Seeding your garden with large seeds, like beans and corn, is pretty straightforward. Cool weather garden seeds, like carrots and lettuce, call for a different method of seeding. We’re talking about small garden plots, not large market-garden size plots. My Spring garden area is much larger, and is prepared and planted very differently.
Prepare the soil by loosening it up with tools like a pitchfork and an iron rake. It should always be done, but it is crucial for this method. Once it is loose, use the iron rake to smooth it out: first by raking, then turn it over and use the back of the iron rake, then a regular leaf rake, and finally with the back of the rake. There are various ways to do this, so use whatever tools you have available. Once it’s ready, follow these steps:
Measure the distance between rows, and place plant stakes where the rows will be.
Push the stakes into the ground to the correct seed depth, and move a bit side to side to form a very shallow trough..
Ready to plant the seeds. Use a pre-marked measuring stick to get the plant spacing.
Use a hand seed dispenser to tap a few seeds at the correct spacing. After sprouting, you’ll thin out to just one plant per location.
Cover the seeds to the recommended depth, then give it a good watering with a very gentle stream so you don’t disturb the seeds. Don’t let it dry out, but don’t “drown” it either. Just enough to keep the seeds sprouting without drying out.