Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Eblana on December 14, 2012, 14:53
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My daughter has decided that I am now officially barking mad!! :lol:
I was saying last night that I was excited that there was only 3 weeks left until the New Year - she assumed I meant until our New Years Eve festivities and nearly choked when I told her that my excitement was about planting my first seeds of the new growing season :D
I have Tomato, Pepper, Aubergine and Onion seed on standby for planting first week in 2013 together with my Sweet Potato in water waiting for it to sprout. Is there anything else I can get started in a heated propogator and/or a heated bench in a greenhouse?
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While the answers are being formulated can you include early starts for those without heated greenhouses. I only have a polythene mini greenhouse, sufficient for about 8 seed trays, or 100 3" pots.
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While the answers are being formulated can you include early starts for those without heated greenhouses. I only have a polythene mini greenhouse, sufficient for about 8 seed trays, or 100 3" pots.
No early starts for you then, sorry :(
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I like to do my geranium seeds on Boxing Day ;) I might do aubs in Jan and maybe some hardy salad and or oriental leaves for cut and come again eating but I think it's a good idea to sit on your hands. Sowing too early will end in tears
What would you do with all those tender seedlings when you can't do anything with them because it's too cold in the unheated greenhouse but too warm in the house. Light levels are so low that they fail to thrive so you end up starting all over again. Be guided by the instructions on the packets about sowing times ;)
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I like to do my geranium seeds on Boxing Day ;) I might do aubs in Jan and maybe some hardy salad and or oriental leaves for cut and come again eating but I think it's a good idea to sit on your hands. Sowing too early will end in tears
What would you do with all those tender seedlings when you can't do anything with them because it's too cold in the unheated greenhouse but too warm in the house. Light levels are so low that they fail to thrive so you end up starting all over again. Be guided by the instructions on the packets about sowing times ;)
and if you do manage to get anything to survive and it looks healty, it will rapidly outgrow any indoor spaces you might have long before it is safe to plant them out..
Sit on those hands :lol:
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I did start to type all of the above things, but my diary tells me that I started my 'early tomato experiment' in January last year (they did really well for me) and the Aubs and chillis weren't that far behind - so couldn't very well tell anyone else not to do it, could I :blush:
Onions are often sown on Boxing day to try to get large bulbs - it's whether you can keep them cool but frost-free after germination.
So as long as you realise that these early sowings can easily fail - then a few seeds here and there may 'scratch the itch' for you LOL
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While the answers are being formulated can you include early starts for those without heated greenhouses. I only have a polythene mini greenhouse, sufficient for about 8 seed trays, or 100 3" pots.
I'll be starting onions from seed around the second week of January - on an indoor windowsill
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I started tomatoes early last year as an experiment along with others.
As said, they take a lot more looking after and unless you want to waste your fuel bill heating up the greenhouse, you will have to find space in the house for them.
The ones I sowed later overtook the early ones and I won't bother this year. You can make up for the lack of heat, but making up for the lack of light is, in my opinion, best left to the show growers and not for us who grow to eat.
I will only be sowing onions early, which don't need it so warm.
As said, sowing early can end in tears, and it's something best left to more experienced growers. To have a bad experience early in your gardening experience can easily put newcomers off.
Please don't start too early, or encourage others to do it. Us battle weary mods have seen it year on year and we've had enough of the tears.
Sorry - one slight amendment to what I've said. I will be starting a few cauliflowers off early, but they don't have the heat requirements of tomatoes etc., in fact they hate it.
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one slight amendment to what I've said. I will be starting a few cauliflowers off early, but they don't have the heat requirements of tomatoes etc., in fact they hate it.
What cauliflower are you trying DD - how early is early?
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Early January. I've sown "Nautilus" in the past, but I've run out of seed, so it'll be "Clapton" or "Snowball" this time.
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Even with the bast laid plans, I bet I'll forget to sow something. I always do.
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Even with the bast laid plans, I bet I'll forget to sow something. I always do.
Yep me to,always manage it every year! :D
edit to clarify quote
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thanks. The only one I have from your list is snowball, but have never tried an early sowing. Any chance you can say what you plan to do .... Just for my reasearch purposes of course ! Thanks :D
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The usual.
One seed per cell in a seed tray insert. (The 20 to a half-seed tray size). Placed in frost-free greenhouse.
When they have their second leaf, they're potted on into 3" pots and planted into final positions when about 6" high, with a handful of lime in each hole.
Snowball's good - they are an early variety, my packet actually says to sow from January onwards
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thanks for that DD I have the el-cheapo pack of snowball from lidl that is a bit vague about sowing indoors. A frost free greenhouse that early is my failing as I only have a paraffin heater that can only used from April due to cost. There were quite a few sad tales last year of people's early leggy sowings indoors and in airing cupboards.
I started some brassicas in March last year - indoors then moved into greenhouse. Might try a pinch a week or so earlier to experiment only :) thanks ;)
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Onions and shallots for me right after new year, and my sweet potato. Most of the rest can wait until early March.
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For me its garlic on boxing day
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One seed per cell in a seed tray insert. (The 20 to a half-seed tray size). Placed in frost-free greenhouse.
When they have their second leaf, they're potted on into 3" pots and planted into final positions when about 6" high, with a handful of lime in each hole.
Some advice please oh cauli guru as this is one brassica I have yet too crack :) My early sowing last year didn't make it through the dry spring :(
I have some small plants I sowed back in October. They are in cells - 12 to a seed tray - at the mo. I was going to pot on when they got a bit bigger and keep in the greenhouse to plant out this spring. Is that the best bet?
I also have my onion seed ready for a Christmas sowing and some more caulies for January, but everything else will be waiting a lot longer. Peppers and chillies inside in late Feb maybe :)
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Would a heated bench (sand with a heat cable running through it) count as being frost free? I also have a Vitapod propogator which has the high side walls on it c3 ft so I should be ok for some of the Tomatos etc.
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It's not just the soil that needs to be frost free, but the air as well. Whilst mature plants of things like onions and brassicas can stand frost, the seedlings won't - as Mrs Digger found out when she unplugged the supply to the greenhouse a couple of years ago! It was goodbye cauliflowers.
Re the high sided propagator, I'm not familiar with them, but heat won't make up for the lack of light. I can envisage the plants getting leggy in one of those attempting to get to it.
The bottom line is don't be in too much of a busting rush!
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Some advice please oh cauli guru as this is one brassica I have yet too crack :) My early sowing last year didn't make it through the dry spring :(
I have some small plants I sowed back in October. They are in cells - 12 to a seed tray - at the mo. I was going to pot on when they got a bit bigger and keep in the greenhouse to plant out this spring. Is that the best bet?
Sorry, Sue, I missed this when you posted this. What you say sounds like a plan, in fact I can't see any viable alternative!
As you found out this year, more mature plants outside need plenty of water!
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Thanks a million everyone
I have pulled back a bit on my over excitement. Will just go with the few onion seeds and Cauli (snowball) seeds both of which were free with a magazine!! and try to get my sweet potato to start to sprout.
I will sit down with Klaus laitenberger's great books over Christmas and work up a sowing plan based on his recommendations for the Irish Climate.
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I think that's the best course of action!
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I think that's the best course of action!
Awww yuss :D
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Some advice please oh cauli guru as this is one brassica I have yet too crack :) My early sowing last year didn't make it through the dry spring :(
I have some small plants I sowed back in October. They are in cells - 12 to a seed tray - at the mo. I was going to pot on when they got a bit bigger and keep in the greenhouse to plant out this spring. Is that the best bet?
Sorry, Sue, I missed this when you posted this. What you say sounds like a plan, in fact I can't see any viable alternative!
As you found out this year, more mature plants outside need plenty of water!
Thanks DD. The packet seems to suggest starting them inside then planting out to overwinter, but that seemed a little rash given the sudden cold snap :lol: It is a variety you can sow autumn or Jan/Feb so the instructions try to cover both and are a bit confusing ::)