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.

I got mine from The Range (well, WILKOs inside there.)

I bought most of mine from Chiltern seeds, because they have so much choice and a good reputation.

I consider myself a novice. I've only been growing for 4yrs and only window box type things before this.
I mainly grow veg, with the odd flower as a companion plant now.

I started with seed packets from lidl/aldi. I actually found them pretty good and certainly grew edible veg!

I now buy from a range of online places- suttons, kings seeds and the real seed company are the ones I recall. Most have special offers from time to time and sometimes £1 or 49p packets etc.

Thankyou

@Koulibiak @Darkclothes @SabreIsMyFave

I get mine from-

Higgledy Garden
Chiltern Seeds
Stocks and Green
Plants of Distinction

There are a few other places but can't remember at the moment.

Well my amazement has continued today - the ipomoea seeds I planted yesterday afternoon are about 1 inch tall already 😮. I had no idea it would be this quick. I’ve gone to watch them in the propagator a few times like it’s a fishbowl 😂

Can I plant seeds in my greenhouse yet? It's not heated and I worry about frost.

Just annuals like cosmos, zinnia etc.

Really want to get going!

@nahthatsnotforme Can I plant seeds in my greenhouse yet? It's not heated and I worry about frost

This is the 1st year I've had a greenhouse, coastal SE. I planted beetroot, radish and salad leaves this weekend, also unheated. The last 2 weeks, its been down to 1'c overnight. I've just bought a heated, seed mat thing, which I'll use for chilli/tomato etc that do need warmth to germinate.

Thank you @Darkclothes

No power in my greenhouse but plenty of sun (it's very warm in there today). I'm just mindful it's very cold at night and we could still have some very cold dark days.

Yet the seed packets say to sow indoors Feb/March. Is indoor in the house? Or in a greenhouse?

Nothing much to lose I guess...

@nahthatsnotforme When the packet says start off indoors, I assume it means in the house/sunny windowsill, heated greenhouse or on a heated mat inside the greenhouse.

I have started my cucumbers/chilli/tomatoes in the house, only because our greenhouse is new and the electrics aren't in as yet. The other things, like radish/salad greens etc, are just in the cold greenhouse. I figured I'd just see how they go.

The propagator sorcery has continued all week - I now have little trays of sweet peas, Solenostemon (coleus), ipomoea, zinnias and Cobaea scandens growing happily (so far). I’m really amazed at the speed - cobaea is supposed to take up to 30 days, so to have several vigorous shoots in 8 days has really surprised me. The zinnias are pushing out their first true leaves, I’m beside myself 😂. It’s like having a David Attenborough documentary playing out live in the house - really magical, and so different from bulbs and rhizomes.

I’m mentally preparing to start the next batch as soon as the current lot is big enough to be transplanted.

This is so much more fun than I thought - I had expected weeks of no action and a poor germination rate. The exact opposite of what’s happening. 🌱

For slugs there are various options. I'm using up my ferric phosphate slug pellets which are ugly but efficient but am keen to try nematodes to see if they work.

Then there's beer traps, companion planting, coffee grounds, dry texture (gravel, egg shells, nut shells, sand), encouraging birds, hedgehogs, hens and other predators, and watering in the morning so the soil is too dry for slugs by evening.

I have just received nasturtium seeds. I can’t wait to get planting

I grew a few nasturtium plants as companion plants for brassicas. They worked very well! I didn't realise how easy they are to self- seed though. Last year, they started growing all over the place! Easy enough to pull out, but just note that they do spread very easily.

You can eat the flowers and leaves too. Add to a salad for a peppery hit.

I bought them for ground cover in an area where not much grows.

I did a tidy up of some pots , doing a quick plan of where to plant seeds ...
The sweetpeas have self seeded and I have 3 new plants in one tub. I might put some more compost in a sow some new seeds in it then that is done ,
Couple of pots have some new nasturtium seeds from last year so I can let them grow then plant out the new ones from the pack later on. The CWB caterpillers are greedy little critters !

I will plant out freesia bulbs and night scented stock seeds tomorrow, be nice for scent

In the spirit of full and frank disclosure, here’s the outcome of my first year sowing seeds indoors.

I’ve got 3 teepees of sweetpeas, spotted the first flower today.

I somehow managed to kill my first batch of zinnia and morning glories by putting them outside in March (I don’t know what I was thinking). But the next batches grew well. Morning glories are already flowering and zinnias are not far behind.

I’ve also got tons of coleus and nicotianas.

Cobaea scandens really struggled when brought outside, I think I should have waited until later. I think I’ve got one seedling still battling on.

Cleomes were really hard to germinate indoors, even after cold stratification. But once I put the propagators outside I got some germination (though not tons of them). I think they like cold nights. Next time I will start them outside in multipurpose compost.

I managed to get one brugmansia seedling (out of only five seeds). It’s still small but I have high hopes.

I am still trying to germinate caladium seeds, they are said to be quite difficult but I’m trying lots of different things. If anyone has tips, please share 🙏

And the Californian poppies I scattered in various pots are doing great and already flowering.

Overall I’m really happy that I gave it a go. Thank you everyone who offered tips and encouragement. It’s made a huge difference to my garden.

Never had any luck with California poppies, but I'm trying again this year.

I've bought some seeds from a company called Seeds to Sow. They sell small amounts from 55pence and have a good choice of flowers and veg. I begrudge spending several pounds when most of the seeds may go to waste, so this might be perfect for me. Have to see if they germinate.

Growing plants from seeds is brilliant.