seeformiles
Lost in the wood
This year’s chilli seedlings
This week in your Kitchen Garden.
- Thread starter Mrs Magpie
- Start date
MrCurry
right after this urgent rest
They’re looking very strong - when did you start them? I planted some finger chilli seeds first week of Feb, but they are still quite tiny and with only one pair of leaves each.
Last edited:
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
About the same time as you iirc. There’s 6 different varieties and some popped up within a few days while others took 10 days or more.
Nice. Capsicums need a good long season imo. The sooner you can get them germinated and growing the better. They need a longer season than tomatoes When I grew bell peppers, I I would start the seeds in late January (while I wait till March for toms). With a bit of care and pruning, they can be encouraged to overwinter in a cool light place, then really take off the following spring. I tend not to bother since they always did best for me under glass but I had to stay on top of onerous daily watering.
I also found the roots were very sensitive to overheating (in black plastic pots). If you grow a quite a few and don't want to ise unwieldy and costly terracotta, I found double potting plastic pots, with a layer of newspaper (or sand) between 2 pots, helped to buffer the temperature jumps.
Ladystardust
Member
Can any of you green fingered ones let me know if I can use last years grow bag soil to put in my seed trays? Soil seems to be an enormous subject I'm discovering. It's this one: Gro-Sure Tomato Planter | Soil & Compost | Westland Garden Health
Last edited:
Seeds need a friable, loosely structured, medium...so yeah, you absolutely can. Make sure you break up the clods and if you have anything like a bit of sharp sand, grit, perlite, you can add this to the mix. When you have germination, you will have to use some sort of fertiliser once the first leaves (cotyledons) and next set of true leaves, appear. You can use a whole heap of things (I like to use Maxicrop, a seaweed based liquid feed).
Ladystardust
Member
perfect, thank you so much. I'm literally sat here trying to decide if I've done it right
I've broken all the soil up and put it in the seed pots. So I need only add the feed at germination, not before (i.e. now) ?lazythursday
Averagely-Known Member
I would like to grow some food this year but am a total novice. I moved house late last year and now have a south facing garden and conservatory which I'm guessing is pretty ideal for growing. However I don't know what I'm doing, and now can't easily get to a garden centre. What would be easiest stuff to start with I can order online? Or can someone point me to good resources for a beginner?
Ladystardust
Member
I've just been looking into this as am a novice myself. Easiest stuff to grow from what I've read are beans, cherry tomatoes, spinach, rocket and lettuce. If growing from seed now is a VERY good time to start. they will need to be put in seed trays or small pots and put in a warm place to germinate (i.e.start growing). That's as far as I've got. Lots to learn!
Yep, indeed so, LadyStardust. Growing vegetables in pots is quite a bit more effortful than growing in the ground...but as we all have heaps of time, this shoudn't be so onerous. Watering and getting enough growing medium. Anyway, regarding feeding your little seeds - they will tell you themselves that they are lacking in either food or water...your best tools are your eyes. There is usually enough food in the first leaves (cotyledons) and sunlight to keep them going until they start to get their true leaves.
If you are growing in the ground, Lazy Thursday, can I recommend a garden book put out by the RHS called 'The vegetable garden Displayed'. There have been zillions of editions of this and can nearly always be found in charity shops. Should be easy to find on World of Books or such...and if you are lucky, you will get one of the earlier editions, full of chaps in waistcoats and breeches, standing about looking at their celery. Notable because hardy anything was started off in pots - all sown directly into the ground in drills (apart from tomatoes and maybe courgettes).
Now is a lovely time to order seeds from merchants such as Secret Seeds, Bens Seeds, Thomas Etty and Kings (my main choice). You can also get potting mixes such as John Innes 3 and a multipurpose mix plus perlite from agricultural and hort suppliers such as LBS or Fargro. Everything can be ordered online these days, including plants, fruit bushes, bare-roots (although you have missed that boat for this year). It is a lovely, creative, nurturing and interesting thing to do. LadyStardust's list of seeds is excellent. I would also add courgettes (you will only need one), parsley Which will carry on all year round) leeks and spring onions or chives (might be a little late for garlic).
If you are growing in the ground, Lazy Thursday, can I recommend a garden book put out by the RHS called 'The vegetable garden Displayed'. There have been zillions of editions of this and can nearly always be found in charity shops. Should be easy to find on World of Books or such...and if you are lucky, you will get one of the earlier editions, full of chaps in waistcoats and breeches, standing about looking at their celery. Notable because hardy anything was started off in pots - all sown directly into the ground in drills (apart from tomatoes and maybe courgettes).
Now is a lovely time to order seeds from merchants such as Secret Seeds, Bens Seeds, Thomas Etty and Kings (my main choice). You can also get potting mixes such as John Innes 3 and a multipurpose mix plus perlite from agricultural and hort suppliers such as LBS or Fargro. Everything can be ordered online these days, including plants, fruit bushes, bare-roots (although you have missed that boat for this year). It is a lovely, creative, nurturing and interesting thing to do. LadyStardust's list of seeds is excellent. I would also add courgettes (you will only need one), parsley Which will carry on all year round) leeks and spring onions or chives (might be a little late for garlic).
May Kasahara
take me to the feeling
After a long, work-induced hiatus, I've mysteriously found the time to revisit this 
Bought several tomato, chilli and sweet pepper plants, all of which went into the border on Monday, and several packets of salad leaf seeds which I believe the kids have started off in little pots. Also some courgette seeds 
Not sure how many of those got started off, but I might be keeping the whole street in marrows come late summer.
Also have loads of Pentland Javelin seed potatoes chitting on the windowsill.
Blueberry bush is looking healthy
Bought several tomato, chilli and sweet pepper plants, all of which went into the border on Monday, and several packets of salad leaf seeds which I believe the kids have started off in little pots. Also some courgette seeds Not sure how many of those got started off, but I might be keeping the whole street in marrows come late summer.Also have loads of Pentland Javelin seed potatoes chitting on the windowsill.
Blueberry bush is looking healthy
I have done a spring garlic planting...back in the days before white rot. Thermidor was always recommended for spring.I only got my garlic into big pots and outside a few days ago
Ah, |May, we are still in the running for late frosts...which can definitely imapct on your little plants. Have you got any hortucultural fleece. Or, can you make some mini-cloches out of drinks bottles, to pop over the plants in the event of a cold night. There are all sorts of ways of protecting our plants from frost, including keeping them wet...but be prepared to nip out and do a quick cover-up.After a long, work-induced hiatus, I've mysteriously found the time to revisit this
Your courgettes will be up soon - keep them on a windowsill till mid May. You will only need 2 for a family.
Yeah, mine is something random off the permaculture trust plot that started sprouting when I brought it into the warmth of my kitchen...
May Kasahara
take me to the feeling
Have you planted them out already, May? I ask because generally, these little plants will have been raised under glass and will need easing into the hurly-burly chill of a garden. As a rule, they should go outside in the day, then come inside at night for a week. This is called 'hardening off' and protects the little plants from transplant shock and temperature fluctuations. The weather has been mild, but a cold front is moving in with some very cold nights. I would honestly suggest lifting them from the ground, popping them in pots and keeping them on a windowsill...or even a little home-made coldframe. The peppers are a bit more robust than tomatoes but both could easily freeze in the next week or so. You could pit them in pots so you can move them in and out until mid May - they can easily be grown in pots - nerther have huge root systems...and you can transfer them to the garden with no check to their growth, later in spring. I honestly think it is going to be too cold, at the moment. You don't need a big pot, if it's a temporary move, just stick them together in one - they can be separated when you plant them out.
They'll be fine, Iona. spring plantings are just a bit later than autumn ones (and I vaguely recall having to be on it with watering). I miss growing it - spring onions just are not the same. Have put some hopes into giant chives this year -an F1 called Quattro...Oddly, White rot has not affected some of the ornamental alliums...the spendy giant ones such as Gladiator have gone but Purple Sensation seems immortal (I got a shitload from one of the council beds, back when I first got an allotment...which then seed about.
I have been staying in but I will go to the allotment tomorrow and take my camera...just to console myself before it runs amok, cos it is looking lovely at the moment (Tulips - 100s of them).
Oh yeah I'm not worried! Fucksake I'm also growing peas that I picked out of some soup mix to avoid presoaking it, chillies have been living in the oven coz I started them late and there's random bits of stuff I found on the floor in Homebase propagating everywhere
Might try and do something with the big trough planter thing outside now that gardening group won't be happening for the time being. Looks like this atm:
Might try and do something with the big trough planter thing outside now that gardening group won't be happening for the time being. Looks like this atm:
May Kasahara
take me to the feeling
Yep May Kasahara - they will just pop out of the ground and not notice a thing. How many did you plant. You don't need to pot them up in their own pots - half of my tomatoes are still all in their germination pots in groups of 6-8 and I am not rushing to prick them out into their own pots. Just flick a trowel under them - they won't mind.
If you are in London, you can probably plant them outside in the first week of May.
If you are in London, you can probably plant them outside in the first week of May.
Ladystardust
Member
I’ve got access to lots and lots of old compost for free but no soil. Does anyone know what the most compost I can have in a raised bed, ie what percentage?
andysays
Love and solidarity
There's no reason why it can't be 100% compost is that's all you've got.
Do you know what sort of compost it is, what it's made from?
Ladystardust
Member
Oh really, well that would be good. It’s 3 year old horse manure
andysays
Love and solidarity
OK, that's not quite what I would call compost (what things are called can get quite complicated)
If I had access to large amounts of 3 year old horse manure, I'd be inclined to spread it in a layer, maybe two or three inches thick over the existing soil and plant things like potatoes and courgettes through the compost into the soil.
I'll try to post more later when I've had my tea...
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
You need to be careful of herbicide contamination too (Aminopyralid )...
I imagine there may be a way to test it using seeds of some kind ?
I imagine there may be a way to test it using seeds of some kind ?
The39thStep
Urban critical thinker
Obviously the weather here is very different to the U.K. , still a bit chilly at night to put the tomato plants out yet but I might try one or two under plastic bottles end if the week. I bought some strawberry plants a month ago and they’ve fruited and ripened. Got loads of carrots , cabbage , broad beans . Finished the broccoli and cauliflower and the spuds I overwintered in the compost heap, nearly finished the turnips . I’ve had red bell peppers and the aubergine plants are flowering .
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Are those perpetual onions ??
