The sheer joy of planting seeds and watching them grow

[Koulibiak]

For the first time ever, I decided to grow stuff from seeds this year. Got a cheap propagator set and seed compost from Amazon, and set about planting my seeds two days ago. The zinnias have already germinated 😮! I’m amazed at how quick and easy it’s been. My canna tubers are also coming into growth in the kitchen, is there anything more mood lifting? I may never buy flowers from the garden centre again ☺️.

For full disclosure I’ve also planted seeds that are meant to be a lot slower and less reliable than the zinnias, so we’ll see how that goes. But if you’re wondering whether to try seeds, I’d say definitely go for it - it always seemed to me like something beyond my ability, but it turns out it’s pretty straightforward.

You are doing well!! I too love this time of year and the first seed starting!! I planted rocket on Sunday and it's already growing well, also some Tomatoes planted last week are just starting to sprout. My little boy has been helping me, so hopefully he will also get the gardening bug!! The only thing I don't like is thinning out seedlings and killing the weaker ones, feels so cruel😂!!

Love watching to see what comes up but mine are just in trays in a window.
I cheat a bit and plant some fast sprouters- radish and lettuce.
Also trying out spiral wrap planting this year

I love this time of year too. It's always a thrill seeing the seeds germinate. There's such a feeling of hope for the months to come. I try to forget that the slugs are watching and waiting for the time all my tender seedlings will be planted out!

@Breadcat24 oooh let me know how the spiral sowing grows! I’m intrigued 😊

@Koulibiak 2 weeks in see picture
it is meant to be less upsetting on the roots when potting on.
just used greaseproof baking paper

My dd and I are both germinating seeds at the moment. I’m trying to resist temptation to start too many, too early .

And whilst the thrill of a tiny green leaf never leaves me I will not get too excited. Last year I coaxed 42 marigolds into good shape, hardened them off, planted out on a warm day and went away overnight. When I came home the whole lot had gone! Not sure if it was pigeons or slugs or a cold wind. Devastating

@DaffyDuk I sympathise
Years ago my father brought me loads of marigold seedlings, I planted them out and they were eaten to stubs by slugs overnight. I didn't tell him
A couple of months later he was coming to visit and I hastily bought some marigolds and planted them.
He was fascinated that they had come up a different colour... we said it must be the soil

I have a mini plastic grrenhouse (Sentry box style )
I used c;ear plastic boxes , like the ones you get mini muffins in the bakery , or toilet roll tubes , to start them.
Then the bloody slugs had a free for all
Last year I made some mini propagators from 2 litre bottles (cut in half , cpmpost, seeds , wedge the top half back . I kept the lid on till they started to grow then covered the open spout with layers of mesh .
They had the protection from the greenhouse and the bottle .
Once they were big enough I got really nice plants .

I'm doing sweet peas and nasturtiums (every year) , tomatoes again and some night scented stock (not tried before )
Still too cold here at the moment .

I just planted out some veg seeds today! Chilli, tomato, cucumber, radish, beetroot and salad leaves so far.
Some quick crops are really satisfying. Salad leaves which you can snip off and add to a salad and they continue to grow. Radish ae quick too. I also re-grow lots of things. The bottom of a romaine lettuce, celery, spring onions, bok choy and many more will re-grow if stuck in some soil!

As a side note OP, you can join a gardening forum called Gardeners Corner for free. They have all sorts of sections (flowers, lawns, veg, greenhouses etc) and have provided invaluable advice for me.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget I’ve always direct sowed nasturtiums, they grow like crazy over here and are so reliable. In fact two years ago I went away for a week and I came back to a full on nasturtium invasion, covering the whole patio and climbing 2 metres high on trees and shrubs. It was like something in a comedy movie, But they also self seed, I’m now at the stage of trying to get rid of them as they always end up getting black fly 🙁 and they smother everything else. It’s a shame because I love them - the round leaves look so fresh. I love the variegated varieties too (like Alaska).

Being quite nerdy, I feel a compulsion to point out that nasturtiums are one of those rare plants where the Latin, English and French are completely different: Tropaeolum/nasturtium/capucines, How odd.

@breadcat wow they look great! I’m impressed, I’m putting that on my long list of things to try.

@corlan I’m worried about the slugs! Any tips on protecting young plants against the slimy invaders?

This weekend is a good weekend for sowing flowers, leaves and fruit so crack on.

For the first year in about 15, I haven't sown any early peppers or tomatoes. So I'll probably do some this weekend I think.

Ive done my sweet peas and have six trays of seed compost ready and waiting for me for tomorrow. Just trying to decide what to sow since its still quite early

Cosmos are very pleasing seeds to sow. Nice and easy to handle and good to germinate and pot on

I also play nasturtiums on the understanding they will be sacrificed to the butterfly life cycle

I plant them purely to get the butterflies ( Cabbage Whites ) , I'm not a fan of the flowers themselves but they do grow amazingly well .
When the first batch of yellow eggs appear then hatch they ransack the plants .

( I think I;m keeping the greedy little menaces off cabbage and brussell sprouts plants by giving them the nasturtiums )

I love it. I grow 400+ plants every year from seeds- for our garden, PIL, friends, charity plant sales. It's one of my favourite things. I now harvest the seeds for the next year and swop seeds with friends.
It takes over PIL greenhouse, our dining room, the laundry, then the patio- where I have 'hardening off' shelves. I'm really upset if I 'lose' any.
I have discovered what I just can't grow- sweet peas, zinnias, delphiniums. Just can't grow them. Am great with angelicas, cosmos, hollyhocks, foxgloves, stocks, verbenas.

I discovered gardening and seed sowing last year and it has saved my sanity. My favourite is sweep peas, I have 10 varieties on the go this year. I know some people find them a PITA but I find tying them in on my dinner break really calming. Snap dragons dod well for me last year, the more you cut them the more they bush out and they look great in a vase. I've had a rare child free day off today so planted peppers, tomatos and straw flowers. I love having a house full of fresh cut flowers from the garden.

Hiya, I haven't started any planting yet, as I'm new to being interested in gardening, but I've done a bit of research and putting copper in a ring around the plant is supposed to stop them getting to it. You can get copper wire or just collect some pennies to use. Hopefully that helps

@DaffyDuk

I've had that experience. Where you go outside and can't believe they've gone.

I love it too OP. Unfortunately, I am now a seedaholic. I have more seeds than I could possibly sow but I still keep buying the odd packet, here and there 🫣

I am like this

Where is everyone buying their seeds from?

I guess the easiest thing is to plant things they don't like but sometimes they go for things they don't normally touch.
Life's too short to fight slugs I reckon.