I see that this years seeds are in the shops. I haven’t put an order in for seeds this year yet as I am hanging on for another few weeks or so. I am doing this mainly because I’m not growing plants for sale this year, so there isn’t any urgency to get the seeds germinated. Over the last few years I had to get my order in before Christmas and get planting by January. I had to have an early start with the annuals for them to be ready in time for the rush of eager gardeners in late spring planting up their containers. I will still be using my propagator in the polythene tunnel and by waiting until the weather warms up a bit will save a fortune in heating costs. The heater cables are cheap enough to run, requiring just 300 watts to keep the soil at an optimum temperature, that’s equivalent to three light bulbs being left on. The biggest saving will come from keeping the gas heating off which would have been used a lot to keep the frost off the tender plants. The tunnel isn’t insulated so all the heat went straight through the roof! By leaving the sowing for a while I’m hoping to keep the cost of growing down to a minimum. This year I’m mostly growing vegetables. These can be planted a bit later as they have a tendency to “catch up” with plants that are planted earlier in the season. A lot of vegetable seeds can also be planted straight outdoors as well.
Of course if you are thinking of growing seed of either flowers or vegetables on the windowsill, then heating will probably not be a factor as the heating will be on in the house anyway. Most annual seeds will germinate on the windowsill, but having a small propagator with a bit of heat in the soil really increases the chances of success. They are pretty reasonable to buy from garden centres. My only reservation for growing the tender annuals now is that the weather will still be too cold to put them outside to harden them off when they get to a decent size. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the weather will be mild enough, a makeshift cold frame can always be constructed out of glass or plastic sheeting to protect the tender plants from any frost.
When you are looking for your favourite seeds in the shops, make sure that the packets aren’t damaged and the sow by date is still valid. There shouldn’t be a problem with this as, horror of horror, the large seed companies empty the shelves at the end of every year and burn all the unsold stock -a waste of course, but it does ensure you are getting this years stock.
Pick good quality compost that is very fine grade to sow the seeds. If you don’t have seed trays to plant into then try being inventive with different types of containers. I have sliced plastic milk cartons in two putting drainage holes on the bottom and they did all right. Some people recommend using old egg boxes to plant into. I have always had problems with these though and everything that I tried to grow went mouldy on me, so I wouldn’t advise you using those. Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts to get you started. The seed packets will tell you their exact requirements.
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL SEED SOWING:
Always use fresh seed compost.
Always use clean seed trays and containers, this will prevent all sorts of nasty diseases
Always label the seeds, I didn’t one year as I thought I’d remember…. I didn’t.
Don’t let the seed dry out.
Don’t keep them too wet, this also causes the seed to fail or damp off.
Watch out for predators, slugs and snails can get practically anywhere!
Improvise with containers to give the seeds the correct environment to flourish.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, even the experts in gardening can’t always agree on the best methods for germinating seeds.
Finally…. they wont grow if you don’t sow them!
Horticultural.
Of course if you are thinking of growing seed of either flowers or vegetables on the windowsill, then heating will probably not be a factor as the heating will be on in the house anyway. Most annual seeds will germinate on the windowsill, but having a small propagator with a bit of heat in the soil really increases the chances of success. They are pretty reasonable to buy from garden centres. My only reservation for growing the tender annuals now is that the weather will still be too cold to put them outside to harden them off when they get to a decent size. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the weather will be mild enough, a makeshift cold frame can always be constructed out of glass or plastic sheeting to protect the tender plants from any frost.
When you are looking for your favourite seeds in the shops, make sure that the packets aren’t damaged and the sow by date is still valid. There shouldn’t be a problem with this as, horror of horror, the large seed companies empty the shelves at the end of every year and burn all the unsold stock -a waste of course, but it does ensure you are getting this years stock.
Pick good quality compost that is very fine grade to sow the seeds. If you don’t have seed trays to plant into then try being inventive with different types of containers. I have sliced plastic milk cartons in two putting drainage holes on the bottom and they did all right. Some people recommend using old egg boxes to plant into. I have always had problems with these though and everything that I tried to grow went mouldy on me, so I wouldn’t advise you using those. Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts to get you started. The seed packets will tell you their exact requirements.
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL SEED SOWING:
Always use fresh seed compost.
Always use clean seed trays and containers, this will prevent all sorts of nasty diseases
Always label the seeds, I didn’t one year as I thought I’d remember…. I didn’t.
Don’t let the seed dry out.
Don’t keep them too wet, this also causes the seed to fail or damp off.
Watch out for predators, slugs and snails can get practically anywhere!
Improvise with containers to give the seeds the correct environment to flourish.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, even the experts in gardening can’t always agree on the best methods for germinating seeds.
Finally…. they wont grow if you don’t sow them!
Horticultural.
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