Yesterday, we breached the topic of seed sowing depth. So, let’s discuss that a bit more deeply and also share some of our cheat codes!
The gist is that different seeds require differing amounts of soil placed on top of them. Some require more, some less. Some seeds need what’s called a surface sow, which means no soil covers them at all.
Sowing depth helps ensure that the seedling properly roots and has the needed stability after germination. If it’s too deep, that seedling might have trouble pushing through the soil. Too shallow and the seedling might simply fall over, unable to achieve root stability.
Fortunately, there’s a great rule of thumb for this. You want to cover the seed with about twice the amount of soil as the width of the seed. So, an 1/8th inch seed needs 1/4 inch of soil. A 1/16th inch seed needs 1/8th inch of soil. This trick applies to metric as well, typically in millimeters.
Many, if not most, very tiny seeds require a surface sow, or no soil at all. This is always identified on the seed packet when it’s needed, but the “trick” that you need to look for that is that it only affects extremely tiny seeds.
This isn’t a super precise process, there’s no need to break out calipers or measuring devices. A simple “close enough” is “good enough” in most growing related things, including sowing depth.
Sowing depth is one of these growing things that’s super important, but difficult to keep track of. That’s why “rules of thumb” like this are so great, it speeds up the process and helps you not have to look everything up, every time!
