[mrsparkle]

I've tried and tried with brassicas but just cannot get them to grow their first true leaves.  As soon as the initial seedling appears it goes all leggy and just stalls, then after about 2 weeks dies off.   

I'm worried now though because I spent the last 10 days digging and liming two brassica beds on my allotment.  They are perfect! All weeded with a lovely tilth but the way things are going i'm not going to have any plants to put in them.

I've posted before about my issues with brassicas and used the advice given but still failed.  Namely: Take them out of the warm rooms in my house (which is where they were growing) and stick them on a windowsill in a cool room.

I've invested in a cold frame now so hopefully this will help...  cooler temperatures and more sunlight I hope.

I've just read the other thread about brassicas and noticed that  sowing them in an unheated greenhouse but covering them in fleece was mentioned.  Surely a seedling needs light to grow?  Is this where I am going wrong?

Now that I have my cold frame should I try sowing some new seeds and putting them straightinto it?


I am at my wits end and any advice would be so very much appreciated... HELP

[andy135]

I only cover them in fleece untill they germinate to protect them from frost, then it comes off.
I give then a little bit of shading so that they dont cook in the sunlight (whats that?  )and after 1 week they go into the cold frame.

Good luck with them.

[DD.]

They were obviously too far gone to rescue. We stress time and time again that brassicas do not want to be in the house, if they are, then only to germinate them.

You'll get on better with a coldframe, I'm sure.

[mrsparkle]

They were obviously too far gone to rescue. We stress time and time again that brassicas do not want to be in the house, if they are, then only to germinate them.

You'll get on better with a coldframe, I'm sure.

My kitchen was clearly way too hot for them.  I'll try sowing a fresh batch tomorrow and put them straight into the cold frame.

By the way, i've read that cauliflower should not be allowed to become potbound - is this all brasicas or just cauliflower?

THanks for the help

[DD.]

It's not good for anything to get pot bound.

When about 6" high, the roots of my brassicas are nicely filling the pot and out they go!

[mrsparkle]

Should I prop the cold frame lid up a little during the day so it doesn't get too warm?

[mumofstig]

Yes open first thing, then shut up at dusk, until they're bigger - then gradually harden them off ready for planting out.

[mrsparkle]

thanks mumofstig. Cold frame was opened at 9 this morning

I've just sown:
5 caulis (will sow another 5 next week, and week after etc)
3 red sprouts
3 green sprouts
4 calabrese 
4 red cabbages

I originally planned to sow more than this but realised that i'd have no need for massive quantities of food.  Hopefully these few will give me a start and I can repeat sow in a fortnight or month is they fail to take.


I'll sow my sprouting broccolli and savoys in a couple of weeks when its a bit warmer as my seed packets advise against march for some reason.