The Greenhouse Thread

[48k]

How the heck do you sow the seeds individually? They are microscopic. I'm guessing my technique of shaking them along in a few parallel lines was not one of my better ideas :-))

[227bhp]

48k said:

How the heck do you sow the seeds individually? They are microscopic. I'm guessing my technique of shaking them along in a few parallel lines was not one of my better ideas :-))

Put your glasses on It's dependent on patience, size of seed and type of plant of course, but tomato seeds are certainly not microscopic and given the low amount (unless you're planning on feeding the whole town) you'll be sowing it's worth doing. I can see in your pic at least two which are useless as they're intertwined already.

Wouldn't be doing mustard and cress like that though

Are they 100% dead now and have you worked out why yet?

[48k]

A few days in the propagator seems to have rescued some toms - this morning I've got a few stalks appeared and standing to attention not flopped on to the compost.

Also peppers have appeared!



The cucumbers look a bit more sorry for themselves still. Am going to get some seed compost this morning when the garden centre is open and try another batch.

[Skyedriver]

Coming to the conclusion it might be easier buying wee plants rather than f-ing around with seed.........I don't need 20 cucumber plants or 80+ tomato plants.
(Assuming the seeds actually become plants of course)

[PositronicRay]

Skyedriver said:

Coming to the conclusion it might be easier buying wee plants rather than f-ing around with seed.........I don't need 20 cucumber plants or 80+ tomato plants.
(Assuming the seeds actually become plants of course)

Me too.

[abucd4]

First ever seeds planted!

Was lazy and ended up buying B&Q’s seeds as I was in there anyway - will be interesting to see how I get on.

Bought a multipack of herb seeds and noticed that they have 100 seeds per herb! Why? Do people really need 100 basil plants? I know they won’t all germinate but even so.

[227bhp]

PositronicRay said:

Skyedriver said:

Coming to the conclusion it might be easier buying wee plants rather than f-ing around with seed.........I don't need 20 cucumber plants or 80+ tomato plants.
(Assuming the seeds actually become plants of course)

Me too.

Not sure if serious....

Mine actually smelled like tomato plants the other day, felt like a proper pro
Even if they do smell a bit like cannabis, I've always wondered if they're closely related as there are a few similarities.

[48k]

See that's just showing off

[PositronicRay]

227bhp said:

PositronicRay said:

Skyedriver said:

Coming to the conclusion it might be easier buying wee plants rather than f-ing around with seed.........I don't need 20 cucumber plants or 80+ tomato plants.
(Assuming the seeds actually become plants of course)

Me too.

Not sure if serious....

Mine actually smelled like tomato plants the other day, felt like a proper pro
Even if they do smell a bit like cannabis, I've always wondered if they're closely related as there are a few similarities.

TBF I've never tried to grow Toms from seed. With most stuff I've had better success using "wee plants"

Last yr I had some stuff from waitrose 3 for a tenner I think. 1 Tom, 1 chilli & 1 sweet pepper.

They all did very very well indeed. Much better than than the £1 a plant stuff from a local plant sale.

[227bhp]

48k said:

See that's just showing off

I didn't show you the ones where I mistakenly sowed two seeds together and the others with a 50% failure rate
Although this is my first time, I had a little bit of a start in that my late father was a keen gardener so I picked up the odd tip here and there when I was a kid, got a bit of a feel for it and for some reason it's stayed with me to be used now i'm old enough to be interested in it again. I'm also a bit of a geeky rampant researcher, when I get into something I often hit it full on.
I'm glad to read your toms have picked up too

PositronicRay said:

TBF I've never tried to grow Toms from seed. With most stuff I've had better success using "wee plants"

Last yr I had some stuff from waitrose 3 for a tenner I think. 1 Tom, 1 chilli & 1 sweet pepper.

They all did very very well indeed. Much better than than the £1 a plant stuff from a local plant sale.

To answer why 'Not sure if serious' to you and Mr Skyedriver, it's not all about the end result and you can buy seeds in smaller quantities. One thing I don't know though and that is if you saved some how long they last if not planted.

[Pheo]

Seed viability depends on the type of plant, they all vary. I think carrot / parsnip generally won’t be good unless fresh, other things could last many years.

That being said they’re often very cheap so buying fresh isn’t a hardship. Plus start a batch early see what comes up and then you still have time to sow more.

[Sticks.]

PositronicRay said:

Skyedriver said:

Coming to the conclusion it might be easier buying wee plants rather than f-ing around with seed.........I don't need 20 cucumber plants or 80+ tomato plants.
(Assuming the seeds actually become plants of course)

Me too.

I tend to buy plants these days, although I've saved some chilli seeds from last year as the variety was hard to find. I do Basil from seed - just spread seeds over a 6"-8" wide pot, cover them slightly, water etc. Cucumbers are particularly hard from seed and don't like being handled much. I usually but the mini ones, I've not had much luck with the full size.

I don't know if these are any good for planting seeds, but not expensive https://www.waterirrigation.co.uk/professional-see...

You can also buy a variety of plants, say cherry tomato, full size and plum. Usually £1.50-£2 each and you'll find which garden centre does the best ones.

OP, looks like a great start. I had a 6x4 for years and it's surprising how much you can get in it. When it gets warmer you'll need something to shade your cucumbers etc. I use greenhouse paint. If you do this, consider whether the opener let the sun scorch your plants when it opens.

Did you know you can get temp sensitive plug adapters? Then you're not heating it 24/7 - although for now that might be fine. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermo-Guard-Digital-Cont...

For seeds and small plants, I make my own compost mix by mixing this in a bucket with a good quality standard compost https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=v...

I take it you've got somewhere to put the leeks etc? I've never had much luck with them except when planted later, as someone else said. But you never know.

Enjoy

Nick

[48k]

Cucumbers v2.
Upgrade includes:
- seeds planted individually
- in something called "John Innes Number 1 young plant compost"
- in a heated propagator from the start

[Skyedriver]

Sticks. said:

PositronicRay said:

Skyedriver said:

Coming to the conclusion it might be easier buying wee plants rather than f-ing around with seed.........I don't need 20 cucumber plants or 80+ tomato plants.
(Assuming the seeds actually become plants of course)

Me too.

I tend to buy plants these days, although I've saved some chilli seeds from last year as the variety was hard to find. I do Basil from seed - just spread seeds over a 6"-8" wide pot, cover them slightly, water etc. Cucumbers are particularly hard from seed and don't like being handled much. I usually but the mini ones, I've not had much luck with the full size.

I don't know if these are any good for planting seeds, but not expensive https://www.waterirrigation.co.uk/professional-see...

You can also buy a variety of plants, say cherry tomato, full size and plum. Usually £1.50-£2 each and you'll find which garden centre does the best ones.

OP, looks like a great start. I had a 6x4 for years and it's surprising how much you can get in it. When it gets warmer you'll need something to shade your cucumbers etc. I use greenhouse paint. If you do this, consider whether the opener let the sun scorch your plants when it opens.

Did you know you can get temp sensitive plug adapters? Then you're not heating it 24/7 - although for now that might be fine. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermo-Guard-Digital-Cont...

For seeds and small plants, I make my own compost mix by mixing this in a bucket with a good quality standard compost https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=v...

I take it you've got somewhere to put the leeks etc? I've never had much luck with them except when planted later, as someone else said. But you never know.

Enjoy

Nick

Did actually buy young plants last year (Sam Brown in Piercebridge) and they were really good, both condition and value. It was just that I fancied trying seeds this year.

[Harpoon]

I didn't get good results from my first sowing of chillies / pepper seeds this year but it would be the third year since purchase, so I've since replaced them with fresh supplies.

My mix of tom's have gone very well this year, with the seeds anything from fresh up to 3 years old. We also subscribe to theory that parsnips need to new seed each year.

I spent a bit of time yesterday splitting up and potting on. Start everything in a cheap heated propagator, seed compost and 1 to 4 seeds per pot. Once they've sprouted, they move to the kitchen windowsill for plenty of light.

Tomatoes are Sungold, Sweet Million, Roma, Cherry Baby and Marmande (beef). Chillies are Ring of Fire and (new for this year) Bulgarian Carrot.





This was our greenhouse in August last year. Everything bar one cucumber plant at the back grown from seed which is immensely satisfying. Not bothering with aubergines this year though as they grew well, flowered but never turned into fruit (probably a pollination issue)

[48k]

That's impressive!

I love that there is a chilli called Ring of Fire

My garlic arrived from the Isle of Wight today. Probably too late but I'm going to give it a go.

[Jambo85]

Harpoon said:

Not bothering with aubergines this year though as they grew well, flowered but never turned into fruit (probably a pollination issue)

Strange, particularly since you had success with chillies and tomatoes. Your aubergine plants look quite bushy though, mine have done much better since someone told me to treat them like tomatoes and pinch out sideshoots They're thirsty buggers too, big pot and plenty of water (again like tomatoes).

[Harpoon]

Once everything is planted come May(ish), it just goes nuts. We didn't have a greenhouse at our last house, so really appreciate how much better you do with one.

The Ring of Fire (https://www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk/online-shop/chilli-seeds/ring-of-fire-chilli-seeds/) are quite mild compared to the stupidly hot stuff reapers but just right for us to cook with.

[Sticks.]

I did Padron chillies last year. Pretty big and hot but not unbearable.

New greenhouse last year, same position. For the first time i had problems with fungus, mostly affecting cucumbers. It was hot enough to keep it well vented all Summer, but it persisted after spraying, and moving plants outside. All I can think of was that I used different compost. I'm not using the containers again. Any suggestions would be welcome. TIA.

[Jambo85]

Sticks. said:

New greenhouse last year, same position. For the first time i had problems with fungus, mostly affecting cucumbers. It was hot enough to keep it well vented all Summer, but it persisted after spraying, and moving plants outside. All I can think of was that I used different compost. I'm not using the containers again. Any suggestions would be welcome. TIA.

I had that too, I think it was pretty widespread and I am sure one of the gardening programmes said was a symptom of the hot dry summer (contrary to what you might expect for a fungal infection eg. blight).