The benefits of multisowing

What is multisowing and what are the benefits? In this extract from his new book, no-dig expert Charles Dowding explains

- Charles Dowding

For many vegetables, there are considerable and fascinating benefits from sowing two or more seeds together, as opposed to a single seed per module or station. Here we look at multisowing in module cells, three to 10 seeds per clump, according to the vegetable.

You can do the same with direct sowing of larger seeds in the ground, using a dibber to make shallow holes for each cluster of seeds; whereas for small seeds like carrots, sowing direct in rows is easier and generally gives close spacings.

BENEFITS OF MULTISOWING FOR TRANSPLANTING

There is much to gain. Multisowing is an excellent use of time, space and materials, and you are rewarded with happier plants that germinate and grow more strongly.

• You can raise more plants in the same area of propagating space.
• You save time because you are transplanting two or more seedlings at once.
• Four-seed modules need three-quarters less compost to propagate the same number of plants.
• There is a companion effect - observe how well plants grow from being with their friends in clumps.

ROOT VEGETABLES THAT CAN BE MULTISOWN

The term 'root vegetables' is often used in a misleading way, because it is a generic, rather than botanical, description. I don't like hearing it used in descriptions of rotation, which is about growing vegetables of the same plant family in a different space each year.

Root vegetables are from many families, and grow in two different ways. Multisowing works best for the second group.

1: Parsnips and carrots make unforked taproots from direct sowing, which is the part that we eat. They still grow as transplants, and carrots are indeed feasible in clumps, but they tend to grow with forks and are therefore less pretty at harvest, as well as being more difficult to clean. The same applies to salsify, scorzonera and Hamburg parsley.