When sowing,seeds what do you cover

[rary]

I was sowing some tomato seeds earlier this evening, and once sowed I covered them with some paper, this was a practice some years ago, and yet I don't recollect this being mentioned in any garden mags. or tv programs. It could be that it is and I just haven't noticed, but do you cover seed trays after sowing seeds and if so what do you cover

[burnie]

New to me Rary, never heard of it before, I cover seed with soil/compost and depending what they are, either a propagator lid or sometimes fleece in early parts of the year.

[veggiechicken]

I cover them with compost or vermiculite or air - depending on the size of the seed. The smaller the seed, the more exposed it is. Seeds like dust stay on the surface.

[Penellype]

The standard advice is to cover seeds with their own depth of compost, so bigger seeds like peas and beans are sown deeper than smaller ones like brassicas. However some seeds prefer light to germinate - celeriac is one. Some people cover these with vermiculite but I just sprinkle them on the surface of the compost.

Whether I cover the pot or not depends on where I am growing it. If it is in my unheated propagator then that has a plastic cover so I don't cover individual pots. But if I am sowing things that like to be warmer than my utility room (tomatoes, peppers etc) I grow them in the spare bedroom, and then I cover each pot with a plastic bag to keep moisture in. I've not heard of covering pots with paper, but I suppose that would help to stop the compost drying out, which will quickly kill germinating seeds as their roots are not deep enough to find moisture lower down.

[Bren In Pots]

I just cover with compost then a propagator lid, or bubble wrap like I did for my bucket of carrot seeds in the GH.
I'm sure I read here on the vine about covering parsnips with planks of wood but its not something I've tried.

[nickdub]

I was sowing some tomato seeds earlier this evening, and once sowed I covered them with some paper, this was a practice some years ago, and yet I don't recollect this being mentioned in any garden mags. or tv programs. It could be that it is and I just haven't noticed, but do you cover seed trays after sowing seeds and if so what do you cover

I cover small seeds with some plastic sheet to prevent the soil surface getting too dry. I reckon the practice of using newspaper sheets for this pre-dates the wide availability of plastic, and served the same purpose.

A lot of people probably don't realise that before plastic was widely in use - food-stuffs like bacon or cheese were often wrapped in grease-proof paper at the shop, to prevent them dehydrating.

[rary]

A lot of people probably don't realise that before plastic was widely in use - food-stuffs like bacon or cheese were often wrapped in grease-proof paper at the shop, to prevent them dehydrating.

Yes I have heard that, along with unsliced bread, also the grease-proof paper was great to help light the fire, well so I have been told
But not to digress, the practice of covering the seeds with paper was quite common, possibly as Penellype says it could have been to keep moisture in, though this was in the pre peat days and the seed compost was a mix of leaf mould and soil which did not dry out as quick, and the seed boxes were usually tomato boxes four inches deep
I would have thought VC would remember those days