Tag Archives: Seedlings

This is the year of the cosmos

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With the pictures Debby H kindly sent of her garden in the last post, she also sent us some pics of how her cosmos seeds were doing. “I planted some cosmos seeds on Thursday afternoon. By this morning (Sunday), they had germinated!” (pic above). How good is that?

Then on Monday she sent us pictures of how quick the seedlings have grown (taken about 25 hours later after the original photographs). As she said “I find the growth since yesterday to be quite amazing” and we agree!

She also sent some useful information about the seedlings that we didn’t know “…cosmos plants have long roots, even when they are small, so egg-boxes didn’t work well last year. This time, I have tried to use the cardboard insides of toilet rolls. I put these in a plastic trug planter thingy to keep them upright and stable.”

Now that is a great tip Debby and good luck with the seedlings. We sowed some yesterday (Tuesday) and hoping we get some quick germination results too. Thanks again.

 

STOP PRESS: A picture from today (Wednesday). They are looking great Debby and ta for the update!

Are you sure it was sunny here this weekend?

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Where has that sun gone to, the one that appeared here the weekend and the same one that contributed to Sunday being 17°C? You will laugh, as over the weekend we even put some plants out in the back garden to harden off. It’s only March and we’re thinking about hardening off plants, we must be crazy. The above pic is a of self-seeded tomato in front of some suncream, after sun and insect repellent, a taste of things to come you reckon?

Do remember that frost prediction site here as that will come in handy if you’ve got that “we’ll get those seeds/plants in early” feeling like us. It’s nearly there but do wait a little before sticking those plants out. Have you seen the forecast for this week?

What a difference the sun makes

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Don’t think buying in tomato plants is in any way cheating. Earlier this year we sowed a few tomato seeds that failed miserably so we bought a couple of varieties from Shannon’s. The cherry ones (above) have done exceptionally well and they’re still going strong as we didn’t pinch out the tops. Big thanks to Shannon’s, we’ll be doing the same next year.

Monday afternoon was so nice we went out in the garden and tidied up one of the scrappy beds and then planted some garlic cloves to overwinter. It’s worth making the most of the weather at the moment as in a months or so’s time it may be dreadful. Here’s the before and after:

And finally a big shout to Steyvn Iron Feather Journal for letting us know about the latest Music’s not for everyone on NTS which features a ten inch vinyl special including One Deck & Popular’s Son of Stitt (Cafe del Bob’s mix) from many moons ago. Big thanks Mr Weatherall! #onedeckandpopular #sonofstitt

On a bargain tip!

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courgettes on a bargain tipBig shout to our good friend Paul W who on his way home from work tonight, bought four courgette plants for £2 (that’s 50p each!) from a plant sale outside Charlton Station. How good is that?

If you are buying plants now, do make sure they have been “hardened off” and can go straight out into the garden. The plants may have been started off indoors/under glass and won’t be used to the ever changing weather outside and there’s always a risk of frost that might knock them for six too!

So just to make sure, leave the plants outside during the nice days and take them in at night so that seedlings become accustomed to the strong sunlight and varying weather so toughening them up a bit. Then in a few days they can be planted outside and if you’re still in doubt that there may be frost about, wrap some horticultural fleece (net curtains or newspapers) around them at night.

Also watch out for those slugs and snails, as they love those young plants too!

So keep em peeled (for cheap plant sales and the slugs and snails) as Shaw Taylor (RIP) used to say!

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.