[gavinjconway]

I am new to these and need some help please..

Early Pea - Dwarf Hatif d'Annonay.. I'm told to start them in mid Feb. I will do these in toilet rolls and plant out when ready.
Q. Do I soak seeds overnight before sowing in the rolls?
Q2. When I do the main crop direct in the plot do I soak in paraffin for the mice?

Early and late Sweetcorn in toilet rolls.
Q. Do I soak overnight before sowing - or what method to get good germination? I want to sow in the home and GH so I get a good germination.

Thanks - Your help will be appreciated as always.

[mumofstig]

I don't soak my peas and I sow direct and cover with fleece or enviromesh till they're up!

I always now chit my corn before sowing, here's the first thread I found about it 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34827.msg417144#msg417144

[gobs]

I do not think you need to go into all that trouble, Gavin.

[gobs]

You do not wanna sow sweetcorn now, surely?

[TheSpartacat]

I don't soak my peas.
People say the paraffin works, but i sow my maincrop in modules at home so i woudn't be the best to advise on sowing in situ.
Sweetcorn- i got 100% germination rate with no chitting.... but not until April.

[gavinjconway]

You do not wanna sow sweetcorn now, surely?

No not now Gobs ... just planning how to ...

[DD.]

I remember that sweetcorn thread!

You're about 3 months too early for sweetcorn, once they go out and they get a whiff of frost it's bye bye.

As for peas - I do it my way with no messing about with loo rolls or paraffin.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=50902.0

[starry]

and believe me DD's dig a trench and chuck em  in works  they come up better than when I dug a trench and carefully placed them in !! 

[gavinjconway]

Thanks DD - I saw the thread some time ago whilst surfing but couldn't find it by searching. Thanks fore putting it on the thread.. I know it's too early now - just planning my growing program.. 

[DD.]

Couldn't do peas in loo rolls - that's about 400 per row times at least 6 rows!

[sunshineband]

Couldn't do peas in loo rolls - that's about 400 per row times at least 6 rows!

That's a lot of toilet paper to get through first   

[DD.]

I've been looking at Sadgit's chillis:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=88779.msg987092#msg987092

that could be the way forward!

[sunshineband]

It would increase uasage no doubt 

Or were you referring only to Hot Lemon, which sounds a bit like a cold medicine 

[Totty]

Using loo rolls for sweetcorn is a good way to go, no need to chit them at all and should get near on 100% germination. I have never seen any need at all to sow peas indoors. I never sow overwintering varietys as i dont think they taste as good, and i always pull out a wide, shallow trench with a shovel and sprinkle the seeds in. As DD said you would need hundreds of loo rolls and its just not needed.

Totty

[JayG]

Last year I wasn't sure whether my sugarsnap peas had failed to germinate or the pigeons had eaten the shoots through the rather sloppy netting.

Because they were saved seed from the previous year I chitted the next lot for a few days until they had just germinated, and then I chucked them into the drill! 

Much better (but so was the protective netting!)