Grow Your Own Magazine

does it really mean it? or can you sow in pots inside first to give them a good start? (salad & veg crops that is)

It depends what vegetables they are. Some grow better sown straight into the ground others I find are better started off in seeds trays or cells. Give me your list of vegetables.

__________________
[

HI Lesley,

Radishes, spring onions, cut & grow lettuce

thanks

Lesley, i've just noticed on my other post you comment about sowing the above (except lettuce) straight into the ground, does that mean I absoutely have to?

Also, add on leaks!

You usually find that if you are eating an underground vegetable - carrot, parsnip, beetroot, swede, turnip, radish etc. that they are better sown into the ground because the roots can get established better. Spring onions are such a quick crop to grow that you sow them straight into the ground. With leeks start them off in a pot and then transplant either to seed trays, cells or root trainers. Grow them on and then plant out. Get a wooden stake and bash it (we have clay soil) into the ground about 6 inches deep. Remove and keep doing this every 6 inches along the row. Now drop the leeks into the holes and fill the holes with water not soil. Gradually the holes eventually fill up.

__________________
[

Thanks, you're a star!!

One more thing ( I doubt it) with spring onions, how many do you get per crop?? I know this sounds daft, but one onion or several?!!

just wondering, see, I knew there would be something else!! when planting outside, although our soil is good, it's fairly stoney. I have got rid of the biggest one's, however, i'll be here for ever if I try and get rid of them all.

Once i've sown stuff straight into the ground, is it worth covering with soil/pete from a bag that's nice and finely sieved? Or don't worry and just cover with normal garden soil?

It's one spring onion per seed. Sow the seed very thinly and just have short rows. It depends how many you think you will eat which is always tricky to work out for the first few years of growing your own vegetables. If you sow now they should be ready in June and then keep sowing a new row every month so you will always have fresh spring onions. You can buy a Japanese variety Ishikuro and there is no need for repeat sowings. Just sow a full row and start pulling them when they are pencil thin. They gradually get thicker but donot grow an onion bulb like traditional spring onions.

__________________
[

You don't really want stoney soil for carrots, parsnips, beetroot etc. because the stones can damage the vegetables when they are growing. You will be okay with radish because they are only small. Just walk across the ground where you are going to sow a row to compact it. Then get the edge of a trowel and draw a thin and very shallow line in the ground. Thinly sprinkle the seeds in the line and then just cover with a thin layer of garden soil. Water the row and put markers at each end so you know where the row is.

__________________
[

What you can do SS is take out a drill (shallow furrow in the ground) put some compost in the bottob of this then sow on to this as it will give the seeds a bit of something "softer" to root in before they hit all the stones.

You can grow Spring onions i seed trays in the greenhous for use in the winter if you keep it frost free just depends how keen you are to have spring onions

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

ah, that's a good idea to line first with bagged soil then cover with normal.

Some seeds are really tiny aren't they? for example leek seeds, i just threw a few into a pot as one didn't seem enough!!

Sprout some seeds are really tiny just remember that each seed is a potential vegetable. I have just read what I wrote before about sowing leek seeds and I meant to sprinkle a few in a pot then plant them on. Sorry I didn't make that bit clear.

__________________
[

You think the are smalll SS, I've just sown some Lithops (living stones as they are called in the garden centre) and I was sure the packet had a hole it ti I held it up to the light - it's like dust !!! The seedlings are about 0.5mm across now I guess its a young persons game !

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Ok, everything's in cells/pots, ready to go, i've given them an initial water, how often do you generally have to water? I don't want to overdo it otherwise I assume they'll go funny?

Hi Suspect,
As Lesley Jay says you have to be careful about sowing seeds too thickly or you will just be wasting seeds. If they all germinate you will have to prick them out & repot them separately or thin them out if you plant them all direct in the ground otherwise they will be too crowded & not have room to grow to full size. With things like tomatoes, cucumbers etc. most people just sow 2 seeds to a pot then prick out & throw away the weaker seedling. With 'cut & come again' lettuce you can sow quite a lot of seeds together as the idea is to get a lot of small leaves not larger separate lettuces which would need spacing further apart.

Re: watering it depends where you are keeping the pots, but just check on them every few days & water if they have dried out, you're right that you have to be careful not to overwater or the seeds or stems when they appear may rot off. You shouldn't need to water until after the seeds have germinated if you have them in a propagator or covered with plastic bags.

Sue I never sow 2 seeds per pot. I always think it is such a waste to throw away a perfectly good seedling. So with me it is one seed per pot. That is for tomatoes, courgettes, squashes, cucumbers and marrows. Peas, beans and sweetcorn one seed per cell.

__________________
[

What do you water with? as I don't want to drown them in the soil!!

Also, the seeds are in spare bedroom at moment, plenty of light, no direct sunlight. I haven't got them covered, am I best doing so?

Sorry for all the questions, you must think i'm right dim!

I water with a small can and only do so before sowing. I wait until the seeds come through and have an old olive oil pourer and I use it to water them, make sure you water the soil and not the seedling (you can kill them this way). If you are really worried, just fill an old seed tray (fill up the drainage holes or get one without) and fill with water and then place the seed trays or plug trays in this 'bath' and let them soak it up from below. This can give you a better root system.

Once seeds get growing, they should be okay if in a warmish environment, you will know if they need more light as they will be spindly and leaning towards the light (just keep turning them if they do this). If you are worried they are going to be cold in the spare room, cover them at night with fleece but i don't think you will need to do this.

__________________
Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

I'm glad someone else does this, especially as courgettes are so expensive for seeds.

__________________
Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

I'm with you LJ, I hate waste. I sow my toms in a 1/2 pot & then prick them out, they rest are done singly. If you can SS use boiled rainwater to water the plants It's better than tap water but needs to be boiled to get rid of any fungal spores etc that might cause damping off.

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

I prefer sowing singly too. I know how clumsy my short stubby fingers are when trying to more seedlings. I recon more will survive this way.

I'm just wondering, I was going to get my seeds into the ground this weekend, however, this week is forecast rain. Is it better to wait until after the rain, will it rot them? Or just get them in?

Difficult that one SS. If it were warmer I'd say go for it, but itf we have a cold snap they may rot or just sulk, Can you put a cloche over them to keep the worst of the weather out?

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/