Plan your direct sowing and prepare the soil
Good preparation will allow you to properly coordinate your actions. Also, before planting your seeds:
- Draw up the plan for your vegetable garden on paper.
- Work the land as soon as the temperature permits.
- Demarcate the planting areas for each variety of vegetables or vegetable plants by marking the ground or placing stakes.
- Incorporate the Amendments required for each crop; for example, tomatoes are greedy and require very rich soil compared to undemanding beans.
- Establish a schedule for your direct sowing outdoors (help yourself with our calendars of culture !).
Working the land, what exactly does that mean?
Seedlings need air, heat and water to germinate. Also, once the earth has thawed and drained in the spring, it must be loosened to allow air to penetrate, help it warm up and facilitate the penetration of water. To keep the living soil, we avoid digging (turning the earth over with a spade) so as not to destroy the microfauna and microflora found there: they contribute more than you can imagine to the health of the soil ecosystem!
In light lands:
– We pass a hook with 4 or 5 teeth or we use a grelinette to aerate the soil, dislodge the roots of weeds and break up the clods.
– We finish with a straight rake.
In clayey lands:
– We lift the earth without turning it over using a fork or a grelinette.
– You can also use a hoe to remove stubborn weeds.
– Use a 4-pronged hook (easier in heavy soils) or use a grelinette to aerate the soil, dislodge weed roots and break up clods.
– We finish with a straight rake.
Amendments, yes; but which ones?
Un amendment Soil is a substance added to soil that changes its physical properties to make it more fertile. Compost represents the basic amendment in the vegetable garden, but there is more:
- Algae in granules : rich in minerals and trace elements, contributes considerably to the growth and quality of plants.
- Basalt : its contribution of silica strengthens plant tissues for increased resistance to diseases and insects. In sandy soil, helps with the clay-humus complex.
- Biochar : the ultra-porous structure of the carbonized biochar residue acts like a sponge, very effectively traps nutrients, retains water and promotes the maintenance of microorganisms essential to living soil.
- Marine calcium : corrects excessive soil acidity and calcium deficiencies.
- Dolomite lime : contains calcium and magnesium, 2 nutrients essential for plant growth. Increases the pH of acidic soils.
- Mineral Mix : this mixture slows the leaching of nutrients by optimizing their assimilation and improves the texture of the soil.
- Glacial rock dust : rich in natural silica, it is an excellent source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and trace elements.
- Green sand : Potassium iron silicate is used to lighten hard soils and improve nutrient retention in the soil.
Proceed with direct sowing
- From the beginning of April, and from week to week, evaluate which crops can be sown depending on the soil temperature: no, not all varieties are sown on the same day! Tip: The temperatures that are suitable for each variety are indicated by an icon on the seed packets.
- Add a biostimulant to promote the rooting and growth of your seeds.
- Sow respecting the planting depth and the distance between plants as indicated on the sachet.
- Firm the soil with your hand or a board, then water in fine rain to thoroughly moisten the soil.
- Identify your crops with waterproof labels on which you note the name of the variety and the date of sowing.
What exactly is a biostimulant?
A biostimulant supports and enhances the work of soil microorganisms.
Here are a few examples:
– Soil Activator: A combination of naturally occurring soil microorganisms and a forest by-product that improves nutrient absorption and supports plant growth and health.
– Frass: black soldier fly manure which acts as an effective fertilizer and biostimulant. Allows you to increase as well as improve the microbiology and fertility of the soil.
– Earthworm manure: it is placed in the furrows during sowing to provide nutrients to the seedlings without burning them.
– Mycorrhiza: by associating with roots, mycorrhizal fungi increase the absorption of nutrients and water by plants and increase their tolerance to drought and other environmental stresses.
Watering and thinning
- Water as needed to keep the soil cool.
- When the seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, proceed to thinning.
How to thin out seedlings?
Even using a seeder, some very fine seeds form too dense rows when they germinate. To prevent the plants from suffocating each other, we eliminate part of them all along the row. We do a first thinning about a month after sowing or when the seedlings have 3-4 true leaves.
– We choose a cloudy day to prevent jostled young seedlings from getting heatstroke.
– We water the row so that the roots of the removed plants emerge more easily from the ground without disturbing those that remain there too much!
– One by one, squeeze the stem of the seedlings with your fingers and gently pull them from the ground.
– We water again to close the holes left by thinning and pack the earth around the young plants remaining in the ground.
– The torn seedlings can be transplanted (beets, leeks), eaten (lettuce, spinach, mustard, kale) or left on the ground to decompose.
Vegetables that require more space sometimes require a second thinning. For example, you can thin out a row of carrots or radishes for the first time, leaving less space between the plants than recommended. During the 2nd thinning, we remove young roots large enough to make delicious morsels, leaving enough room for the others to reach their mature size.
A brilliant tip!
At the end of May, during your last spring radish sowing, mix your carrot and radish seeds in the same row. When you harvest the radishes a month later, you will automatically thin your carrots.
Successive sowing
Did you know that certain vegetables benefit from being sown several times during the season, or even every two weeks? This is called successive sowing. The following species are suitable for this: orach, beets, carrots, chicory, kale, beans, lettuce, mesclun, mustard, garden arugula, turnips, peas.
This good practice allows you to stagger harvests and enjoy fresh products for longer, harvested at their peak of flavor and texture. To have at hand the list of successive sowings as well as a host of other information, download our growing calendars!
May 11, 2023: update of the article 'Outdoor sowing: before, during, after.'
