Sow seeds now

Good question Loofah! I'm also interested to know, as I've got several batches of seed at different stages. I followed advice to plant seeds and over-winter them, so as to get a good start in spring. But some of them look rather vulnerable now that it's turning colder. They'll be in the GH of course - but no heating.

 

Definitely depends on what they are.

Some hardy annuals can be autumn sown outside, then overwintered to flower earlier than usual next year.
I wouldn't think these would do well in a greenhouse as they would need to be planted out next spring, and most of this group dont like root disturbance.

Half hardys, mostly are better sown spring, with the lengthening days, otherwise they become leggy and pest riden through the winter.
These cannot be planted out next year until the last frost, so no real advantage in sowing very early.

There are probably a few examples that can be sown now, but not many.
Maybe anything that could be used as an early flowering pot plant next spring.

 

If it says early spring then you might as well wait until then. I don't think there would be much point doing it now.

 

I am having a bash at it with some this year. The problem I have up here is that clay is slow to warm and quick to cool, and if the weather repeats next yr as it has done this yr then I won`t get a good show.

I have sown half of my early spring seeds and done just what you have asked about to see. If the fail then they fail, nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

Chiltern Seeds say you can sow seeds at any time of the year AS LONG AS you have enough light and temperature for them to germinate (which I take to mean starting them off indoors). I have sown mostly bienniels but also some hardy annuals, during August. They are now quite sturdy young plants and some are in the greenhouse and some are outside in the ground. I will have to wait and see which do okay. It's always worth a try.

 

As Tiarella says, in theory you can sow at any time if the seeds have enough heat and light. Last November I planted a lot of seeds - but in a light box, where they had both heat and light. One of them Salvia Coccinea started to flower in early January. Its outside now - still flowering!

But in a cold greenhouse, very soon they won't have either the heat or the light and this will make most things hibernate. So I don't see much benefit, if any.

As Pete said, you can plant some annuals late in the year and they will overwinter. But I would have thought that this should have been done in August or perhaps September - I don't think there is enough growing season left this year.

However there are some things that you can sow outside now. One of them is Allium. A. hollandicum, A. christophii etc. Put them in a tray of compost, cover them to protect them from too much rain and they will germinate over the winter. They need the frost to get them started. They won't grow much over the winter, but they won't grow at all if you sow them in spring. I am sure that there are other things that fall in this category - any suggestions?

 

I don't think you ever stop learning with gardening. There is always something new or different to try out, it is what makes it so interesting.

 

Loofah - as UJH says its always worth experimenting. I really don't know what the answer will be. I only ever sow about half a packet of seed at a time - so I have some seed left over if things don't go right.