Want to have a go at propagating seed!

I'm totally new to propagating seeds but I want to have a go. I dont have a greenhouse....yet, but we do have a conservatory & I was looking to buy a window seed tray.

Are there any seeds that can be sown this time of year as most seem to be sown in the spring! :confused:

[ 09. November 2006, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: r2oo ]

 

Most seeds are sown in spring so that when they're big enough to be planted out the weather is warm enough, and the light levels are correct to make them spring into action. If you sow when recommended they will have the best chance of survival, that's not to say that you can't get away with it sometimes if you can give them the right conditions artificially.

Some seeds that require a cold spell before they germinate, and germinate very slowly - Lavenders for example.

There are lots of wildflowers e.g. cornflowers and hardy annuals that can be sown in autumn directly into soil, though it's possibly slightly too late now.

Windowsill herbs can be sown all year round - that might be a good thing to start off with. Some mint, chives and basil maybe?

Most serious gardeners would use a heated propogator of some sort, so they can maintain the correct temperature for germination. I did quite well just by using the hot-airing cupboard for some of the more difficult ones, it worked pretty well. A seed tray with a clear lid is all you need to get you started. You should be able to pick up a budget one up for �£2 or so.

 

This is a great thing for the window-sill - I use mine a lot.
http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/product/PRWS.htm

 

That looks really good denbrobium... what sort of seeds have you managed to propagate in it?

 

I've got one of those too! It was a birthday present last Feb and I used it to germinate melons, tomatoes, tomatillos, and later some flowers.
It worked beautifully and the success was only spoilt by the whole tray being upset by my naughty dog. I managed to retrieve enough of the seedlings to grow loads of tomatoes and tomatillos.

 

I suspect that the problem is not in germinating seeds now, but in growing them on. If you sow seeds inside the house or conservatory, there should be enough heat to get a lot to germinate. But then there will be more heat than light, and this will make them grow weak and spindley.

Having said that - Its costs almost nothing to try. So give it a go. I sowed a number of seeds a few weeks ago, which germinated well inside the house. I have now put them in a cold frame outside. Just a piece of glass sitting on bricks. As they are hardy plants, I am hoping that they will survive. But I expect them to go dormant as the temperature and light levels drop.

 

PeterS says;I suspect that the problem is not in germinating seeds now, but in growing them on.

I totally agree in fact the first line of my article on seed sowing says;

Decide what you want to grow then consider "do you have the facilities to grow them?"

In my opinion a coldframe is more important than a greenhouse. Seed/s generally only need highish temperatures when germinating after this they require cooler temperatures e.g. in a coldframe.

http://tinyurl.com/yy5xkl

 

TG - only just looked again at this thread. Its too late tonight to read all the way through your excellent site. But it looke really good and I am going to come back and have a proper look.

 

If yoyu do use the windowsill this may help. It is the brainchild of Geoff Hamilton who you may remember from Gardeners world days.



It's made from a cardboard box or if your feeling really good you could make it out of wood.

 

Hi Wiseoldowl. How late do you sow seeds, what are they, and are they expected to flower well in the following year. I August I sowed some annuals/biennials viz:- Ammi majus, Campanula medium, Centaurea cyanus, Cerinthe major var purpascens, Consolida regalis Cynoglosum amabile, Digitalis Excelsion Hybrids and Nemophila menziesii. These were all copying what Christopher Lloyd said he did in his books. Do annuals die down over winter like a perennial, and start again from ground level? Or am I left with the crooked stems that some of my annuals have already got?

 

Thanks Wiseoldowl. Perhaps it sounded a bit of a daft question. But I was interested in the concept put foreward by Christopher Lloyd of sowing annuals in autumn to overwinter and then flower earlier than normal next spring. Until he mentioned it I had assumed that an annual must flower in the same calender year that it is sown. But he seems to be saying that it can overwinter but of course will die after its first and only flowering. In this respect the annual is behaving like an bi-ennial, but presumably will live for less than 12 months whilst a true biennial could live for 18 months. Have you ever tried sowing annuals in autumn.

 

You can sow hardy annuals in the autumn, no prob, Peter. And the reason it's all a bit misleading is that loads of annuals set so many seeds that you'll always have them around, and not realise they're not the same plants

 

Peter recently I pulled up my Gazanias after a wonderful display this summer all around there were loads of seedlings I potted 2 trays of them popped them in the greenhouse for overwintering so should be off to a flier next year