Help With Growing Seeds

My home office desk- I am very careful with the watering amongst the lights and extension cords



The lights have a timer and are on for 12 hours, nearly touching the plants as they don't heat up.

Stage two with plants that are just about to start hardening off and are unlikely to get leggy, is the south facing windowsill. Festuca Glauca:


The lights are cheapy ones from Amazon and are now on their 4th or 5th season. They are so effective that seedlings on the south facing windowsill turn towards the lights, away from the window. Full marks to our Chinese friends there.

 

Hi, just a suggestion but CL is correct you need to tidy up the work surface and just have plants on it. Use your seed trays or modules for planting seeds in seed compost then transfer them into small pots to bring on.

 

I'd leave the lights on for about 16 hours in that situation, your plants are just not getting any proper light, if you cut back sweetpeas that are that leggy they will just die, you cant cut any seedling back below the two seed leaves they just die.

 

When you sweet peas are ready to transplant where are you going to plant them?

 

Are you saying having a little move around, like this? With the Sweet Peas nearer to the window?




Where the sweet peas are now, will be where I will start my seedlings, I have been listening on here and holding off from doing any seedling just yet.

When my Sweet Peas are ready to go, I have pots to put them in and have a border, so might run them up against a trellis I have, normally have Black Eyed Susan’s going up the trellis.

 

Looks great now.

 

Looks good @GreenFingeredPete . Using the sun as much as you can is perfect

I'm constantly moving seedlings to take advantage of the 'moment.

With sunshine you either use it or lose it

 

Thought I post some progress photo’s of my sweet peas, after moving them near to a window and having some sunbed sessions. Are these still looking leggy?

 

The problem is once they get leggy they never really get back to a stocky looking plant, but yes if you keep going with the lights they will improve.

 

Okay are these then failed, at the back I ones that I planted 10 days later, will be interesting to compare the 2. As I said earlier the seeds were cheap from Lidls, like 29p. I might even plant some more, I have 4 more packets.

 

They are still alive, but its up to you if they get brighter and cooler conditions they could still be OK.

 

The only way I can get cooler conditions, with great light is outside? Where I would think it is too cold outside still? Generally I don’t live in a warm house and seldom put heating on, I like it cool, there is no heating in the spare room.

I only have the storage heat on in the living room, for the cats!!!‍

 

I am off work on Friday, so wondering if there are any seeds I can be getting on with? Because of my work pattern this will be the last chance I will get to do seeds for 10 days?

 

I wouldn’t panic @GreenFingeredPete I don’t usually start any seeds off until the end of March

 

Thanks, is there anything I can do? I am off tomorrow and Saturday, then have my long shifts at work, then off for 2 weeks, then another bunch of long shifts, when on my long shifts, it is hard to get any gardening done, so have to think about potting on as well.