Too late to grow?

lostsoul25

I've got some packets of seeds. I know the sowing and harvesting dates are not really until next year.

I was wondering, would I be able to grow these indoors, in a conservatory/porch now?

Tomato, sweet pepper, chilli pepper, rocket, chilli habanero, muzina pak choi,

Am quite new to this, all I have at present is some herbs growing.

Farway

Quick answer is NO, except maybe pak choi & rocket, and even then chancing your arm

The rest require lots of light & heat, you could provide these artificially of course, but easier & cheaper to pop to Lidl

RAS

mizuna would be OK if you have that?

-taff

Mizuna, pak choi and rocket will be fine to grow now.

Pak choi and mizuna like cooler conditions.

Sally_A

Autumn sown chillies work, but you have to give them as much warmth and light as possible over winter; the crop won't be that much earlier (maybe 8 weeks) than a spring sown crop, but it is do-able.

Why not try a couple of the seeds from the packet, just to see how you get on?

cyclonebri1

Again No.
You will be much better off giving them a real early start next year if you want the best early crops.

It takes too much heat to make it worthwhile, and as was said above, getting the balance of daylight and enough but only enough growth, is difficult.

I look on it as suspended animation, you are in effect trying to grow the plants in slow motion.

gayleygoo

I have dozens of packets of seeds, mostly Spring-sowing things like tomatoes and chillies, but never planted any this year (I kept putting it off ) I rummaged through it again last week to check if there was anything worth sowing. There were a few that will grow, although maybe not much in the snow, and they'll need protected with fleece or cloches when the cold weather comes, but it might save me some money on winter veg!

I had:
- Broccoli Raab - will grow over winter, veggies ready in spring.
- Spinach - I had four different types, all were suitable for growing over winter.
- Peas - although they could grow well in a greenhouse if sown now, I sowed the seeds very thickly into a pot and will eat the "peashoots" when they are a couple of weeks old, as part of a salad, rather than grow the plants. Dried peas usually work for this too.
- Chinese cabbage - these are a small variety and are supposed to be ready in 8 weeks.
- Salad leaves - plant some now and you can have salad until the frosts come.
- Runner beans, some sort of dwarf variety which I might get a small harvest from if I'm lucky.

(I got most of the above seeds from MoreVeg.co.uk which sells small packets of seeds cheaply, ebay is usually good too)

Your pak choi should be fine to plant - remember to protect from slugs as they LOVE them! Anything leafy and fast growing still has time, but tomatoes and other sun-loving plants will not make it through the winter unless you just want a houseplant that may not fruit next years. Not sure about the chillies - have one as a houseplant maybe and you might get chillies next year?

Do you have a greenhouse or even one of those plastic "blowaway" ones? They are probably pretty cheap in the shops right now, and will help protect your plants from the cold and wind.

cyclonebri1

gayleygoo wrote: »

I have dozens of packets of seeds, mostly Spring-sowing things like tomatoes and chillies, but never planted any this year (I kept putting it off ) I rummaged through it again last week to check if there was anything worth sowing. There were a few that will grow, although maybe not much in the snow, and they'll need protected with fleece or cloches when the cold weather comes, but it might save me some money on winter veg!

.

It won't, they won't be ready for harvest until mid next year I'm afraid.

Don't get hung up on the best before dates on seed packets, fresh can fail and 10 year old can germinate;)

gayleygoo

Oh well then I'll maybe be rewarded with nice spring veggies most of my seeds packets are out of date now too since I've had them so long. The germination rates might be lower than they should have been at the start, but most still come up.

Leif

-taff wrote: »

Mizuna, pak choi and rocket will be fine to grow now.

Pak choi and mizuna like cooler conditions.

As above. My Pak Choi sown a few weeks ago would have been doing well were it not for the insects that have filled the leaves full of holes. The beetroot are doing well. If you can, sow seed in the ground next year, pots are a pain, they need watering, and plants like Pak Choi tend to bolt.

cyclonebri1

gayleygoo wrote: »

Oh well then I'll maybe be rewarded with nice spring veggies most of my seeds packets are out of date now too since I've had them so long. The germination rates might be lower than they should have been at the start, but most still come up.

Put new seed Delphiniums in about six weeks ago, fresh seed with 2014 date.
100 seeds, 4 germinated and are now ready for potting on.

Not good, but you have to think 4 new plants for £1.25:D:D