I give up

[Piggle]

I do honestly ...... after having lost my 5th attempt at cabbages I bit the bullet and bought some from a local well known hardware store.

I am having absolutely no luck this year with brassicas ... I plant them, they come up looking lovely, I harden them off in the greenhouse, shade them if it is too sunny, don't over water them, bring them in at night and still the little b*****s get to just putting out their first true leaves and them the seeds leaves wither and little seedlings die.

I am seriously at my wits end this year with them ... tomatoes yes, chilliis yes, everything else yes but cabbages, calabrase, romanesco NO NO NO

I have no clue what is going on, I've never had this trouble before .

Weep... someone make me feel better and tell me that there is a batch of bad seeds out there somewhere.

[Bigmallly]

If it is a bad batch of seeds then I also have some........seriously though I think mine are down to overwatering. If the latest batch fail then I'll just sow direct in the bed.

[Florence Fennel]

You could be treating them with kid gloves Piggle? I was hopeless with bras until Zaz told me to toughen up and treat them a bit meaner. They should be perfectly happy outside. I sowed some a few weeks ago in small containers, have pricked them out and potted into small modules or individual pots and they're thriving. I've never put them inside. Hope things improve for you.

[Chocolate8me]

I really can't offer advice as such because I am a complete novice but...
My boyfriend says not to pamper plants too much because farmers don't & they do alright.

Have you got them in the right soil conditions?

I've messed up with my raised bed putting onions next to mange tout peas and I've left room for cabbage & kale where they haven't got alkaline, acidic firm soil so I don't think I'm going to do so well.

[Piggle]

FF - that's the plan , I'm going to give them one last go and sow some straight into the GH later on and they can stay there until they have learnt their lesson.

Honestly I usually have cabbages coming out of my ears ( not literally ) - I can honestly say this is the worst sowing year I've had in 7 years for bracs..... funnily enough though I have germinated some tricky tropicals this year so who knows.

[lottie dolly]

he who gives up,will not have success,seriously,TRY 1 more time just for me try sowing seeds 1 to a module,and forget them for a while,what i do is,have the net cage ready,with the plants getting acclimatized to the outside,but only if not frosty,go on,you know you got a try again,if the brought ones die,then mebee tis your soil,or a noughty peep when you out,

[donnakebab]

Why don't you throw them at some pots outside as if you didn't want them any more.

Sods law they will thrive.

[Piggle]

We have the corner of doom in our garden where things go in disgrace when they get awkward......... amazing how many things suddenly make a recovery.

Right I'm doing it as we speak!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Its been very funny weather this year, that could have something to do with it.

My brassica's are started in small plastic modules two seeds per planting into damp compost. Then left outside to get on with it. I find that even a cold GH does them no good what so ever.

Colin

[kentishgal]

I just sowed all mine in a big plastic tray under a cloche in the garden, everything has come up fine so far. In fact I can see where I must of spilled some cabbage seeds into the leek rows coz it looks like they have all appeared!
Now if I could only manage to grow salad leaves......(my last batch should be a week away from harvesting and are just stunted little seedling!?)

[Aberdeenplotter]

Seed may be ok, may be a bad bag of compost that is the problem.

[Two_Sheds]

they haven't got alkaline, acidic firm soil

Do you know which you've got? Acidic, or alkaline?

[Alison]

I've not sown most of mine yet

[horticultural_hobbit]

Mine are sat in small pots in the Wendy house which isn't particularly warm. I've never grown them properly before, my attempt last year was too late and became a slug festival. I'd persevere. They started life in modules in the Wendy house and I waited patiently for them to take off. Currently the cabbage babies have four proper leaves, so I will probably wait till the end of next month before I sink them to ground under a net thing.

[cardiffsteve]

Dont give up
You still have friends