What to sow in April for seedlings

Experienced gardeners and vegetable growers have already sown seeds for seedlings and even received the first shoots. But there are plants that, like people, do not like to "wake up" too early. Our material today is about "owl plants", the seeds of which can be sown for seedlings in April.



Delicious and healthy vegetables, as well as charming fragrant flowers will begin to delight you with ripe fruits and bright colors much earlier if you sow seeds in advance and grow strong healthy seedlings. Usually, in March, experienced gardeners will not have any free space on their windowsills. But April is also quite suitable for sprouting a number of crops. For everything to go well, you need to meet a number of conditions:

A good harvest largely depends on the quality of the seedlings.
 

Cabbage seeds need a lot of moisture to germinate, so the soil should be watered generously. Some gardeners pre-wrap the seeds in several layers of gauze and keep them first in warm and then in cold water for 10 minutes.

After this, leave the wet bundle for a day at room temperature. And when the seeds swell, sow them in a box filled with soil with the addition of wood ash. The layer of soil above the seeds should not exceed 1 cm. You can cover the box with film, but as soon as shoots appear, it must be transferred to an unheated room with a temperature of about 10 ° C. If you leave the seedlings in the warmth, they can stretch out.
 

You do not need to soak the seeds before sowing, just sow them to a depth of about 1 cm and cover with film. The first shoots should be expected in a week and a half, provided that the container with seeds is kept at a temperature of about 25 ° C.

Sprouted tomatoes need regular moisture and lighting (they should be in the light for about 12 hours a day). In specialized stores, you can buy phytolamps that will help your shoots get stronger even with a lack of daylight. Tomato seedlings do not require any additional feeding before picking.
 

If you want to get an earlier harvest, April is the best time to sow cucumbers for seedlings. Before sowing, it is recommended to dip the seeds in a 3% saline solution. Seeds suitable for sowing will sink to the bottom, and the rest can be easily removed from the surface of the water. After this simple procedure, the seeds are thoroughly washed, wrapped in a damp cloth for 2-3 days. When they have barely noticeable sprouts, they can be sown in seedling pots at a depth of 2-4 cm.
 

The second month of spring is also good for sowing zucchini and squash. Before this, it is recommended to keep the seeds in the sun for about a week or one night on a hot battery, and then wrap them in a damp cloth and wait for the young sprouts to hatch. During this time, do not forget to ventilate the seeds so that mold does not appear on them.

Zucchini and squash do not like transplanting. Therefore, in order not to injure the root system of the plants, it is better to sow them immediately in separate cups or disposable peat pots 10x10 cm. To get an earlier harvest, you can choose zucchini seeds zoned for northern regions. These varieties and hybrids are characterized by a short growing season. The harvest can be expected in 50 days.
 

Thanks to the development of early ripening varieties, even in the middle zone, these melons are increasingly sown in open ground. But if you want to get a harvest 2-3 weeks earlier, sow the seeds for seedlings in April. The seeds of watermelon and melon are quite hard, so it is advisable to soften the outer shell slightly by dipping the seeds in warm water for 15 minutes, and then hold them in a damp cloth until sprouts appear.

Some gardeners practice hardening, for which they keep the seeds in the refrigerator for 12 hours before planting, and then sow them in separate pots to a depth of 2-3 cm. After sowing, the pots are covered with film and placed on a sunny windowsill. The grown seedlings are planted in the greenhouse at the end of April – beginning of May, and in open ground – in the second half of May.
 

A wonderful ornamental plant that will add elegance to a flower bed or garden. Kochia can be used to place accents, frame garden paths or use this plant in topiary.

Kochia seeds can be sown for seedlings on any day of April - both at the beginning of the month and at the end. Universal soil is suitable for this. Tamp it with your palm, then scatter the kochia seeds over the surface and sprinkle them with a small amount of sand. Then spray the crops from a spray bottle and cover with film. Place the container in a well-lit place. The first green shoots will delight you in ten days.
 

Peony and chrysanthemum, needle and pompom, tall and low-growing. There are several thousand varieties of asters. Unpretentiousness, a variety of colors and long flowering - from mid-summer to October - made the aster a favorite of summer residents and a decoration of many plots.

Annual asters are sown for seedlings in late March or early April. Plants prefer light, loose soil (the ideal composition is turf soil with the addition of peat and sand). Seeds are sown to a depth of about 8 mm. The first shoots hatch in a week. Do not plant grown asters in soil where bulbous flowers grew (tulips, daffodils, etc.). Often, fungus lives in such places, which can damage the root system of your seedlings.
 

The tropical plant has long acclimatized in our latitudes, but, nevertheless, prefers not to wake up until the warm spring sun appears. The most commonly cultivated plant is Ageratum houstonii - a plant with very small seeds and a scattering of shaggy lilac flowers.

Ageratum is undemanding to the soil, grows best in the sun or in a little shade. At the same time, it is ideal for growing in balcony containers, mixborders, along borders. Ageratum seeds are scattered on the surface of moistened soil, sprayed with water, covered with film and placed in a warm place.

The first shoots hatch ten days after sowing. Picking is done when the young plant has four leaves.
 

Aquilegia, popularly called aquilegia, looks like a delicate openwork bell. Pink, white and blue flowers decorate the areas until mid-autumn. Depending on the variety, plants usually reach a height of 30-90 cm. They are easily propagated by dividing the bush or by self-seeding.

Aquilegia seeds should not be buried in the soil. It is enough to lightly sprinkle them with earth. Some gardeners carry out scarification before sowing, carefully breaking the integrity of the seed coat with fine sandpaper. This improves germination.

Young plants are pricked out after three true leaves appear, and in June they are planted in open ground. Aquilegia prefers sandy soils and slightly shaded areas. Otherwise, flowering will be shorter, and the flowers will be smaller.
 

Amaranth is a tall (up to 1.5 m) herbaceous plant that can create a festive atmosphere on the site. Its long, upward-stretching shoots with burgundy, orange or green tops are shaped like Gothic buildings. Meanwhile, despite its aristocratic appearance, amaranth is very unpretentious and retains a fresh look even in dry bouquets.

Amaranth seeds are sown at the end of April, only lightly sprinkling them with peat or sand. Shoots appear unevenly, sometimes you have to wait up to three weeks for them. It is recommended to harden the seedlings before planting in the ground.
 

Gardeners appreciate this plant for its unpretentiousness and variety of colors. Red, white, pink, orange and yellow dahlias look bright and elegant, like schoolchildren before the prom. It is not for nothing that the most popular variety is called «Jolly Fellows».

Seeds of annual dahlias are sown at the beginning of April in universal soil. They germinate best at a temperature of about 25 ° C. A few weeks after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings are picked and planted in separate pots.
 

Beautiful delicate daisies can become a decoration of any plot. They look wonderful in group plantings and original - among short grass. They can cover the lawn with a white or pink flower carpet or frame garden paths.

Daisies bloom in the spring and disappear with the onset of frost. Seeds are sown for seedlings throughout April. After a week and a half, shoots appear, and after another two weeks, young plants are picked. Before the emergence of daisies, it is recommended to maintain the temperature within 20-25 ° C.