how to plant the smallest, finest seeds?

Hello - I have been pre-planting some seeds - in a sunny sheltered spot in those peat pots that expand with water.

Pea seeds (both edible and sweet pea flowers) are EASY for my aging eyes to see and arthritis fingers to handle

Summer squash too -

Swiss Chard - can do.

now - I wanted to try to pre-start some Coleus (the decorative leaf plant for flower beds/pots. invisible!

basil - the same - hard to see

I looked at both Stokes Canada and Lee VAlley Canada - and they have this product - a seeder -

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Garden/page.aspx?p=51240&cat=2,2200,33267&ap=1

http://www.stokeseeds.com/product.aspx?ProductID=48456&CategoryID=765

ps - those tiny seeds for California poppies - I just sprinkle them freely. I don't have trouble with them invading our yard.

thank you.

 

I use a damp tooth pick to pick up and deposit the seeds into the growing medium.

 

that's a great idea!
(I'm not a commercial grower so I don't mind a few extra seeds - it is just that the coleus and basil are so tiny)

thank you!

 

Another solution might be to mix the fine seed with a small quantity of sand and then sprinkle that. That way you don't dump all the seed in one clump.

 

Eureka! ... the exciting part is

that I test-planted some of the "rainbow mix" coleus seeds a couple of weeks ago - in those "rising" peat pots --- and tho I have about 10 of the tiniest - grain of sand size - little leaves in each pot (hence my original question above)

- I have managed to sprout them - outside at the coast BC nr Vcvr in one of those little plastic greenhouses facing south-east. I'm careful because it does certainly heat up inside that plastic - don't want to steam them after all this effort and excitment!

I read the Stokes instructions before planting (a rare moment for me) - and it said - they need light to germinate - and so I just sprinkled as finely as I could by eye on top of those peat pots - and it's worked! Hopefully I will have some plants eventually --- maybe they'll be my mid-summer revival of the usual late July tired planters etc. Such fun - water, earth, seeds - takes me back to growing the bean seed in the classroom (we all did that in Grade 2 or around about age?)