The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

unrecordings

-taff wrote: »

Yes. They need warmth to germinate and light to grow.
Warmth doesn't = sturdy seedlings.
If there's not enough light they will get leggy. Not so bad for tomatoes because you can pot on much deeper, but chilies not so sure of.

Ah yes forgot you can repot tomatoes deeper - I think I did this for the first time last year (based a a tip from last years growing thread). I think I'm going to wait a week or two before sowing my next batch though - while it's great to get cracking, it's a bit stressful (you know what I mean) when you end up with 36 good seedlings that have outgrown their propagators but you don't have the wherewithal to pot them on yet

Suffolk_lass

Thanks -taff, I am buying fresh seed this year, to give me the best chance. I don't have a heated propagator but I do have the mild bottom heat from my electric blue-light bug zapper and a plastic cover for some of my seed trays. I have always sown seeds in individual pots for chilli seeds. Making sure they are in contact with the compost is a good tip.

Slowdown

Nice to hear others are sowing too. I’m lucky that I have a large area of full length patio doors and windows across the back of my house where I have left seeds to do their thing in the past. It provides a lovely light but not too hot environment. I’m not too worried if this lot don’t take because I have a ton more seeds.

I have brought chilli seeds this year to try out. I haven’t used them before either so will wait and see. I usually buy seedlings from the local market and they have been brilliant.

-taff

unrecordings wrote: »

while it's great to get cracking, it's a bit stressful (you know what I mean) when you end up with 36 good seedlings that have outgrown their propagators but you don't have the wherewithal to pot them on yet

tell me about it, I feel really bad when I chuck seedlings on the compost when I don't have room because I overestimated the sprouting capabilities of self saved seed....


Also with the tomatoes, if you do have seedlings but not enough [ wait until a sideshoot appears, let it gorw for a bit, then either dangle in water or put in a pot of compost that's kept damp and hey presto, you have an identical child plant...
Tomatoes can be trailing plants, and if in contact with soil will root where they touch [ if you look at a cordon one at the end of the summer, you can see the knobbly bits on the stem that would make roots if they were in contact with soil], growing them upright just makes them fruit better [for us] so if you were somewhere warm, and didn't have enough greenhouse space, chuck them in the garden...

Pablosmummy

I am a garden grower, no greenhouse or anything so I hold off sowing my tomato seeds until march and they seem to do fine.
I have sowed my chilli seeds this year which have just germinated. I started them off in plastic grape boxes in a freezer bag on top of my heated clothes airer ( super classy gardening here) then when they appear they get moved to the sunny windowsill during the day and live on the kitchen table at night so they don't get too cold.
But anyway, I am itching to sow more but I know if I do them now they'll be leggy and too too big to.fit on the windowsill before its warm enough to plant out...

CAFCGirl

carolbee wrote: »

I’m leaning over the fence from my allotment peering in!

I’m in Kent and have an allotment within walking distance from home. Not sowed anything yet, as no heating in greenhouse. First year we had it went crackers and sowed far too early. Won’t do that again.

Got a dehydrator last year and it’s amazing, especially when the courgette glut arrives .....

Looking forward to following and joining in

Welcome Carolbee from another Kentish grower

CAFCGirl

Morning All,

First steps into spring here for me (mentally not weather wise unfortunately), was out in the garden doing a spot of winter tidying up (read junk spread out everywhere), culled some pots and trays and bout everything together, slightly more organised etc. Then had a little half an hour with the wormery. Added in a new layer to the box for them, scrabbled about trying to find them themselves, but they were in layer 2. So took off layer 2 & newly added 3 and had a little SQUEEEE moment over layer 1 being full of worm compost!

Thats been put into a trug bucket ready for using later in the year. Always nice to have a feeling of success in a new venture.

Ordered some coir pellets ready for seed sowing indoors, and will have another sort through of the seed box this weekend, just to double check I dont want/need anything else.

Next week here is meant to be dry, sunny and average about 9 degrees so will be spending as much time as I can on the plot. Our first inspection is due mid march, with 2/3's ready for planting so need to get my finger out and continue getting my paths chipped too. Hopefully I can rope someone into helping me out with tip runs too.....

Living_proof

I am holding back for another week to sow peppers, chilis and tomatoes. I did read somewhere that an ideal place for a steady heat for the initial stage would be on top of a fridge freezer, so I may try that this year as well as heated propagators, as I have four - all from car boot sales. I don't heat my greenhouse and it's not been insulated yet so my house will look like a nursery for a month or two. My Lithuanian lodger brought back some hardy tomato seeds on his last visit, so I have high hopes for them on my patio. I had 32 tomato plants last year and have hardly made inroads into the frozen and dried ones, so will go easy on the numbers this year. Okra and sweet potatoes will be trialled and I hope my polytunnel will soon be up to provide a warmer environment. It's a great thought on such a cold, blustery and dull day.

Karmacat

Living_proof wrote: »

I did read somewhere that an ideal place for a steady heat for the initial stage would be on top of a fridge freezer, so I may try that this year

What a great idea! Definitely going to pinch that, and spread it around the family

unrecordings

I'm not sure if this makes any difference at all (but in theory it should do):
I raise my propagators about an inch or two from the windowsill so that any cold air streaming down from the double glazing units isn't trapped around the base of the propagator - I made a little platform, but you could use yoghurt pots etc. The whole scheme is of course rendered largely pointless by the cat