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As the new growing season is fast-approaching, here in the GYO office, we're keen to hear of any sowing-related advice and tips you have to share with us and other readers and grapeviners. Do you follow seed packet guidelines or has experience told you to sow either earlier or later than suggested? Do you use a propagator or sow under cover in a greenhouse or polytunnel or do you sow direct later in the season? What kind of potting compost do you prefer? What are your tips for sowing in containers or window sills? Please give advice on these topics and any others!
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Last edited by RuthC; 04-01-2010, 10:54 AM. -
I'll be starting off the season on Boxing day with onions. I usually sow indoors in a propagator and keep the compost in the house to warm up for a few days first. Once they germinate I put them outside in the cold greenhouse and the carry on as normal from there.
I do this with most seed until the weather warms up them I just sow them in trays in the greenhouse.
If you're going to put pots and trays on th windowsil make sure it's one with plenty of light and that there's no radiator to dry the compost out. -
I have a small (standard seed tray size) electric heated propagator that lives on my kitchen windowsill from around the middle of January. I always germinate my tomato and chilli seeds in it, as they need quite a bit of warmth. However, to save space, I sow around 10 seeds carefully spaced in a 3 and a half inch half pot. As soon as they've germinated either they're moved to the windowsill proper (if it's warm enough), or the lid of the propagator is removed so they get more light. As soon as they're large enough to handle (usually when the first set of proper leaves appear) they're transplanted into cell trays, and grown on fairly cool and light so they don't get leggy. Potted on into slightly larger pots as the roots fill the existing container - moved into the unheated greenhouse if possible (i.e. no frost) as I tend to run out of room indoors - until they're ready to go into their final quarters.Comment
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I generally follow the instructions on the packet of seeds for sowing times & conditions but sometimes sow tomatoes, chillies (or anything else which takes time to ripen) a little earlier than recommended because they seem to take forever to ripen in my garden especially as I grow them outdoors. I usually sow in multi-purpose compost, I know seed compost is better but I rarely sow large quantities of seeds so find it isn't economical. I also tend to sow only a few more seeds than plants I need as I only have a small garden & don't have room to prick out & grow on lots of seedlings & hate to throw them away.
I have a heated propagator by the kitchen window which I use for anything requiring heat but it doesn't have a thermostat so as soon as the seeds are up I take them out. Other seeds such as cucumber, courgettes or anything sown singly in 3inch pots, I tend to put on the window ledge in the kitchen with a small plastic bag over the top to germinate.Into every life a little rain must fall.Comment
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I used to sow my seeds into trays in the green house but they never did very well.
Kept getting leggy and damping off disease!
So i have bought myself a little heated propagator and used that last year to wonderful success.
Front room became a nursery for a while mind you!!
I have a patient husband who put up with it, when seedlings were big enough they then went into my greenhouse which i bubble wrapped for warmth and they were very happy and healthy.
Was a very important part of my day before i went to school and when i came home everyday checking on my babies in the green house.
No leggy plants or damping off disease!
I used John Innes potting compost and vermiculite on top which really made a difference to germination and to strenght of plants i felt.
Not over watering really helps too, there is a tendency when you are new like i was last year to kill seedlings with kindness!When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. ~Author UnknownComment
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Greenfly, whitefly and compost gnats are all a problem on windowsills, so be vigilant, and squish.Originally posted by RuthC View Post
I've found that a small container of almond oil attracts the gnats and they get stuck to it and die. Old-fashioned flypaper does the same thing.All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.Comment
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I've had problems with fungus/compost gnats too Two Sheds when growing seedlings on the windowsill, if you keep the compost on the dry side you don't get troubled as much & if you do see them it's sometimes worth emptying the pot out & changing the compost if the plant is big enough or the tiny grubs that hatch from their eggs eat the roots. A friend grows venus flytraps & other insectivorous plants in his greenhouse to deal with them & whitefly etc., seems like a good idea.Into every life a little rain must fall.Comment
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if you want the very best tasting potatoes,if you live near the coast,collect a bag of seaweed and make a nest shape to place your spud on(the more generous the better),and this is how Jerseys and ayrshire potatoes taste so great.seaweed fertilizer added to watering will also boost the flavour for those too far from the sea.Comment
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After a pot of seeds has germinated in my boiler cupboard (!) ready to go onto a bright, warm windowsill, I put the pots, complete with their plastic bags into corrugated cardboard boxes, approx: 50cm by 15cm, found free at my local garden centre. The boxes warm up in daytime sunlight through the window and provide insulation when it gets cold overnight.Really great gardens seem to teeter on the edge of anarchy yet have a balance and poise that seem inevitable. Monty Don in Gardening MadComment
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For timing of sowing ....
I've been told that the instructions on the back of seed packets are targeted at the largest consumer group which is central and south of England. Where we are, in the damp, west of Scotland, we're approximately two weeks behind weather-wise, so should add two weeks to the timings specified on the seed packets.Caro
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day
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soaking seeds in seaweed liquid
the seeds of parsnip,beetroot germinate better if they are pre soaked in a seaweed liquid feed overnight,before sowing them the following day i have found most seeds germinate better when they are soaked or watered with a seaweed liquid feed
nemoone years weed is seven years seed
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If my compost is cold as it will be when I sow my onions in January, I water it with warm water before sowing..( an old fashioned tip) . Depending on what temperature is needed the trays go either on the kitchen windowsill under a cover or in the airing cupboard. As soon as they germinate the cover is vented, or the tray comes out of the airing cupboard. Then they gradually are moved from the kitchen into the conservatory and from there into the greenhouse until they can be hardened off. I tend to sow as early as the packet suggests sometimes even a bit earlier.S*d the housework I have a lottie to dig
a batch of jam is always an act of creation ..Christine Ferber
You can't beat a bit of garden pornComment
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Do you want annual flowers in your garden but the borders have even more weed seeds in them?
Fill a standard seed tray with compost and sow the seeds thinly. Let them germinate outside; somewhere sheltered. When the tray is full of a 'mat' of roots, knock it all out, it should come out in one piece and cut into squares with an old kitchen knife. Make sure you have at least one whole plant in a square, but it doesn't really matter about others being cut. Plant these squares after regular hoeing in the borders etc.
A tip I saw/read about years ago, has always worked well for me.Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are probably right.
Edited: for typo, thakns VC
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butterworts grown on the window sill all year round stood in a tray with rainwater to keep them moist will hoover up all the whitefly and sciarids as well as giving you as good show of small gloxinia like flowers in late summerdon't be afraid to innovate and try new things
remember.........only the dead fish go with the flow
Another certified member of the Nutters clubComment
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I had a great season last year, and I am sure it was due to starting most things off in the greenhouse. The runners beans I tried to put straight out just lost the will to live and gave up, but I re-did them in the greenhouse and they were amazing... same with peas, leeks and beets, which I would normally put straight in. I will be doing the same this year
passionate about plants
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There is no greater satisfaction than is gained from a plate of your own home grown !Comment
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