Everyone wants to get more from their garden without running themselves into the ground – so what if I told you there was an easy way to grow more crops in less space, that saves you time too?! Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of multisowing...
Why Multisowing Works
Multisowing is the really fantastic technique of sowing multiple seeds together in the soil, the same pot or, more usually, plug trays. By growing several seedlings in each plug we’re basically saving effort, space and potting mix, because we’ll have two or more little plants in here, rather than the one. And – here’s the best bit – the seedlings will stay together for the rest of the lives: they’ll be transplanted and grown on together, right up to the point of harvest, which will save you loads of time too! I honestly can’t believe more people don’t do it!
But ‘Wait!’ I hear you yell – surely those multisown seedlings are going to crowd each other out? Not if you space the clumps of seedlings a little further apart than usual, and then harvest them in stages, taking the largest plant from each clump first to give those remaining more room to grow, and so on until the last remaining plant has all the room it needs. This works really well for crops like radishes and beets that can be harvested at different stages of growth, and means you get multiple harvests per seedling plug.
The real champion of multisowing, responsible for popularizing it among us gardeners, is Charles Dowding. Charles has sown and grown this way for many, many years with huge success. I had the honour of popping down to visit Charles last spring and wow – what an inspirational garden he has, let me tell you!
![Plug tray with multisown seedlings]()
A single multisown plug tray can easily fill a whole garden bed
How to Multisow Vegetables
So let’s begin our multisowing journey by starting off some popular springtime crops. Fill a plug tray or pot with screened potting mix, and press it in gently to help the potting mix hold together better when you come to take the seedlings out of the plug tray at planting time. If you leave the potting mix fairly loose it’s likely to just crumble away, exposing the roots and disturbing the seedlings when planting.
Make a little depression in the potting mix to cup the seeds. Now here’s the specialized part of multisowing: every crop has an optimal number of seeds to aim for. For instance, when sowing radishes, drop in around five seeds per plug. If an extra one or two slips through, no problem – you can always remove excess seedlings should they all germinate.
Not every crop can be multisown, but don’t worry, I’ve put together a list of the best crops to grow this way.
![Multisowing rates for vegetables]()
Sow seeds at the 'Seeds per clump' rates and thin to the 'Plants per clump' number if necessary
Sprinkle a little more potting mix over the top of each plug to cover the seeds. Most seeds only just need to be covered to between the same or twice the depth of the seed itself, so we’re talking about quite a thin layer. Remember to label your plug tray or pot before you forget what’s what!
Once your seeds are sown, to set them on their way it’s essential to give them a good drink. I use a watering can fitted with a rose for this. Get the water flowing before passing back and forth quickly over the trays to avoid blasting out the potting mix. Once the water has drained through, water once more to get the potting mix thoroughly wetted.
In most cases, we can allow all the seedlings that pop up to grow, but if you get perfect germination then it may be worth removing one or two so they’re happy in their little clusters and not jammed in and too crowded.
If the roots of your multisown seedlings start showing through the drainage holes in the bottom of their plugs before it’s time to plant or before you have space ready for them in the garden, you may need to pot them on into a larger plug or pot.
![Multisown chard seedlings ready to plant]()
Plant the whole plug of seedlings to allow them to grow on together
How to Plant Multisown Seedlings
As well as taking up less space in your greenhouse or cold frame while the seedlings are small, growing vegetable plants in clusters saves space in your garden beds too, because while clusters need a little more room between them than individual plants, you’ll grow many more plants overall in the same area. For instance, if I planted beets singly at their recommended spacings I could grow about 48 plants in a 4’x’4’ (1.2m x 1.2m) bed, but by growing in clusters I can grow up to 80!
We’ve recently added the most popular multisown crops to our Garden Planner, making it even easier to grow vegetables this way. The Garden Planner will automatically space your clusters of multisown plants for you, so you can easily see how many you have room for, and you can check the plant’s Information box for more details on sowing and growing it.
![Harvesting multisown salad onions]()
Harvest the biggest from each clump and leave the rest to grow larger
To plant you can use a dibber, a trowel, or even just your fingers if your soil is light enough. Pop in the little clump of seedlings, firm the soil back around them, give them a water, and that’s it!
In most cases individual plants can be carefully harvested from the clump, leaving the remainder to continue growing. So, for example, I could twist free the biggest beetroot, salad onion or leek and allow the smaller ones to grow on. This makes it possible to stagger the harvest, while still taking advantage of all the benefits that multisowing offers.
More harvests for less effort is what multisowing’s all about – a noble aim! If you’d like to find out how easy it can be to plan your multisown crops, test out our Garden Planner for free by signing up for our completely no obligation 7 day trial.
