These will be clean and disease free, if you do re-use old containers or trays it is always worth disinfecting them before sowing. A dilute solution of washing soda is an excellent and safe product to use.

Always ensure that the compost in the tray is level before sowing the seeds, if the compost has low spots the seeds will be buried too deep and will rot away before germinating. Also if buried too deep the seedling will run out of its stored food supply before emerging into energy producing sunlight.

Sow the seeds evenly across the compost; do not be tempted to sow the seeds too thickly, even if there are lots more seeds in the packet than you need. Larger seeds can be sown, spacing each seed individually.

When covering the seeds, do not cover the seeds to deeply in the compost; a general rule is to cover the seeds only to the same thickness as the size of the seed being sown.

Lightly firm the compost then lightly water, beware too much water can wash out the seeds. A good tip, after the first watering, is to cover each sown tray with a single sheet of newspaper cut to the size of the tray. This stops the compost drying out too quickly, water on to the paper and this will keep the compost just right for germination.

As soon as the seedlings emerge remove this paper. Some seeds require light to germinate and need to be sown without the benefit of covering; here a single sheet of newspaper placed on the tray will still benefit the germination process.

Always loosen the roots of the seedlings with a small fork (an old table fork for example) when you come to pricking out, this avoids breaking off the roots and damaging the plants.

When pricking out the tiny seedlings into larger containers always treat the new compost with "Cheshunt Compound" this stops the seedlings rotting off due to any infections in the growing medium. This is achieved by mixing the compound with slightly warm water in a watering can and gently watering in after pricking out the seedlings. See mixing instuctions on product label.

One final Warning; Beware of Mice; Mice like nothing more than new seeds and fresh young seedlings, so always make sure that the mice have gone away before sowing your precious seeds.

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OUTDOOR SEED SOWING INSTRUCTIONS     ----

Sowing outdoor seeds. Gardeners still sow seeds outdoors, but there is less room for error than when sowing indoors. There is of course no control over the weather; you have to sow when conditions are right, sowing when it's too dry the seeds may fail to germinate or if too wet the seeds may rot away. So it is best to prepare your soil in advance, dig the land over early in the year, this action aerates the soil, then when sowing time comes a light digging over with a fork will quickly dry out the soil and you can have a seed bed ready in a very short time.

When sowing outdoors the soil needs to be warm and moist, just damp enough to stick to your fingers but not so wet that you can make mud pies out of it. It always pays to wait until conditions are right even if it means delaying sowing until a few days later. Seeds sown later in perfect conditions will soon overtake seed sown early in inclement conditions.

If sowing patches of annual flower seeds, rake the ground thoroughly, breaking up any large lumps of soil until a fine tilth is produced. Then scatter the seeds evenly over the area, after which you gently rake the seeds into the soil until they sink below the surface. Then firmly flatten down the soil with a flat spade.

The same process is employed for the sowing of lawn seed. After any seed sowing beware of birds, they sit and watch you sow the seeds, then swoop down for a free meal as soon as you leave the garden. So it is wise to cover the area with bird netting for a few days, or a light dressing of hydrated lime should keep them off for that early crucial period.

Mice can also be a problem, but more so with larger vegetable seeds, like peas and beans. A special favourite with mice is sweet pea seed; your future crop can be devastated overnight.

Vegetable seeds are usually sown in drills, light ridges in the soil, the seeds are sown in the drills then soil is raked over the seeds to cover, then firm down the soil as before. Stick to the general rule of not covering the seeds any thicker than corresponds with the size of the seed concerned.

Try not to sow the seeds to thickly, however if you do all is not lost, you can always thin the plants out once the seedlings have emerged and grown to a manageable size.

I am frequently asked about runner beans, these are a subject on their own, many articles having been written about their cultivation. Suffice to say that if you do sow outside get the soil right, bean seeds soon rot if the ground is too wet when planting and don't overcrowd them, bean plants grow big.

Always carefully label each sowing.