Bought My First Ever Veg Seeds Today.

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by CreakyJoints, Apr 12, 2016.

  1. CreakyJoints

    CreakyJoints Gardener

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    I had to go into the nearest town for something else, so while I was there, I nipped into Lidl for a few things.
    First thing I did was look through the packets of seed on display just inside the door :snorky:

    I bought the following veg seeds; Descriptions as stated on the front of each packet. Seed quantity in brackets as stated on the back of each packet.

    Carrot - "Rote Reisen 2". Late season variety suitable for storage. (5m seed tape).
    Carrot - "Nantaise 2". Middle-early season variety suitable for freezing. (5m seed tape).
    Peas - "Kleine Rheinlanderin". Can be grown without support. (approx 70 seeds).
    Peas - "Kelvedon Wonder". Rich sweet variety. (approx 70 seeds).
    Cherry Tomato - "Chicco Rosso". Delicious sweet tomatoes, F1 hybrid. (8 seeds, approx 5-8 plants).
    Broccoli - "Premium Crop". Firm, delicate flowers can be eaten fresh or can be frozen. F1 hybrid. (0,5g approx 60 plants).
    Outdoor Cucumber - "Akito". Hardy and high yield hybrid cucumber. (8 seeds, approx 5-7 plants).
    Cucumber - "Vert Petit de Paris". Tasty high yield. (2.5g, approx 60 plants).
    Cauliflower - "Snowball X". Spring and autumn sowing. (0.5g, approx 100 plants).
    Brussels Sprouts - "Roodnerf". Medium-large Brussels sprouts, high yield. (1g, approx 150 plants).
    Onions - "Stuttgarter Reisen". Strong cooking onions, suitable for storage. (1.5g, approx 10 running metres).

    All of these seeds cost a grand total of £7.69...for what appears to be enough veg for me and my 2 dogs for well into next year !
    Coming from Lidl, the sowing/growing instructions are very basic. So can anyone help with a bit more information on how to grow these please ?
    Would they be ok sown outdoors or do they need to be started under cover ?
    Do any of these veg need any special growing conditions, or a particular type of fertiliser ?
    I'll be growing them in my back garden which has freely draining sandy loam. PH is neutral to slightly alkaline. One side of my back garden gets full sun all day, with the rest being in partial shade until the sun moves towards the West. The whole garden gets full sun late into the evenings during summer.
    :ThankYou:
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      You certainly got a bit carried away there:blue thumb:

      My thoughts are you need to sow the toms and cues indoors, somewhere warm, personally I'd wait a couple of weeks if you dont have a greenhouse.

      The Cauli,brussels and brocolli would be best sown under cover in seed trays, but would be better at cooler temp than the toms etc.

      Peas and carrots are best sown where they are to grow, so wait for the soil to warm up outside for those.

      Thinking it might be a bit late for the onions, but still worth a try, just might not get very big.
       
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      • CreakyJoints

        CreakyJoints Gardener

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        Thanks @pete
        The seeds in Lidl are so cheap that I just went a bit daft, lol :snorky:
        I don't have a greenhouse but do have a couple of those blowaways and a small polytunnel.
        I have a plastic folding table I could set up beside the South facing living room window, or, there's space beside my kitchen window that doesn't get the sun until the afternoon so is cooler than the living room window.
        So, tomatoes and cucumber by the living room window and the cauli, brussels and broccoli in the kitchen ? I have some plug trays I could sow them into then pot on later. The holes in the plug trays are 1 inch square.
        The weather here in South East Scotland is still iffy so I'll wait before sowing anything outside. The forecast for tonight for example is wet, cloudy and cold. Daytime temperatures are getting up to 16 - 18*C on a good day, but on average is around 6 - 10*C. Night time temperatures are still very low. Tonight, e.g., at 12am will be 5*C with a feel of -1*C due to wind chill (local weather from accuweather website). The daytime temperatures here will be in single figures until at least Wednesday next week when it creeps up to 11*C.
        It hasn't been too wet though although it's raining here today. Mostly cold and damp with the odd light frost overnight so far.
        I don't mind small onions so will try a few anyway. They are lovely when cooked whole in a pot of soup then eaten as they are :cool:
         
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        • pete

          pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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          I'd be ok with the cues and toms on a window sill, but if you have a polytunnel the brassicas will be better in that,.... in seed trays.
          To plant out when they get big enough, they get leggy very easily if not in full light.
           
        • CreakyJoints

          CreakyJoints Gardener

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          I should have added, the temperature indoors in my living room is between 17*C - 20*C without the heating on (bonus of living in an upstairs maisonette with heat coming up from my neighbour :cool:). When I have my coal fire on, it's between 20*C and 24*C. Coal fire is on tonight because it's cold and wet outside so cooler indoors.

          I'll get my seed trays out then :biggrin:
           
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          • CreakyJoints

            CreakyJoints Gardener

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            What would be best to sow the seeds into ?
            I only have about half a 10l bag of seed compost here, but I have a stockpile of MPC in the shed, (Tesco were selling it cheap last autumn), 4 coir blocks (to make 70l each), I have a bag of Westland Topsoil, a bag of horticultural sharp sand, a bag of horticultural grit, 2 full bags of perlite and half a small bag of vermiculite.
            I was thinking about mixing my own seed compost for sowing this year, so that's why I have the bags of Topsoil, grit, sand and perlite. I'm not sure about adding any coir, so I'll try some with and some without to see what works best.
             
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            • pete

              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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              I'd just keep it simple at this stage and use the MPC.
               
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              • CreakyJoints

                CreakyJoints Gardener

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                Thank you :)
                 
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                • JWK

                  JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                  Just a tip, sorry if you already know, but don't sow the whole seed packet. Veg seeds tend to germinate well, so for example only sow 4 or 5 tomato seeds if you want to have a couple of plants, that allows for a couple of spares so you can select the best two once they get going. Same goes for all the rest - unless you have a big plot of course.
                   
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                  • CreakyJoints

                    CreakyJoints Gardener

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                    Thank you @JWK
                    I don't have a big plot, just my 4.56 x 8m back garden. I'm sitting here wondering how much of that I'll use to grow veg in and how much for somewhere to sit while I watch my dogs playing. There's gravel down one side - 2m wide x the full 4.56m long. That's the sunniest side of my back garden so better for growing. I might fence off that side to keep the dogs off my veg. My older girl (12 yr old Staffie) loves to sit on freshly dug soil, dig in it and pee on it. She's quite partial to veg too so would probably spend any time in the garden looking for bits of veg to snack on, lol.
                    My other dog, a 9 month old Staffie pup, is a bit of a hooligan right now. She has already dug holes in the "lawn" (needs reseeded anyway) and loves to pick things up and run off with them. I can just see her charging around with a carrot or piece of broccoli in her mouth :lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                     
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