Too early?

Better to sow parsnips direct, you can do it now provided you cover the soil with plastic sheet to warm it up. Pull off the sheet as soon as they emerge.

 

Thanks John

They will be sown direct into my deep barrels, which seem to warm up quite well just by sunlight - I'll give it a couple of weeks at least before I put them in though.

I have finally managed to get compost under my fingernails , and have installed the following into my grow cupboard:

- 12 x African Marigold (to test viability of the seed)
- 12 x Malva Zebrina (to test viabiltiy of the seed)
- 12 x Dahlia 'surprise' (again, to test viability)
- 6 x Red Pepper & 6 x Yellow Pepper to get them going.

They are now nestled into their temporary home in the grow cupboard, lights and heat on timers and nicely moistened. First time I have used Jack's Magic, and I must admit so far it seems to be quite impressive - nice soft airy mix, and very little in the way of woody or fibrous stuff.

Whilst setting the grow cupboard up (it has moved to a new home recently), I went digging for an extension cable and in the process found a padded envelope containing packets of seeds......

These were sent by T&M last year, and although I have no recollection, they must be replacements for the ones I had trouble with last year as they are exact duplicates of the seeds I ordered at the end of 2013 ready for last year, many of which failed.

So, I now also have (in addition to above):

Dahlia Pompone Mixed x 50
Dahlia Giant Hybrids Mixed x 80
Begonia Boliviensis x 200
Primula Vialli x 100
Geranium Border Supreme F2 x 36

And approximately 10 Seranno Pepper seeds that I was given at the end of last year. I wonder if Kew are short of anything, I might just have what they need in stock.......

Any hints or tips on the begonias and primula gratefully received - I was thinking my heated prop to give them best chance?

 

You need to start off the Begonias asap as they are such tiny seed they need a long time to get to a decent size. Heated prop will be good for them, surface sow and pop the pot in a poly bag.

Primula need to be cooler, I'd sow now and stick them in your greenhouse, it won't matter if it's cold or frosty in there to begin with. They will take a good few weeks to germinate, again pop in a poly bag and make sure they have a bit of light (not grow-lights though!).

 

I have less tomato varieties this year, and even tried hard to ensure that I didn't have too many, but have still managed to end up with some..... anyone want some Marmande seeds?

I worked it out last night that the difference in price between Jack's Magic and the Homebase stuff that I have been using is less than £3 for 360 litres; I am seriously considering swallowing the small additional cost and going with Jack's Magic throughout this year, as it seems to be much, much better than the stuff I have had in years past.

I am also going to try to sow direct to 12-cell trays this year, and skip the pricking out stage - grow them on into decent sized plugs in the trays and then plant them out from there.

 

I will dig the prop out tomorrow and get the begonias started

I wonder if that is why I had trouble with the primula last year - - I did them in an unheated prop on a sunny windowsill - probably too sunny and too warm for them?

Moi??

There is a good saying where I come from - It wisnae me, a big boy done it an' ran away

Can I make a suggestion for your lobelia and petunia seeds? They are like dust, and a bit of a bugger to sow - first year I tried them, I ended up with a million seedlings at one end of a tray and nothing anywhere else, and they were too closely packed to prick out so I lost the lot.

Take a piece of A4 white paper, and fold it in the middle to make a crease, then open it back up; open the packet of seeds over the paper so all the seeds fall onto the paper, then coax them all into the crease in the middle, then use the crease like a chute to pop them into an empty pepper pot (I use one like this):



Then, three quarter fill the pepper pot with silver sand, cover the holes at the top with the palm of your hand or sellotape them shut, then give the pepper pot a good shake to mix the sand and seeds - then use the pepper pot as a wee spreader to spread a thin layer of your sand and seed mixture over your ready prepared tray of compost, making sure that you fully empty the pot.

Hopefully, with a bit of luck and a prevailing wind, this should see a reasonably even spread of seeds across your tray and save you pulling your hair out come pricking out time

 

I thought I had it bad! And yes, I think I probably do have something of an addiction....... but then, don't we all on here?

EDIT - so the primula want it to be really cool to germinate then? Any benefit to a week in the fridge first?