Grow Your Own Magazine

hi, i planted seeds back in march/april, beetroot, rocket,parsnip, carrot, to name but a few, the packets were new, but the germination of these seeds was very poor this time have replanted will wait and see what happens , now.
We never had much rain although i did water from time to time, that could have been the cause,
Has anybody else had the same problems,

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Mick aka murfe 18

Yes! Have re-sown but I also noticed that the slugs aren't waiting to chow down - quite a few seedlings have been raised before true leaves are produced.

And as for my lettuce - well ex-lettuce.....

Slughaters unite! Have you tried putting copper strip down around your beds or patch? The slugs get a little electric shock when they go over or onto it, which deters them! It's worth a try!

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Vegmonkey and the Mrs. - vegetable gardening in a small space in Cheltenham at www.vegmonkey.co.uk

I've had very poor germination of carrots this year but I'm still waiting hopefully!
Raine

Vegmonkey, I like the idea of using the copper strip but where do you get it? I was wandering if baking foil around the beds might have the same effect.

I to planted in march but only reds/ turnips / peas and potatos come up , i did plant backups off all in the greenhouse . about 60 of each dif veg carrots /runners / etc and all come up then planted out on the 1st of april .
all doing very well atm . apart from some birds that have attacked my carbs and weevils that come up >.< ( my nemas weevil killers are in the post i hope ) Id resow or grow indoors atm as the weather is still very confused .

needs to be copper i think terrier its somthing todo with a chemical reaction .U can buy them from many garden centres . wyvale sell them if u have one close . or u can do what i have if u have only copper pipe around use a jigsaw cut it in half all the way along them flatten with a hammer

I got some from ebay 6 rolls for £18 +p&p - I used 5 rolls already and need to get some more - It does work saw it happening with my own eyes. Just planted out some runner beans, slugs smelt em and charged up the side of the raised bed to get them, hit the copper strip and suddenly turned round and went off somewhere else

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Kim



http://kimbos-veggies.blogspot.com

Hi sorry to post so late, haven't had chance to check back! I bought it off ebay as above, but i know there is some thicker stuff you can buy from garden centres.

Our stuff has lasted really well stuck to wood throughout all this rain too so very impressed!

Gimme a pm if u want the name of the ebayer, and i'll hunt it down

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Vegmonkey and the Mrs. - vegetable gardening in a small space in Cheltenham at www.vegmonkey.co.uk

Sorry to hear you had troubles, Murfe.

I presume that these seeds were sown directly into the soil?

There are a few things that you could try to help, but basically, you need to keep the soil moist (not wet) and make sure that it's not too cold. Not rocket science, I admit! None of the veg you mention should be particularly tricky (no, actually parsnips are renowned for it!!) but there are so many variables to consider - temperature, moisture, soil type, pests, diseases etc, it's not as simple as it might be to work out what went wrong.

Beetroot and spinach type "corky" seeds respond well to soaking in warm water for a few hours - it helps remove a natural chemical which prevents early germination. If they weren't wet enough after sowing, they may not have done this naturally. Carrots can take a while to get going - two or three weeks sometimes to pop up. If you have slugs or snails, or birds, they may remove any top growth before you even see it! Mine disappeared overnight!

The other thing to try - which you may think is a bit of a pain - is to sow into small cells in a warmer, more sheltered place (indoor or outdoor) and plant once they have germinated. More fiddly, but less risky - and at least you will know if it's a seed viability issue or not. When they are planted, do your best to protect them as they can be very vulnerable to pests.

This year, I have had difficulty with one type of beetroot and some fennell. I managed to germinate some of each eventually, but it was really frustrating.

The good news is that you can still sow beetroot, carrot and many other things.