[Bernard]

What is it with me and direct sowing? This spring I sowed a packet of godetia. I raked the soil well. I made sure it was flat (too often in the past, rain has bounced seeds down a slope). It was nicely damp for plenty long enough after sowing, but I have not a single godetia.

I sowed 2 varieties of carrot over a period and I have just realised that what I thought was carrot seedlings are actually self-seeded nigella. (Don't dare laugh!)

My several sowings of radish all germinated. Then they all - and I do mean all - went straight to seed without pausing to grow a root.

I am beginninng to see concrete in a more favourable light.

[Yorkie]

You're not the only one to have mistaken nigella for carrots ... or for cosmos ...   

I have had a nightmare year for slugs.  All of my 3 sowings of dwarf beans (grown indoors) have been eaten, as have the cosmos plants (but not the self-seeded nigella  ) have been annihilated. 

It was possibly just too hot or dry for the radish?  Weather has been quite erratic.

[chillimummy]

Have sewn 3 rows of spinach and 3rd lot finally grew though sporadic. Turnips, peas and beetroot also bit sparce.  Pak choi another no show so lot of seeds wasted 

[Chrysalis]

You're not alone    We replaced all the soil in our raised beds this year and it's been really awful! Two tons shifted out onto the flower beds and the new stuff moved by buckets and wheelbarrow from the roadside to the back garden, and for what?  The soil is really poor and no amount of BFB, chicken pellets or compost seems to have helped.  I shall not buy from that company again 

Things are picking up now, but it's taken ages for things to germinate, flower and set fruits, like peas and beans. As you say, the radishes and rocket went straight to seed, and the courgettes are struggling to keep hold of their fruit.  I'm just starting again with some stuff and cutting my losses with the rest.  Already planning for next year, though! 

Sorry that others are suffering, but it helps me feel less of a failure 

[Eblana]

I have had two carrot sowings fail - waiting to see if the latest batch comes to anything.

Out of three packets of pea seeds I have managed to get 11 plants.  Planted another two packets ten days ago and waiting to see what happens with these.

Three rows of spring onions also failed to show.

I got some mushroom compost and was blaming it on that but just checked back on my journal and none of it went into two of the beds which have had failures.

I have now dumped all opened packets of seed and any seed that is more than 1 year old and will start next year with all fresh seed.

Just putting it down to old seed and weather conditions.

[chillimummy]

I have had two carrot sowings fail - waiting to see if the latest batch comes to anything.

Out of three packets of pea seeds I have managed to get 11 plants.  Planted another two packets ten days ago and waiting to see what happens with these.

Three rows of spring onions also failed to show.

I got some mushroom compost and was blaming it on that but just checked back on my journal and none of it went into two of the beds which have had failures.

I have now dumped all opened packets of seed and any seed that is more than 1 year old and will start next year with all fresh seed.

Just putting it down to old seed and weather conditions.

Agree with you about old seeds. Any opened packets I have sewn seeds and hoped for the best!
Waiting for my order of new seeds for next year and hoping for more success 



edit to fix quote

[chillimummy]

Oops. Reply to quote all mixed up! x

[mumofstig]

I've sorted it 

[Beetroot Queen]

But for every fail i bet you have had some success, my beetroot was dreadfull it took eight sowings to get what we usually have on sowing number one, but then I have a superb bed of parsnips.  swings and roundabouts it really is but the weather has been so up and down.

[wighty]

I planted 24 really healthy looking French bean plants, have now only got four left, thank goodness for a good year last year as we haven't eaten all of them yet.  Slugs and the weather have got a lot to answer for.

[Bernard]

Whi;lst the weather is probably the main problem, I don't think we get really honest help from the suppliers. About 3 years ago I did a series of side-by-side trials of 2 sugar snap varieties and 2 mangetout varieties (all T&M). In every case I got good germination of the latter and very poor with the former. I sent full evidence to T&M and only got a nose-in-the-air kind of reply.

[al78]

I have had about a dozen carrots from three packets of seeds this year. I put that mainly down to slugs and the heavy clay soil. One oddity though was that I volunteered to participate in a biochar experiment, which involved sowing one or two types of veg in two 1 sq meter areas of ground (one with biochar incorporated). I sowed the carrots and beetroot, expecting the carrots to do the usual no-show and to my surprise I got high germination and are now coming along nicely. Whether this is down to me sowing in June after the slug activity had crashed or whether I had been sent a high quality packet of seeds I don't know.

[Ma Lowe]

Weird how some things fail for some but are better this year for others.
For example I have had no problem with the runner or dwarf beans and the crops are fantastic so far. Beetroot is the best I have grown in the past 5 years spring onions good too even my cabbages were amazing and my first time growing peas produced 6kgs which are now in the freezer BUT my cauliflowers were dismal with only 4 put of 14 being just good enough to eat, my red onions are a sorry sight my tomatoes are still not red and some are going black at the bottom even though I am watering them regularly and my early potatoes were like marbles and not many to a plant. Seed germination has generally been good slugs seem to be few but then I know we have a lot of frogs on our plot who help out there. as BQ says it's swings and roundabouts

[Snoop]

Whi;lst the weather is probably the main problem, I don't think we get really honest help from the suppliers. About 3 years ago I did a series of side-by-side trials of 2 sugar snap varieties and 2 mangetout varieties (all T&M). In every case I got good germination of the latter and very poor with the former. I sent full evidence to T&M and only got a nose-in-the-air kind of reply.

I got three packets of seeds from one supplier: of the ten chilli seeds sown, one germinated; all the Big Boy tomato seeds I sowed germinated, but not a one is a Big Boy plant (I've grown these for several years and know what they should look and taste like); of the melon seeds, all germinated and all have done well. I've pondered on what to do. After all, the chilli seeds not germinating could have been my fault and the melons have done well. But the Big Boy? I'm quite disappointed as I have eight of these plants and the tomatoes are poor: thick-skinned and sour-flavoured and look more like a Moneymaker.

My first packet of parsnip seeds did nothing, but the second packet (bought locally from a supplier who probably sells one packet of parsnip seeds a year apart from this year, with my purchase making it two) came through with a flourish. Both were sown quite late by UK standards, so I don't think the weather was an issue.

Of my carrot seeds, very poor germination on the first lot sown but pretty good with all the others, including Lidl Nantes carrot seed tape bought three years ago for me by Mr Snoop.

So, with some successes within the same family of plants, who's to blame for the failures? Me or the seed supplier. In the case of the Big Boys, I reckon it's the supplier. But it's a winning game for them with all the others: they are bound to think it's my fault, the weather, the slugs, the snails, the spider mite, whatever.

[Elm street]

We had a bad seed season, we only got the plot in March and therefore didn't have the winter to enrich the soil.
We planted seeds and very few set, so resorted to setting seeds in pots in the conservatory at home.
This was a lot better and we now have a full plot of greenery!