Pricking out chill seedlings

That's brilliant Stompy, thanks so much.

I just sowed a second batch of leeks in modules today and this time put them outside the greenhouse covered with a plastic propagator lid.  I intend to pop them in the greenhouse at night for a week or two or until they germinate.  The first batch did not germinate as I had them on the windowsill - it might have been the fact that I got the seed packets two years ago and opened them last year, but do you think it more likely it was too warm on the windowsill?

Hi DD
using your litter tray technique for Leeks and sowing in mid march (which is when I intend to) would you germinate inside or out. I have a small mini plastic greenhouse that I planned to pop them in.

I sowed mine on the 17th of Feb and there in the house by a radiator and they still haven't germinated. Is this normal ?

I sowed mine on the 17th of Feb and there in the house by a radiator and they still haven't germinated. Is this normal ?

Some seeds germinate quicker than others. I sowed some sweet pepper seeds at the beginning of February - 3 germinated within a week, but one has only just popped up yesterday, just over three weeks after the others. All seeds were from the same packet. Had the same thing with my chilli seeds - but differences there seem to depend on what variety sowed - some came up within a week, but other varieties took longer - up to 4 weeks I think.

Longest I've waited before giving up was 6 weeks (though that was with Alpine Stawberry seeds that I knew I'd stored badly since purchasing 2 years before)

Just picking up on a couple of points other folk have raised (not suggesting that I'm right, just putting my viewpoint)

I don't let my Toms, Cues, Peppers, Aubergines fall below 10C - I think a 5C limit is too low.

If the window ledge gets really cold (e.g. is behind closed curtains) then moving the pots into the room is fine - they don't get any light from the Window at night, of course, and they don't need it to be dark (they may need some dark, but if the lights are off when you are in bed that will do)

How many per pot? I put two seedlings in a 9cm / 3" pot. Books generally say "pull out the weaker one" once they have grown a bit, but I've never had a "weaker one", only two identical ones  (so feel a bit like a murderer!), so I now plant one dead-centre, and a "spare" towards the side. The spare gets the chop unless something happens to the main one.

When to move to a bigger pot? I pot on to a larger pot when the roots are just visible through the drainage holes.  I turn the plant/pot upside down - plant dangling down between the fingers of my hand and the lip of the pot resting on the palm of my hand, sharp tap, and the root ball drops out of the pot into my hand (i.e. it drops all of 1" or so). If the roots are not well visible around the outside of the root ball I put the pot back on and leave it a while longer.

I then pot-on to a pot which is 1.5" (sometimes 2") larger diameter. The roots fill the new soil around the outside of the rootball, so potting on often, and only to a slightly larger pot, is the general idea. But I find potting-on to a pot that is only 1" bigger (in diameter, so only 0.5" all around the root ball) is way too fiddly for my chubby fingers.

For things that will be potted on I use 3" pots initially, for things that will go straight out I use 3.5" / 9CM as that gives a bit more "holding time" if I'm note ready to plant out / weather is foul.

From my notes last year I sowed Toms on 15-Feb, potted-up (3") on 28-Feb, 4.5" on 07-Apr, 9" on 23-Apr, and into the greenhouse border on 23-May. Note that I skipped from 4.5" to 10" which may not be ideal, but they are kind ready to go out after 4.5" pots so were really just holding until greenhouse was warm enough in mid May. The plants are about 4' tall at that point - so if all you have is a windowsill don't start  them that early!

Chillies sown 15-Feb, potted-up 12-Mar t0 3", on 13-Apr to 4.5" and on 11-May to 6.5", plated out on 01-Jun (greenhouse border). Many people start earlier, but I don't think there is enough light.