You can plant marigolds on the windowsill as early as March so that they start blooming after the ice saints and decorate the spring garden with their bright orange tones. Breeding from seeds is completely problem-free as long as you pay attention to a few important points.
How to grow marigolds on the windowsill?
To grow marigolds, fill growing containers with potting soil at the end of February or beginning of March, moisten them, sprinkle the seeds on them and water again. Cover accelerates germination. As soon as there are two pairs of leaves, the plants are moved into their own pots and planted in the bed after the ice saints.
The materials required
- Growing pots or bowls
- Special low-nutrient potting soil
- Clear plastic bags or plastic hoods
- Plant sprayer
- Tagetes seeds
If you plan to prefer marigolds yourself, it is worth collecting seeds from the plants that thrive in the garden in the fall. To do this, leave a few flower heads on the marigold until they dry out. Carefully cut it off and place it on a piece of kitchen paper for about a week. Once the flowers are completely dry, you can carefully pull out the seeds.
Preparing on the windowsill
You can start breeding offspring at the end of February or beginning of March. Proceed as follows:
- Fill the cultivation containers with substrate, press lightly.
- Wet well with a sprayer.
- Sprinkle seeds over the surface of the soil.
- Since the marigold is a light germinator, you do not need to cover the seeds with soil.
- Pour carefully again with a very soft stream.
- Cover the cultivation containers with a plastic bag or the plastic hood. This creates an artificial greenhouse climate and accelerates germination.
Under these conditions, the seeds sprout quickly and the first cotyledons often appear after just a week. Don't forget to ventilate daily. This prevents the formation of mold and rot. If necessary, water the seedlings with the sprayer.
Pricking
So that the plants don't compete for space in the growing container after a while, they are pricked out as soon as the second pair of leaves appear. To do this, carefully lift the small marigolds out of the growing tray using a pricking stick (€2.00 on Amazon) and place each marigold in its own flower pot filled with a potting soil and sand mixture.
Place the potty in a bright but not full sunny place on the windowsill. A cover is now no longer required. Here the student flowers develop into strong young plants that you can plant in the garden after the Ice Saints.
Tip
Extracting the elongated seeds can be a Sisyphean task. Simply put all the seeds in a plastic bag, inflate it slightly and shake the bag vigorously. The seeds separate from the pods and can be easily removed.