It’s time to sow our seed into a Jiffy pellet!
You will need the seed of a dwarf variety such as Minibel, and also a sowing medium such as a coir Jiffy pellet in which to sow.
Ideally, we should use water that is at the right pH to hydrate our Jiffy – we can do this with lemon juice – see this page.
Or we can just go for it and adjust the pH later!
After hydrating the Jiffy, sow the seed in the coir pellet just below the surface. Don’t sqeeze the jiffy because we need as much air to return between the coir particals as possible, as the coir dries slowly over the next week or two.
After 5 to 7 day our seedling should emerge and the jiffy placed in a light position. I’ve chosen to grow three and I’ll pick the best one later on.
Try to avoid over watering, because we want the roots to grow in search of water in order to develop a good root mass. Over watering tends to restrict root growth and makes seedlings leggy – in every type of media.
We will be feeding in a week or two with a balanced feed that includes micro nutrients.
A good value option is Wilco’s Liquid Plant Food. There are a number of similar feeds on the shelves at Wilco – make sure you get this one because it contains micro nutrients including Boron – important for seedlings.
This feed costs just £2.00 and we’ll be using a weaker strength than suggested on the container!
If you do not have a Wilco store handy, or would like to go the more professional route, this is the stuff to use for seedlings.
The Jiffy pellets should contain nutrients suitable for seedlings, but to be on the safe side, we’ll be adding a little extra in a week or two – just to be sure
Any question, please put them in the comments below or email me direct.
To Recap Week One
Sow your dwarf variety seed in a Jiffy (or other media) and read the article on pH and nutrient absorption.
KENNETH HOLMES
Hi Nick
Thanks for your response I found it helpful. I wanted to follow your lead on this project but noticed that as it was the same cost wondered why you didn’t recommend that.
I can see why now and of course will purchase your recommendation.
My shed is replaced and my greenhouse is now full up with most of its contents hence this is a nice deviation for me.
Regards
Ken
KENNETH HOLMES
Hi Nick
I notice Wilco’s also has a growmore liquid plant feed with a 7-7-7 plus micro’s for the same price. Although there is no need to get for a couple of weeks is there any reason you selected the 5-5-5 against this one. Minibel, Tiny Tom and Micro Tom seeds planted in coir pellets.
Nick
Hi Kenneth
The growmore doesn’t contain Boron which is really useful for seedlings. If it had, I would have recommended the growmore over Wilco’s own.
My idea is to do this without using the expensive hydroponic feeds but to use easily accessible supplies from a well known store.
I did find Rootit First Feed on Amazon for £2.99 including P+P which is the best way to go – see above “stuff to use for seedlings” but if you like to experiment, it is fun to use the ordinary stuff!
The Wilco feed can be used up to flowering and fruiting, whereas the Rootit First Feed would need to be replaced when seedlings are around six weeks.
Of course if you have some hydroponic feed already, by all means use that.
Regards,
Nick
Rhys Jaggar
Hi Ken
I have been using the RootIt First Feed now or 3 years after Nick recommended it. It stays as potent as ever and one small pot looks like it will last me 5 years. I never have seedling failure now and I have even rescued troubled plants with it.
An amazing product.