[flamingate]

Hello gardeners


I am going to start growing fruit and veg, starting with indoor sowing seeds
kept indoors.  Then after they have grown,  move them outside.

This is about Growing in the UK, Midlands. - Growing Outdoors - NOT In a greenhouse, but outdoors in the garden

( I am on about mainly growing green veg cucumbers, cabbage, celery, apples, broccoli etc)

- which ALL are supposed to have been grown between March- April.


It is  the first time I am planting ever.


A Delay problem has occurred, so have some questions:

Here goes
Some of these veg have been advised to be grown in MARCH - APRIL 3 months ago)
It is now June, and I haven't started anything yet.

I have the seeds arriving in days, and have trays, so can start.

so basically I am 3 months delayed, and still want to sow/grow then inside in indoor plant trays
and then move them outside in months. - Growing Outdoors - NOT In a greenhouse, but outdoors in the garden.


-The main question is, will this 2-3 month delay cause problems (in 6 months time) to the harvested veg,
which will be harvested in 6+ months, and could the delay affect their quality?
(compared to if they were grown in March - April?


a) Is it too late to plant them indoors 2-3 months later then planned?
(given our uk weather is poor)

b) What are the potential problems that could occur, if they are planted
2-3 months late?
-delays moving them outdoors? - what other problems would this occur?

c) Could this delay (planting in and outdoors) - effect the quality of the crops?

d) Have you done this before - grow something 3 months later than advised?
what problems did you find, or was it fine?

e) Some seeds, have 1000 seeds in the packet. If many are not used this year
and they are kept in the packet, then can they be preserved to be used next year?  or they will go bad

f) With this delay of 3 months, will the 3 months of forward weather delay cause any potential problems, to the crops? 
-because the weather will be 3months shifted towards autumn/winter.


g) If I do plant these veg seeds indoors, 3 months late then what additional advise and guidelines would you advise to make sure they grow efficiently?
(besides get in a time machine and go back 3 months lol)

h) Also, if I plant them indoors now (june) and transport them outdoors in some months, then what is the worse case scenario that will happen with them ?  (besides wasting my time and effort) - the worse case scenario that will happen with the crop?

i) When can celery be planted outdoors directory ? (without being planted indoors atal)

j) Is the common procedure>>
i) Grow seeds indoors first (sow them in small plastic tray holes)
ii) Wait until they get to a certain side of growth, THEN move them outdoors (pull them out of the small indoor trays and plant them outdoors for further growth), and then Harvest and pull them outdoors?


k) Why do seeds have to be planted indoors, and then moved outdoors? or they Dont have to be  and it is just an additional step?

or you dont have to move them oudoors for further growth if planting them indoors ??
you can get away with planting them and harvest them outdoors



Can you answer in a) b) c) ..... k) to the best you can, thanks.


Thank you very much

[LotuSeed]

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/in-month/june

[New shoot]

Hi Flamingate and welcome.

There is a wealth of information on the forum you can use, but here is a link to useful information to get you started.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=49569.0


There is yet more help and advice on the main site 

http://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment-growing.php

Maybe pop to the Welcome section and introduce yourself and tell us all about your garden    You can add your location into your profile as well, so we know where you are on future posts.  It helps when giving advice to know where someone is, so local weather conditions can be taken into account.

There are still things you can sow in June, but check the monthly guide in the second link, plus the one LotuSeed has given you, plus check the packets and pick out the seeds you can still get going.  Unopened packets will store best, so no point opening up something that just isn't going to do anything this late on.  If the last sowing date on the packet was April, it probably best to leave the seeds until next year.

Seeds need to be stored somewhere cool, but frost free and dry.  Most keep, but there are a few well known exceptions like parsnips, that are difficult to keep going 

[Salmo]

Any seeds that are too late to sow now put away and store until next year. Remember where you put them.

Many of the crops that you really want to grow will be available as small plants in garden centres. It will be more expensive than seed but at least you will have plants that will come to maturity and give you a harvest.

[BabbyAnn]

I'd go along with others and suggest you buy in plants (from garden centres or online) and maybe plan better for next year.  Some seeds can still be sown now but best if you read up about them and learn more about how to grow those vegetables.  However, to answer some of your questions:

a) Is it too late to plant them indoors 2-3 months later then planned?
(given our uk weather is poor) - depends on the crop as some need a long growing period.  Others such as tender summer crops on the other hand may catch up more quickly if we should get a good spell of warm sunny weather and (as has been in recent years) a mild autumn.  It does take experience to learn what you can or cannot get away with, and more importantly, your local weather conditions.  Frost in late summer/early autumn is usually a deciding factor for tender crops

b) What are the potential problems that could occur, if they are planted
2-3 months late? - they will simply run out of time to reach maturity:  bulbs and tubers do not bulk up, plants do not flower or fruit do not ripen in time before frosts kill the plants, or winter hardy plants stop growing when temperatures drop (winter crops usually tolerate cooler conditions and can be harvested later in the year but they still need the same period of summer growth as tender crops)
-delays moving them outdoors? - what other problems would this occur?

c) Could this delay (planting in and outdoors) - effect the quality of the crops?

d) Have you done this before - grow something 3 months later than advised?
what problems did you find, or was it fine?  - not as late as 3 months but maybe up to a month.  Crops were later than others but fine.  Some on the other hand were affected by pests and fungal conditions - as the weather warms up with high humidity, pests and diseases can be worse

e) Some seeds, have 1000 seeds in the packet. If many are not used this year
and they are kept in the packet, then can they be preserved to be used next year?  or they will go bad - depends on the crop.  Brassica seeds (cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, swede etc) can be viable up to 5 years.  Quite a few do survive a lot longer than you might expect but do use the guide-line of the expiry date on the seed pack.  As seed gets older, the viability drops off exponentially - so say in 1st year you get 100% germination, 2nd year might be 80%, 3rd 50%, 4th 20% etc.  If you do decide not to sow seeds this year, do not open any vacuum sealed packs as air (oxygen) is the key to aging.  If seed are loose in a paper envelope, get some plastic zip bags (see stationery stores) and seal them with as little air as possible.  Store somewhere cool, dry and dark.  And most important of all, label your packets as you will never remember what seeds you put in them.  Parsnip are notorious for being poor germinaters in the 2nd year but if you "chit" them (thinly spread onto damp tissue and place somewhere warm, pick out those that germinate and plant immediately before the root grows too long) then you are not discarding seeds without trying first to find out if they are viable.

f) With this delay of 3 months, will the 3 months of forward weather delay cause any potential problems, to the crops? 
-because the weather will be 3months shifted towards autumn/winter.  if the temperature remained constant all year round, then the 3 month shift may be a problem, but plants respond to warmth and sunshine (plus longer daylight hours) and will often catch up a lot faster than you might expect. 


g) If I do plant these veg seeds indoors, 3 months late then what additional advise and guidelines would you advise to make sure they grow efficiently? 
(besides get in a time machine and go back 3 months lol) indoor sowing is advisable if outdoor temperatures are cool, but if you take advantage of the warm spell of weather forecast, you might be better sowing outdoors.

h) Also, if I plant them indoors now (june) and transport them outdoors in some months, then what is the worse case scenario that will happen with them ?  (besides wasting my time and effort) - the worse case scenario that will happen with the crop? 

i) When can celery be planted outdoors directory ? (without being planted indoors atal)

j) Is the common procedure>>  no - celery seeds are so fine like dust, better to lightly sprinkle over damp compost in a seed tray (don't put any compost on top), cover the tray with a clear plastic lid (propagator) or place tray in a clear plastic bag to prevent loss of moisture and let them germinate indoors on a sunny windowsill.  It is too late to sow celery now anyway as it takes too long to mature.  However, if you want "baby" vegetables, then perhaps you could try but you won't get the crispy stems
i) Grow seeds indoors first (sow them in small plastic tray holes) - yes
ii) Wait until they get to a certain side of growth, THEN move them outdoors (pull them out of the small indoor trays and plant them outdoors for further growth), and then Harvest and pull them outdoors?  prick out and repot into individual pots to grow on.  Bear in mind that anything grown indoors need a period of up to 3 weeks to harden off before they can be planted outdoors - this means protecting the seedlings from strong winds, strong sunshine and heavy rain and bring indoors if necessary should conditions worsen.  You could set up a cold frame which allows gradual hardening off


k) Why do seeds have to be planted indoors, and then moved outdoors? or they Dont have to be  and it is just an additional step?  crops that need a long growing period have to be started off early but the soil temperature in early spring is too cold.  Crops that have shorter growing periods such as peas and beans can be sown directly when the soil warms up.  Beans are frost tender so they need protection such as covering with fleece - knowing your local weather and last possible frost date helps as to whether this is necessary or not.

or you dont have to move them oudoors for further growth if planting them indoors ??
you can get away with planting them and harvest them outdoorsI'm a bit confused by what you mean.  At a guess - if you have fruiting crops, then they need pollinators such as wind or bees etc so outdoors is best.  Direct strong summer sunshine will be more beneficial than artificial indoor lighting, so again, plant outdoors.  Some plants like chillies actually do best indoors such as a sunny south facing windowsill or greenhouse / polytunnel than outdoors (you pollinate flowers by gently tapping them to knock the pollen about)

[crh75]

To add to what BabbyAnn said, I would say you are not as late as 3 months, really you are only a month after the latest April sowing date.  Also with this spring being quite cold things are a little late anyway.