Tag Archives: Pricking out

Out of the starting blocks

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It looks like the growing season is now underway at Weeds HQ after a quiet autumn/winter. The other Monday we popped into Shannon’s and purchased a set of three plastic plant propagators (complete with lid, seed and drip tray) at a nice price (below).

Granted they’re not as sturdy as those green hard plastic ones with the plastic cover that has a circular air regulator on the top but we find the covers of those types of propagators get used outside in the garden as cloches and seed protectors and by the end of the season are lost or in a right state. An advantage with the one from Shannon’s is that the seed tray is a collection of “plug plant” type holes that’ll make transplanting the seedlings a whole lot easier (less of that pricking out business!)
Seeds purchased: Tomato (Red Alert), Italian Basil, Pepper (Sweet Boneta) and Chilli Pepper (Numex Twilight – the fruit go all sorts of colours while ripening).Thanks to a discount code (Thanks to Ola at Thompson & Morgan Blog!) we purchased some nice seeds from Thompson & Morgan including some nice poppies, giant sunflowers (you know we here love anything with “Giant, Weird or Rare” in the title) and also a dwarf blackberry bush which’ll be good for sticking in a pot outside the kitchen door. One plant that did interest us was the cat’s whiskers/bat plant or the devil flower (below) that looks great but as we haven’t got a greenhouse or conservatory we had to pass on it. If you have somewhere under glass where it can go, go get this plant!
Seeds purchased: Poppy (Pink Fizz), Poppy (Checkers), Night Scented Stock, Russian Giant Sunflower, Sweet Pea (Night and Day).

Finally the Sunday just gone we ventured to the great place that is Roots and Shoots (in association with Pennard Plants) in Kennington for their potato and seed shop day. Getting there just before the allotted time of 11am we treated ourselves to some bamberger long seed onions and “Rocket” seed potatoes which when chitted (the art of producing nice green buds, more on how to do that here) we’ll do that trick of cutting them in half so we’ll have twice as many plants. Also after taking ages going through the racks of seeds we purchased some great heritage and heirloom seed varieties (more on what heirloom seeds are here.)
Seeds purchased: Far too many to mention but included Beetroot (Detroit Crimson Red), Courgette (All Greens Bush), Sea Holly, Cornflower (Black) and Sweet Peas (Black Knight, America and Albuit Blue).

It’s been a very good week or two for gardening and we haven’t even set foot in the back! By the way do send in any news of seed swaps, plant sales or related events (London based or nationwide as they’re all good) as we’d love to post them up. Fingers crossed we’ll all be out in the garden very soon.

Kicking against the pricks

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The Morning Glory seeds I sowed the other week, alongside the many others adorning the kitchen windowsill (above) are now on their way. I took the plastic bag off when the seeds started to germinate, made sure the compost never dried out and turned the seedlings when they were leaning towards the light. If the seedlings were left in the tray, they would quickly become overcrowded which would lead to poor growth. The first set of leaves that appear are the plant’s seed leaves which are usually different to the ones that will follow so don’t fret if you think you’ve got something else to what you sowed.

The seedlings are now ready to to be “pricked out and potted on” one to a pot or a few to a larger seed tray. Before potting on I watered the seedlings in the tray and let it drain on the side.

I bought a big bag of (peat free) multi-purpose compost from the local garden centre and re-used pots that I’ve had for years which you can get for next to nothing especially the plastic ones (terracotta ones are a bit more harder to find). Have a look out for them in skips and beside dustbins in the summer months after people have visited the garden centre on their plant binges and are chucking them out. It’s good practice to give them a good clean and rinse before re-using to prevent disease.

The first thing I did before filling my pots was to place a piece of broken crock or porous stone (small pieces of broken terracotta plant pots are ideal) over the top of the drainage holes. Then I filled it with the compost and lightly firmed it down. Give the pot a water if the compost isn’t moist already and drain it off. Make a small hole in the centre with your finger where the seedling will go. If the compost was kept outside in the cold the night before, make sure it’s well thawed out before using.

Using a dibber, old ball-point pen, teaspoon or in my case a seed label, separate the seedling from the tray, taking care to leave a ball of compost around the root (the lesser disturbance to the roots the better). Gently remove it, holding it by the leaves rather than the stem which is sensitive to bruising which will leave the seedling open to diseases. Transfer the seedling to the prepared pot and gently firm the compost around it making sure the level of compost to the stem is the same as where it was in the tray. Give the pot a wipe around the sides and put in a plant label with name and date (if you are anal like myself!)

Now place the pot somewhere indoors with lots of light like the kitchen windowsill. Check the pot daily making sure the compost is just moist and water from below when it looks and feels dry. Keep turning the pot if the seedling is edging its way towards the light as you don’t want the seedlings to get leggy. Depending on the size of the pot, the plant may need to be moved again if there’s vigorous growth.

Next post concerning the seedlings will be in a few weeks time about “hardened off” the plant to the outside weather as they are getting the good life indoors at the moment. Pot on my friend!

Cost of the post
Plant pots/trays: Free, found over the years and re-using pots that contained plants bought from the garden centre or been given off mates.
Bag of peat free multi-purpose compost: Around £4 from the local garden centre which will last you a long while.
Plant label: 99p inc free postage for a pack of 10 off e-bay.