Topics
Guide topics
The guide is divided into four topics, following the path a plant takes from a seed packet to a sturdy plant in a bed or on a windowsill. First come the seeds themselves: how to choose, store and test them. Then seedlings and everything that goes with them. Microgreens and herbs have their own logic, so they get a topic of their own. And finally, care and the mistakes almost everyone runs into. Each topic links on to answers, terms, collections and the seedling walkthrough.
Most seedling problems are visible long before the plant dies. What matters is knowing what to look for and not putting off simple fixes.
Selection criteria: the question comes up for someone growing plants from seed at home or on an allotment; the answer explains a general principle and suits most crops; the advice needs no special equipment, does not promote seeds, varieties, fertilisers or shops, names no chemical products and does not rely on lunar calendars.
Seeds
What a seed packet says and how to read it, how to store seeds at home, why germination declines over time, how to test it yourself and why some seeds need stratification or scarification.
- Testing germination in five steps
A short example on the home page: picking seeds, a damp paper towel, warmth, counting and conclusions.
- Answers about seeds and germination
How to store packets, whether old seeds are worth sowing and what the words on the packet mean.
- Seed terms
Glossary: germination rate, stratification, scarification, the State Register.
Seedlings
Containers and compost, sowing, the first days after germination, light and grow lights, watering, pricking out, feeding in general terms and gradually getting plants used to the outdoors before planting out.
- Windowsill seedlings: from sowing to planting out
A practical article: the steps to follow and how to check your results at each stage.
- Answers about seedlings
When to prick out, how to water and why seedlings flop over.
- A windowsill garden
A collection for anyone who wants to raise vegetable seedlings in a flat.
Microgreens and herbs
Microgreens in the kitchen, culinary herbs from seed, houseplants you can grow yourself, and how caring for them differs from ordinary vegetable seedlings.
- Answers about microgreens and herbs
How microgreens differ from sprouts and why herbs are slow to come up.
- Your first sowing
A collection for beginners: where to start so your first attempt is a success.
- New pages
The feed: which pages have appeared in the guide and why.
Care and mistakes
Leggy stems, compost that is too dry or too wet, mould on the surface, sowing too early and moving plants outside too abruptly — what lies behind these problems and how to fix them.
- When things go wrong
A collection for anyone whose seedlings do not look the way they expected.
- Care terms
Glossary: hardening off, bottom watering, grow lights, drainage.
- Guide archive
Every page of the guide in one place, with dates and topics — like a sowing diary.
Related sections
Sources
- Plant physiology textbooks and reference books
- Botanical gardens' guidance for amateur growers
- Russian State Register of Breeding Achievements Approved for Use
Information is current as of the date of preparation. Sowing and planting-out dates depend on your region, the weather in a given year, how much light your window gets and the temperature in your home, so go by your own conditions and the instructions on the seed packet. This guide explains general principles and is no substitute for advice from an agronomist or a botanical garden specialist.