Now is an excellent time to sow pansies and begonia seed to have them ready for planting out in May. Start with a flowerpot filled to within a half inch of the rim with good artificial or potting soil. Sterilize the soil by soaking it with boiling water. Allow the boiling water to pour out the bottom of the pot while continuing to pour in the top. This will kill most common problems before they get started.
In the case of pansies, sow the pansy seed on top of the soil and then cover with a thin layer of soil right over top of the seed. The right depth is one that just barely covers the seed. If you plant too deeply, the seed will not germinate. Pansy seed does require darkness to germinate properly so you do have to cover it.
Begonia seed is finer than fairy dust and has to be handled very carefully. I recommend mixing your seed with a package of kitchen gelatin and then spreading the gelatin equally around the flowerpot. Do NOT cover begonia seed. They are so fine that any covering will kill them.
Keep the soil warm (I use a small plant heating pad unit available at garden stores to maintain 72F soil temperature) and damp. Use only warm water to water the seedlings, cold water chills the soil delaying germination. Have patience. Pansy seed takes several weeks to germinate while begonia seed can take upwards of a month (and be tiny green specks for the first month after that). You can see container planting tricks here to see how to use these plants in hanging baskets and deck containers.
The key to success is to keep the soil warm – soil sitting in a pot without supplemental heating will average ten degrees colder than your room temperature. Those heating mats will dramatically improve your success rate with all seeds.
Doug Green is an award winning garden author with 7 books published, a syndicated column and a website for all things gardening at http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com
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