Seed sowing checklist
Most sowing mistakes are timing mistakes: something tender started too early gets leggy on a windowsill, something hardy started too late misses the season entirely.
21 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Seed packets sorted by sowing monthThe back of the packet has the real dates for your climate — worth checking every year.
- Frost dates checked for the areaSets the earliest safe date for anything going outdoors.
- Seed compost boughtNot multipurpose — it's too rich and holds too much water for tiny roots.
- Trays and modules cleanedReused pots can carry over last year's fungal problems.
- Labels and a pencil or permanent penPencil doesn't fade in the sun the way some pens do.
- Propagator or a bright windowsill set up for tender seeds
- Started indoors, under cover
- Tomatoes
- Chillies and peppers
- Courgettes and squash
- Sown direct outdoors
- Carrots and parsnipsBoth dislike being transplanted and do better sown where they'll grow.
- Peas and beans
- Hardy annual flowers
- Watered with a fine roseA heavy pour washes small seeds straight out of the compost.
- Warmth provided for germinationA heated propagator mat or an airing cupboard speeds up slow starters.
- Seedlings thinned once true leaves appearCrowded seedlings compete for light and end up weak and stretched.
- Seedlings pricked out into individual pots
- Hardening off started a week or two before planting outMove seedlings outside by day and back in at night, then leave them out.
- Succession sowing kept up for salad leavesSmall, regular sowings beat one big one that's all ready at once.
- Slug watch kept on young seedlingsA single night can wipe out a whole tray.
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- What's the difference between sowing indoors and direct sowing?
- Tender crops like tomatoes and chillies need a head start indoors, away from frost. Hardy crops like carrots and peas can go straight into the ground once the soil's warmed up.
- What is hardening off, and do I really need to do it?
- Yes — it's acclimatising indoor-raised seedlings to outdoor conditions over a week or so before planting out. Skip it and a fortnight's growth can be checked by one cold night.
- Why do my seedlings go thin and leggy?
- Usually not enough light. A windowsill seedling stretches towards the glass looking for more of it; a greenhouse or a spot right against the brightest window fixes most cases.