Planting Carrot Seeds in the Winter Demonstration Bed

Here is a video of showing Arlene's techniques for planting seeds in the garden.

Step 1
Make sure your soil is damp. Sprinkle it for a minute or two before getting to work.

Step 2
Lightly "draw" a line(s) in the soil where you want your seeds to go. We use a soil knife which is pretty cool do draw out the lines. Some people call it a weed knife because if the handy serrated edge. No matter what you call it, it works, so it is no wonder it comes from a line of instruments called, "Tools That Work."

Step 3
Lay down your seeds in the lines, leaving just enough room for a bit of soil on top. The rule is that each seed should only be covered by soil at 2-3 times the seed's size. For example, if your seed is 2 mm wide, cover it with about 4 mm of soil. Arlene sows many seeds in each line to ensure lots of germination, then will go back and thin the lines when she can see which seedlings are the strongest.

Step 4
Cover your seeds with soil using Arlene's light "scrunching" or scratching technique. See Step 3 for more information on how much soil with which you should cover your seeds.

Step 5
Lightly water the area where seeds were sown again and be sure that it doesn't dry out. Dried out seeds will not germinate, but seeds in overly wet soil have a hard time germinating too! It's a fine line, so be careful and have fun!