Gardening

#29 · Dibber for seedlings

Use the tapered end to create perfectly-sized transplanting holes in a seed tray without disturbing surrounding soil.

A dibber is a stick you poke into soil to make a hole for a seed. That is the entire technology. Garden centres sell handsome wooden ones with brass depth markings for £12, and every gardener who has bought one also owns a chopstick that does the same job in a seed tray more precisely.

How to do it

1. Fill your trays or modules with damp compost and firm it gently - not compacted, just settled.
2. Check your seed packet for sowing depth. It matters more than almost anything else you do.
3. Push the pointed end straight down to that depth. Straight down, not at an angle, so the seed lands at the depth you meant.
4. Drop the seed in and cover, pressing lightly so the compost makes contact all round.
5. For fine seed like lettuce, use the blunt end to press a shallow depression instead of making a hole.

Why it works

Sowing depth is the main thing that decides whether a seed germinates. Too shallow and it dries out; too deep and it exhausts its stored energy before it reaches light. A chopstick makes a clean-walled hole of consistent depth across a whole tray, which is exactly what a fingertip cannot do.

Tips & warnings

• Mark depth lines at 1cm and 2cm with a permanent marker. This turns a chopstick into a genuinely better dibber than most shop ones.
• A hole made by the pointed end has sloping walls that guide the seed to the bottom - useful for anything small and awkward.
• Wash and dry it between different seed types if you are sowing several in a session.

Common questions

What depth should I use?

The old rule is roughly twice the seed's own diameter, so most small vegetable seeds want about 1cm and beans want 3-5cm. Very fine seed like lettuce and carrot is often barely covered at all. The packet always beats the rule.