Sacrificial sowing

[piskieinboots]

When seed-sowing, do you sow the exact amount for your requirements? Or do you sow extras for insurance? And if you do sow for insurance and they all germinate - how do you choose which ones are to be sacrificed?

[Bren In Pots]

I don't go overboard, just a few extras if I want 6 black cherry toms I'll sow 8 then those spares get put in the garden instead of the GH. If I don't have space then they go to the charity shop.

[quanglewangle]

I sow extra but mrs quanglewangle then wants us to plant them all so now I only sow a few extra and I thin in secret.

[lottie dolly]

I always seem to sow to many,but,i chose the best for me and the space allotted,some are given away to other plot holders and friends,some are put out on the front for sale,i like to share with others that visit,and they go away delighted,if it is special expensive seed,only do what you need.

[greenishfing]

Unless the seeds are expensive I sow plenty extra. For expensive seed just a few. Any surplus I will share with my sister and allotment neighbours. My neighbours also share their surplus with me. Between us all very little goes to waste.

[Small pumpkin]

Always sow extra. Depends on what I’m sowing as to how many extra I do and what happens to the ones I’m not planting.

Chillies only get one or 2 extra sown and (usually) try to find homes for them. Normal by swapping.
Flowers & some veg any extra get potted on and sold at the gate.
Most brassicas I sow a lot extra and use them as micro greens.
I try very hard not to compost anything that has made the effort to grow. Unfortunately sometimes there’s no other option.

[ecudc]

This is me too.

Always sow extra. Depends on what I’m sowing as to how many extra I do and what happens to the ones I’m not planting.

Chillies only get one or 2 extra sown and (usually) try to find homes for them. Normal by swapping.
Flowers & some veg any extra get potted on and sold at the gate.
Most brassicas I sow a lot extra and use them as micro greens.
I try very hard not to compost anything that has made the effort to grow. Unfortunately sometimes there’s no other option.

[veggiechicken]

Every seed and seedling deserves a chance!
If a seedling grows, then it will find a place, somewhere.
Who am I to decide which ones live or die?

[Mamzie]

Every seed and seedling deserves a chance!
If a seedling grows, then it will find a place, somewhere.
Who am I to decide which ones live or die?

This is me too. I grow plenty, for us, friends, swapping and for smallest to sell a few to raise pocket money.

But the poor left overs I always try my hardest to squeeze in somewhere x

[Nicos]

We only have a small blowaway so don't sow much, but I always overdo the quantity.
It only takes one slug to wipe out most of the seedlings overnight and then you've lost a few weeks into the growing season.
No seedling/plant is ever destroyed. It's either given away or we'll find a space somewhere!

[Aberdeenplotter]

If sowing in cells, I sow two seeds per cell. Any blank cell gets a transplant from a double and any spares get shared around the allotment site. To me its what plotting is about.

[Vegi potager]

People have been known to run away very fast when seeing me approach with a plant (or several!) I only tend to sow 1 or 2 extra seeds now, and my dad gets the spares. I also tend to end up with plants in containers around the garden, at the end of rows etc. If I have been carried away.

[Snadger]

Old seed, I sow the whole packet just in case. Come to think of it, most seed I sow the whole packet and thin accordingly.

[toomanytommytoes]

I whisper an apology to seedlings before I kill them.

[SarrissUK]

I sow quite a lot of stuff in modules, more than one seed a time, of stuff like beetroot that don't mind growing in a bunch.

If I need to sow individual seeds, or not too packed, I don't sow thickly, but I do sow over a larger area, and more seeds than I really will need. I believe in sharing with the wildlife around you, so I definitely sow twice what I need

If seeds are too tiny to separate easily AND sow quickly (I never have enough time, nor patience to be meticulous!), I mix the seeds with sand or something like that, that makes it easier to broadcast sowing thinly.

Charles Dowding have a fair few videos on module sowing - really interesting what you can sow like that, and it's amazing how much you can grow on in modules, for planting out once they're big enough. I just wish I was as organised as him!