix to the top if your soil isn’t looking too great.                                                                                  2.Sow the seeds
      Place the seeds into the soil twice as deep as the seed is wide. I’d plant one seed at 10cm intervals, but you can also just scatter some seed and cover it with soil. It really depends on how big the seed is! Lettuce seed for example does well with just a sprinkle and a cover. Sunflower or Watermelon seed would do better if buried and you can even put some mulch around the area and leave a little ‘nest’ space where the seed has been planted. This will help to keep the soil moist and will also clearly mark out where you’ve planted the seed.                                                                                                  3.Water in the seeds
      Water the bed and try to keep it fairly moist over the next week. In my experience, watering it once or twice a day will do the trick until the seeds have germinated.                                                            4.Thin the seedlings out!
      It’s very easy to end up with seemingly hundreds of little seedlings especially if you have done a ‘scatter and cover’ approach. Pulling out the precious little seedling babies feels mean but you’ll end up with stronger plants if you thin them down and give each seedling space to get the nutrients it needs. 5.Watch them grow!
      Once they’ve got a few sets of leaves I tend to back off on watering them as the plant will be weak and will be reliant on getting lots of water if you keep watering too much. Hopefully the rain will do this job for you too. My method is generally if it’s looking droopy then give it a drink! If it’s perky and happy then leave it be.