Poor Seed Germination

Hi there

I recently made a DIY greenhouse for my seedlings to grow on in but I don’t see to be having much luck with seeds germinating.

I don’t know if perhaps the location of the greenhouse is wrong, the two shelves are too close together causing shadows, the back is open so perhaps it’s not getting warm enough or if the compost is not necessarily the best?

I have attached a photo of the greenhouse for your thoughts and generally I sow using a MPC.

I also have a small cold frame and they appear to do better in here?

 

What seeds?
Should be ok this time of year.

 

Hi Pete thanks for replying

I have tried Rudbeckia ‘gold strum’ countless of times and have not once got much more then a seedling.

I’ve tried foxgloves and only get a couple seedlings per sowing of approx 20 seeds.

I wasn’t sure if the MPC is too moist and the seedlings are getting too wet?

Annuals such as calendulas etc have been more successful but I feel that I can improve the germination rate and maybe I’m doing something wrong?

 

I personally use seed sowing compost rather than MPC unless there's a specific mix for a specific seed.

 

Not sure what seeds you are trying to germinate at this time of year. But as a test of your compost and greenhouse conditions, buy a packet of Zinnia seeds. Sow as per instructions and you should get 100% germination in 3 - 5 days. If not the problem should be easily identified.

 

Foxglove usually self seeds,so no special treatment required, not sure if it needs a cold wet period, ie. Winter stratification.
Rudbeckia, never tried.

Are you always buying from the same place?
There are some people out there selling basically very old seed.

Just bought another packet of Vinca rosea.
3rd packet I've bought, yet to get one seedling.

 

A bit late sowing seed in a greenhouse says he who has just done that! BUT, they were only sown there, under cover in the garden now well away from those $%^&*() foxes!

 

Hello everyone, thanks for the responses!

I have a variety of seeds bought from various places which were successful but there are also some that just died off.

Some of the seeds were free seeds with GW mags and some I purchased, they were sown last month which is still late.

I am going to try using a seed compost first to see if that aids germination next year but also I like to recycle things for homemade seed trays, but I suspect some of these are not deep enough for the seedlings to establish fully and they often become leggy?

 

A leggy seedling is likely to be a light issue, I used deep root trainers for the first time this year and I really like them and they can be reused (with a bit of care I would imagine quite a few times) I like to recycle myself but I find ready made seed trays more efficient for me, you can get lids etc, I just find that easier, but that's me