Planting Spring Flower Seeds

Spring is here and after the last frost we can plant spring flowers! Let's have the grands help us in planting spring flower seeds so we have our own flowers to plant in the flower beds. Of course, they can help later with that, too!

Flower Seed Containers

There are many choices of container possibilities. The fiber trays are so nice because they can be buried in the ground with the seed and they compost as the roots move through them. But you can use other containers like paper or plastic cups or even egg cartons (although these aren’t very deep).

Soil for Planting Spring Flower Seeds

The soil should be seed planting soil and not reused soil from old pots or soil from your yard. The purchased soil will have the right consistency and be free of other seeds. We filled the containers with soil and gently compacted the soil. The seeds need good seed contact.

Choosing Flower Seeds

Flower seeds that work well include snapdragons, petunias, marigolds, zinnias, impatiens, cosmos, alyssum, sunflowers and zinnias (not an exhaustive list). I found most of these varieties in the small seed packets when purchasing the containers and the soil. I chose petunias as I plant a lot of those in our farm yard galvanized buckets and wash tubs. We also used some daisy seeds that came from Sweden as a gift. When the packets were opened, I was surprised at how very small the seeds were. Even using small pinches while spreading, I’m sure there were way too many seeds in each container! We’ll thin them out later if needed, no worries. A small amount of soil was placed over the seeds and then gently pushed down.

Oh, by the way, save your seed envelopes. We're going to make 3 Easy DIY Garden Markers and I think you'll be able to use them for one of the ideas.

Plantable Seed Paper Valentines

Remember the Plantable Seed Paper Valentines we made for Valentine’s Day? I saved a couple of those to try planting. They were pressed gently down into a cup of soil. I can't wait to see how they work!

Watering the Seeds

The spray bottle was just perfect for watering after planting spring flower seeds. It provided a great spray of water that wet the soil and seeds without a lot of pressure which could wash the seeds out. It was fun, too!

Keeping the Seeds Moist and Warm

A piece of plastic wrap went over the top to help keep the soil moist. Then the whole group was put on a tray (to keep water from leaking out the bottom) and set by a sunny south window.

Hurry up and Wait

Now the waiting begins. Don’t forget to keep the seeds in good light, moist and warm.

Of course, you can send the newly planted seeds and the water spray bottle home with the grands. Perhaps you could call and ask about how they are doing with a gentle reminder to water the seeds in a couple days!