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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Planting seeds

26 replies

McKenzieFriend001 · 23/04/2023 16:24

We've bought a little green plastic house with a plastic cover with zips, and shelves inside - if I've planted seeds in a propagator with a lid, can I leave it in the little green house overnight or is it best to bring them inside for the time being? Seeds are cherry tomatoes, chillis, peppers and radishes. Thank you!

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Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 23/04/2023 16:26

Radishes are hardy, you should sow them into their growing positions, they don’t transplant well.

the others need to be hardened off gradually, and there is supposed to be a frost this week. So a bit of plastic doesn’t sound enough.

McKenzieFriend001 · 23/04/2023 21:29

Thank you! They're safely tucked in inside. Really appreciate the insight. Very new to all this.

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DixiePeach · 24/04/2023 11:05

I’ve just brought a plastic green house too. I was just looking to see if I’ll need to bring my seedlings in tonight as it’s going to be very cold. Last week we were battling against high winds and trying to stop it blowing away. Now it’s going to be cold. I have planted flowers no veg plants yet. I underestimated how much of a pain it might be.

McKenzieFriend001 · 24/04/2023 11:43

Dixie - I put the box with the lid out in the sunshine this morning and now there's cloud cover and the wind is starting up, do I bring them in again?

I have a toddler. And I'm beginning to think the seedlings are going to be more work....

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Chewbecca · 24/04/2023 11:55

I'd keep them inside 24/7 at the moment, except for the radishes which will be fine outside / anywhere. They only need to be hardened off / put outside when they are getting big, in the days before you are going to plant them outside. For now, they want to be warm.

Unbridezilla · 24/04/2023 12:01

Keep them inside greenhouse 24/7 until they are almost large enough to plant into finished positions. Then spend a week leaving outside in the day and inside greenhouse at night, before planting outside. (If they are going to end up outside and not in larger greenhouse pots. Tomatoes for example can do this. Then no need to harden off)

If you want them to get a wriggle on and germinate quickly, then put them on an inside window sill this week while it's cold. Seeds need warmth and light to germinate. If you aren't bothered, just leave them in the greenhouse and they'll sprout when it gets warm enough

You only really need to give them special tlc for the first few weeks after sprouting when they're small and delicate.

McKenzieFriend001 · 01/05/2023 10:50

Sorry - Me again. Nothing. Not even a shoot. Does one water seeds during germination?!

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Chewbecca · 01/05/2023 10:58

Yes!
Light, warmth, water.
Might take a couple of weeks to germinate, especially if they got chilly.

Nannyfannybanny · 01/05/2023 11:01

If you check the packaging, majority of veg seeds need 18-20c for germination. Peppers need heat and long season to ripen. I sow veg in quarter trays, kitchen window sill, January...you can only do this early,if you have plenty of room for potting on. They go into the conservatory then. They are now around the size of a hand. I wouldn't even put them in a glass conservatory,and I live in the warmest SE corner 10 minutes away from the sea. It dips down to under double figures at night. I personally, water the compost prior to sowing, only use John Innes seed compost,seeds covered in vermiculite. This works for me.

McKenzieFriend001 · 01/05/2023 11:05

Thank you both - I have been watering but suddenly worried that was the wrong thing to do! At this rate, following your recent advice, I might well be tempted to put them in the airing cupboard.... our kitchen (where they all are) is north facing.

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CC4712 · 01/05/2023 11:08

Yes- the water on the seeds is what triggers them to germinate. I get alot of info from the gardeners world forum- which is free to join. Recent discussions — BBC Gardeners' World Magazine (gardenersworld.com)

I bought a mini, plastic green house last year. I do think you get what you pay for. Mine was cheap from lidl or aldi and very flimsy. It was absolutely fine once the seedlings where up, but once I started having heavier pots- the shelves bent and collapsed! It also shook in the wind and the plastic started tearing!

Yours might be stronger than mine- but try to keep it somewhere it won't get blasted from the wind, tether it down well and test the shelves before putting a heavy pot onto it.

Recent discussions

Get gardening tips and ideas, identify plants, ask for help and chat with other gardeners.

https://forum.gardenersworld.com/

Chewbecca · 01/05/2023 11:11

Airing cupboard is perfect for triggering germination.

Chewbecca · 01/05/2023 11:11

Just for a few days.

JulieHoney · 01/05/2023 11:13

Ok, @McKenzieFriend001 - Radishes, sow them directly in the place they will grow. They don’t want to be transplanted. If you don’t have a veg patch, sow the seeds in a trough or planter. They can be outside now, no cover needed. Water the trough first, then sow the seeds in the damp soil. They germinate quickly.

Tomatoes - start them inside in your propagator on a windowsill. Water them from below I.e. pour water into the propagator and let the soil in the pots absorb it as needed. Once they’ve grown their first “true” leaves (not the seed leaves) you can pot them on individually and put them in your mini greenhouse.

Red Peppers - these usually need heat to germinate well. I have a plug-in propagator on a windowsill that keeps it around 18 degrees for peppers, chillis, aubergines etc.

As a new veg gardener, choosing things that grow well in this country will give you a better success rate than Mediterranean vegetables. (Courgettes are an exception, they grow so well here, unlike peppers and aubergines)

Think salads, peas, beans, herbs, cucumbers, squash and yes, radishes and tomatoes - rocket will germinate in under 10 days and will give you a boost in confidence.

McKenzieFriend001 · 01/05/2023 11:27

Thank you - this is so reassuring. I have put them on trays in the airing cupboard and will remove and update next Sunday 🤞🏻

Will also go and get some rocket, and plant some radishes outside now. Thank you!

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Nannyfannybanny · 02/05/2023 15:59

You won't have any light in an airing cupboard. My kitchen is also north facing, but have always found enough light there. I haven't tried it, but I do know someone who germinates beans in damp compost in a plastic bag, just till they open up, the in multi purpose compost. You find out by trial and error.

Nannyfannybanny · 02/05/2023 16:00

Sorry, forgot to add.....in the airing cupboard!

McKenzieFriend001 · 05/05/2023 09:15

Oh my goodness I've just had a peek in the airing cupboard and the tomatoes have all got tiny little shoots!!!!

Nothing else - just the tomatoes. I'm so proud! Is it bonkers to feel this elated? What do I do now?!!

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Chewbecca · 05/05/2023 11:35

Great! I'd move to a warm window sill once they have started germinating so they get light. Then leave them there a few more weeks until they are ready to move to their next homes.

TonTonMacoute · 05/05/2023 13:07

Is it bonkers to feel this elated?

This is why we do it! You’ve caught the bug now, no going back from here.

TonTonMacoute · 05/05/2023 13:08

Get the tomatoes in the light otherwise they grow very long thin and weak.

Naranjas · 05/05/2023 13:13

It’s very late to plant tomatoes. You need to plant the seeds in Feb, you should have six inch tall plants by now. Depending on the variety they take 3-5 months to produce fruit. So you might just get some tomatoes by September when the weather gets colder, or you may find that they don’t have time to fruit before the weather changes. You will probably get some radishes though, they grow a lot faster.

MereDintofPandiculation · 05/05/2023 20:09

Naranjas · 05/05/2023 13:13

It’s very late to plant tomatoes. You need to plant the seeds in Feb, you should have six inch tall plants by now. Depending on the variety they take 3-5 months to produce fruit. So you might just get some tomatoes by September when the weather gets colder, or you may find that they don’t have time to fruit before the weather changes. You will probably get some radishes though, they grow a lot faster.

i’m assuming you’re not gardening in the North. I can just about put tomato plants in the greenhouse now, and outside not for another 4 weeks. If I’d sown indoors in February, they’d be as leggy as anything now.

McKenzieFriend001 · 05/05/2023 22:28

Have taken off cling film and moved from Airing Cupboard to Windowsill (Baking Dish). We are north facing, the only south facing windowsill is our bedroom so we shall be guarding these overnight and into the early morning! I've attached a photo - they've ALL sprouted! Clever MN gardeners!

Nothing from the chillis...

Planting seeds
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