Thursday 17 March 2011

Seedling update

I have got LOADS of seedling on the go now. Fortunately the weather is reasonably mild, allowing me to get my seedlings outside in the garden most days, although I am still bringing many of them indoors at night-time. This year I am trying very hard to give my seedlings as much light as possible, to stop them going drawn and leggy. In past years the weather has often been cold and wet at sowing time, and I have usually ended up with every windowsill in the house loaded with trays of seedlings in little pots. I am making full use of my two little plastic mini-greenhouses, but I have also acquired 4 propagator domes which fit over seed trays.



These are effectively tiny greenhouses in their own right, and being so small are easily portable, so once the seeds have germinated (indoors) they can be moved in- and out-of-doors whenever required. If the weather allows, my propagators are taken outside in the morning and brought in again in the evening.

Here are pictures of some of my seedlings:-

Miscellaneous brassicas

The brassicas are pretty hardy, and I don't feel the need to bring them indoors at night-time. I think that inside one of the mini greenhouses they will be OK. The tomatoes though need a bit more TLC, so they come indoors each evening.

Rainbow Beefsteak tomatoes

You will have noticed that I have started my seeds "collectively" in small pots, rather than in individual modules. My plan is to choose the strongest-looking seedlings of each type and prick them out into bigger pots in a couple of weeks' time.


 The Baby Leaf salad has just begun to appear.

Baby Leaf salad mix - aka "Daddy salad"

When my daughters were tiny, they used to call mixed Baby Leaf salad "Daddy Salad", because it epitomised the type of salad I used to grow. Of course I have moved on to greater things now! :)

I think the two nearest seedlings are Cress of some sort

The chillis were the first seeds I sowed this year. They went a bit leggy in their first few days, but I think they will be OK.



Everything is looking OK so far - except the Celeriac, which has still not germinated. Patience is a primary requirement for the gardener...

12 comments:

  1. Patience thats what i need with my cat who dug up my seedlings. Well it is a good job i bought some more seeds by the way those domes have given me an idea.

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  2. Hi Mark, everything of yours looks really healthy so far! We have been pretty lucky with the weather recently and have had some nice bright days to move everything on and keep things from going leggy.
    Oh, and what is 'Kai-broc'?

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  3. Hi Simon; Kai-Broc is a hybrid between the oriental broccoli "Kailaan" and the european-style broccoli. Seems to be new this year, so I'm trying it to see what it's like. Got mine from Marshalls - http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/kaibroc-seeds-pid3369.html

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  4. You seem so well organised. The chillis are coming up well; mine are just up. I haven't many seeds sown; maybe this weekend.

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  5. Looks good so far. Hope you have good luck with all of them. I think the chillis are doing quite well.

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  6. Mark is it your birthday?

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  7. Hi Ali; Yes, it is my birthday. 21 again.

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  8. "When my daughters were tiny"...Hahahaha, I'll have you know I still call it Daddy salad. I have trays of it waiting to germinate in my little mini greenhouse too! But finding a warm, catproof place for the chillies to germinate indoors is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Happy Birthday!

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  9. Happy birthday, Mark. Everything is looking good and those propagator domes are a great idea. I haven't sown much at all yet, I might get on with more this weekend.

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  10. Happy birthday from me too.
    Those seedlings that you think are cress are very unsusual.

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  11. Happy Birthday Mark. Nice to see your seedlings thriving. I could never cope with your regimen of taking seedlings in and out - I find it hard enough to remember to close the greenhouse and cold frames at night! I fear they would die from neglect... Good idea though, I suspect your plants will be a lot tougher and bushier than mine with all that breeze - I have to stroke mine to convince them to go bushy.

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  12. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!

    Yes, that's me shouting, it's very far and I wanted to make sure you could hear :)

    Hope you and your family had a lovely day celebrating, I know what a big deal a 21st is :D.

    Ali.

    ps it was Hazel who dobbed :D

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