Seed sowing for beginners

Direct sowing where they are to flower. Never done it any other way!

 

The later sowings will soon catch up, & probably pass, the earlier sowings! Morning Glories are very fast climbers - if you wait a few minutes you would probably see them move higher up!

 

Neither my Morning Glory sown back in February nor those sown directly in the planter have done anything. None more than 2" tall. I sowed some more direct in the ground this week.
I am having very little success with trying to raise plants from seed.
I sowed a packet of Confrey seeds in a planter and one has germinated. Multipurpose compost with a couple of inches of John Innes Seed compost on top.

 

Having read 'advice' on a forum, I have revised my sowing technique to generally only cover seeds by an amount of fine compost in a layer equal to the 'height' of the seed. Dust over lettuce and 6mm over peas. This seems to give better results. Also I try not to water after the initial drenching, until at least half of the plantlets have emerged

 

I too only put a dusting of compost on top of the seeds. I have a homemade fine sieve for that purpose. After I have planted seeds I only "mist" the soil using a fine spray gun. If it dries out I water from the bottom.
When I say a couple of inches of John Innes on top that is not covering the seeds. I would fill the whole tray with John Innes Seed compost but it is so expensive.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems with the Morning Glories especially, @Jocko. I never seem to have any problems - just the opposite in fact! They often self sow themselves & come up in the most peculiar of places - like a couple I had in my hanging baskets last year!

 

I was going to upload a picture of them but I can't seem to find one with the Morning Glory in a couple of hanging baskets! I know it's not the first time this has happened but perhaps my memory is failing me & I actually didn't take any photos after all!

 

What a little cutie!

 

My first growing from seed has been hit and miss. The misses were total fails. Not a single little seed face from my rudbeckia cherry brandy or Triola and another seed I can’t actually remember what it was but I had excellent success with my cosmos, annual salvia, calendula, and white stocks. Also I planted two types of antirrhinum which despite my accidentally leaving them under a leaking gutter when I finally started to garden them off and their catching the frost one night have still managed to get some in the garden and about to flower!! Very exciting. I will definitely grow from seed some things next year but I think not as much and not so early!

 

@Tara Jane It's good to hear about your experiences with growing seeds! It can often be a bit hit or miss & even some of us more experienced gardeners sometimes have problems! Keep it up & follow the guidelines on the seed packets for when you should sow them. Seed packets often have a lot of info on them so always consult them before actually sowing anything! Good luck for your next attempt!

 

I too have had terrible problems. I bought Comfrey seeds from Amazon and it turned out to be grass (and not the "good" kind) then I bought more from T&M and sowed them in a tray outside at the end of April. Only one germinated and it is tiny.

 

I'm gutted! I planted some Lupin seeds in trays and they were growing great. One tray, the seedlings were bigger and this morning I removed them from the greenhouse and placed them outside with the lid off. I left the other tray in the green house. At 5pm I went outside to do a bit of gardening and the seedlings in the greenhouse have gone yellow/brown and seemed to have partly dried out. The soil is damp so they've obviously been damaged by the heat. The seedlings outside seem Ok but I've put them in the shade just in case.

 

This is the third flower the February-sown Heavenly Blue has made, and it has grown a few inches since I last posted, and it has loads of flower buds on it. Each flower only lasts for one day. The May-sown mixture of Heavenly Blue and Grandpa Ott are a bigger, bushier plant with lots of full sized healthy leaves, and it is climbing happily, but no sign of flower buds yet. (That is a sweet pea next to it).

 

Mine have started growing but are a long way from flowering. The seeds I sowed in the ground in May did nothing but those I sowed in June have taken off.

 

That Heavenly Blue Morning Glory flower is still there at 6.30pm today, but it will almost certainly be gone by tomorrow. The May-planted one is a much bigger plant but no sign of any flower buds yet.