Help With Growing Seeds

@GreenFingeredPete I'd just plant a few annuals you fancy, but have plenty of seed of. Then if you run out of time to prick them out, you haven't lost much, but if you have time, you are ahead. Don't do mesembryanthemum! I accidentally sowed too thickly - they came up in 2 days and I had loads to prick out! Bigger seeds tend to take a little longer I think.

 

So I have planted some seeds on the weekend, with mixed results. Some seeds were out of date, some were used last year, some are fresh this year. But really it is a dry run for when I start doing some main sowing in the next fortnight when I am off work. I haven’t watered anything yet, as overwatering was a past mistake. So having some seeds break earth means, my soil mixture is good, which is B&Q seed mix with vermiculite. As mentioned before the B&Q seed compost was an error buy, but might as well use now as I have it and the vermiculite is unused from last year, again might as well use it. The vermiculite I have used to top off my seed trays.

Joining here has taught me to be patient and how important light is and that a spare room may not be the best place to grow seeds, but if I haven’t got a greenhouse (I would love one though) but no room. So the spare room has to do.

So I have had 4 trays break soil, it is a great feeling to see seedling sprout. Just hoping the other 8 will now follow!

 

GFP - You could always try repotting them in larger pots and bury them up to the first set of leaves. Handling them by the leaves. Plenty of utube advice about doing this. It is worth a try.

 

I have had a few seeds break soil and have put these on a south facing windowsill. So I have learned on here this year the importance of light, hence why I have put them on a south facing windowsill.



There is cosmos, salvia, Alyssum & Lupins on the windowsill.

Today I sowed some more marigolds, Dahlias & Lobelia.

Oddly the seed for me that hasn’t broken earth and that is the marigold and geraniums which is normally the easiest to germinate, maybe 2 duff batches.

 

Just a bit of an update and need a bit of advice as well.

Here are photos of my seedlings. They’re are doing very well I think? In the case of the snapdragons and Alyssum they’re getting a bit crowded out and will be prone to disease, do I start to thin out already or wait a bit longer?

 

Helpful for unusual seeds though not infallible:
https://www.backyardgardener.com/Seed Germination Database.pdf

I tried Cobaea a couple of times, I think the seeds dry out in storage. The one I did get going flowered very late then died in the winter and I am in Cornwall so get a long season. However some things do better in places that have hotter summers than here.

 

I have been trying Cobea this year, for the first time. All seeds germinated, and I am now getting the true leaves.


After pricking out I reused the compost to sow Gaillardia, thinking that one seed must have been dud. Ooops!

 

I tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to thinning out @GreenFingeredPete ,so I would say if you feel they're too close, that is touching each other, then personally I would thin them out slightly.
Bear in mind that if you've sown a mixture of different colours, try not to remove seedlings of the same size as it's possible they may also be the same colour.

If you're not sure that the seeds are viable then you could try this test. Whilst clearing my late MIL's things, I came across a packet of marigold seeds with a sow by date of 2017 and I'm going to try it. Saves compost and effort .
How to test seed viability

 

I tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to thinning out @GreenFingeredPete ,so I would say if you feel they're too close, that is touching each other, then personally I would thin them out slightly.
Bear in mind that if you've sown a mixture of different colours, try not to remove seedlings of the same size as it's possible they may also be the same colour.

If you're not sure that seeds are viable then you could try this test. Whilst clearing my late MIL's things, I came across a packet of marigold seeds with a sow by date of 2017 and I'm going to try it. Saves compost and effort .
How to test seed viability

 

Depends, I don't thin out seedlings in seed trays or pots I mostly prick out to cell trays.
In the old days I moved them on into other trays and spaced them out.

Depends I suppose on how many plants you want , cell trays are much better as you get zero disturbance at planting out time.

 

Is a cell tray a plug tray?

I have these with LED lighting built in, cannot put everything on the window sill and the light in the spare room is too poor compared to a green house.

https://amzn.eu/d/c9ys77L

 

Yes that's the kind of thing, they come with different size compartments.

 

Can recommend this company as a supplier, although they only supply trade sized quantities.:
HSP 12 cell pack x 400 Black or Grey | H. Smith Plastics Ltd
3 day turnaround/delivery

 

I dont think many of us would need that amount, although I must admit if a few people got together they would be good.

I get mine out of the recycling bin at a local garden centre, in May and June there are lots of them, its just a matter of saving them until next year.

 

A lot of GC have recycling bins where you help yourself to pots, modules etc. or dump your old ones.