Massive Rain storm

[Nannysally99]

If you are worried, sow more seed, it will put your mind at rest

[Tarragon2017]

I checked this morning the soil is still damp I am little worried as the rain storm occured on Friday should I water the pots and ground or leave it

[Greenleaves]

Leave them alone, you just said the soil is damp!

If you keep watering the seeds will rot

[Tarragon2017]

How long is ok to leave plants for ? as it will be the third day today

[Penellype]

When I sow seeds in pots or trays I do it indoors and having watered the pots I either cover them with a plastic propagator lid or put the tray in a plastic bag. You then don't need to water them at all until they germinate because the lid/bag keeps the moisture in. Most seeds don't need light so you can keep them on a shelf or table pretty much anywhere (although not on top of a radiator or in a hot conservatory) as long as you move them into the light as soon as the shoots appear.

This method prevents the seeds from being washed away or moved around during watering and also prevents the hard crust from forming on the top of the compost.

[Tarragon2017]

so you think I ruined my chances

[Penellype]

Not necessarily. You have 2 options - you can wait and see what happens, or you can sow some more in case the first ones don't appear.

Gardening is all about learning what works and what doesn't work for you. Freak weather such as torrential rain or hail or late frosts or lack of sunshine can ruin crops - the farmers are not immune. Each year is different and each person's growing conditions are different. I grow veg in 2 different places about 4 miles apart, and I have to do things differently because the problems are different in each place. Its only by doing things (for example sowing beetroot direct and finding that the snails ate every seedling as it emerged) that you learn what works where you are.

[Tarragon2017]

Thank you for advice ,

If I were to Sow again in say 2 weeks time. Would I have to take the seeds out or could I just take the top layer of soil from the pots add some fresh and replant.

I dont want to waste too much compost and soil mix replanting if possible

Thanks for your advice

[Penellype]

Its up to you - I always use new compost for seeds as it is sterile, but if you are mixing in soil that won't be the case anyway unless you have sterilized it. I put all my used potting compost from seedlings (failures or the leftovers after potting on or eating) into a large bucket and it goes towards growing the next lot of potatoes. You don't have to waste it, just re-purpose it. Unless there were diseased plants in it, compost can be refreshed by adding blood fish and bone or a silmilar fertilizer - you don't need to buy new for most things.

[Tarragon2017]

Cool Idea but how do u store it , Actually I bought compost . I assume I can use the same compost again to sow a new batch of seeds if none germinate.

I think its going to rain here late afternoon to all evening so I put all I can inside , was an effort especially tha 30l pot but its done now.

[veggiechicken]

Tarragon, you're going to have to get your head round the fact that plants in pots are left out in the rain.
Seeds can be started indoors in small pots and trays, with minimal compost; they germinate and are grown on until the seedlings can be planted out.
Once they're in the final positions that's where they stay, never mind how much it rains.

[Jay-ell]

For 350 MILLION YEARS plants have been reproducing by seed. During that tie they have had to deal with desiccation, drought, floods, torrential rain, forest fires etc. The oldest recorded seed to germinate was 2000 years old.

You've had a bit of rain. Rain is natural, Rain is ESSENTIAL. Seeds evolved to need rain to trigger germination. No rain = No trees, wild flowers, wild herbs etc.

The plants you're growing are developed from wild plants originally. They weren't molly coddled and had evolved to cope with nature. They didn't evolve to be able to cope with being poked, prodded, and jiggled about when they're trying to get on with the business of germination.

[vixylix]

Tarragon you have to relax or you're going to give up before you've even got started.

If you relax you will see that most things will survive just fine - some things will fail but that's gardening for you!

[Penellype]

Cool Idea but how do u store it , Actually I bought compost . I assume I can use the same compost again to sow a new batch of seeds if none germinate.

I think its going to rain here late afternoon to all evening so I put all I can inside , was an effort especially tha 30l pot but its done now.

You can either use the same compost or new for your new seeds. I'd be inclined to use new and sow them in small pots for planting out when they are bigger, as I find this easier than sowing a lot and then thinning.
I store the used compost in buckets or pots, often with something growing in it. So I might sow lettuces in a pot and then pot them up into individual pots to keep on the windowsill to eat. When the plant is eaten I shake the compost off the roots into a bucket and keep it in the garage. When the bucket is full I might have some cabbages ready to plant out and I will then use the compost plus some blood fish and bone fertilizer to plant the cabbages in. When the cabbages are done I might grow potatoes in that bucket, or I might sieve the lot and use it for carrots... and so it goes on. If I have some that is surplus to requirements and has maybe had a problem (blight for instance), I might spread it on the flower garden, well away from my potatoes and tomatoes.

[Tarragon2017]

Thanks for the advice , I have bought some seed trays which I will then transplant into smaller pots when I see the seedlings burst through the compost. I would really like to replant these in the compost I have used before for possible failed seedlings , Maybe if take the top 3 cm out and put new compost in and move it around to aerate this will suffice

As 30l and 20 l pots are quite big I know , and lots of compost but in eed these big pots for carrots and radishes etc

Your advice plz