Looking after seedlings once germinated

And don't forget to label them!

 

Oh here we go again...

 

Hello @PeterJ I realize you only wanted to hear from UK gardeners but I'll put my two cents in anyway.

If they are getting planted out in the garden or up to large pots going outside:
I start my seeds a bit earlier than what the package states. Other than the directive to cover or not to cover the seed, they are all treated the same.
I start them in soil blocks.
If/when they germinate and after they get their first set of true leaves, I then stuff them in small 3 or 4" pots.
They are then left under lights, in a grow tent structure with a base heat source, LED lights and capillary watering. I simply raise the lights as they get bigger and add a bit of liquid fertilizer to the water to feed them. I usually end up with nearly a hundred seedlings down in the cellar.
Come about mid April, I can start moving them out to the greenhouse which has a gas heater that will keep them from freezing.
That is all the acclimatization they get.
Straight from tent to greenhouse.
Then when it gets warm enough, planted out.

If they are going to be in hanging pots:
I start the seeds, a few weeks earlier that the package states.
I sprinkle them on the surface of the soil filled hanging pot and cover, or not cover as directed.
I add steel mesh to the surface.
I keep them moist using a mister.
When the seeds germinate they climb up through the mesh.
I don't have space under the lights in the cellar so I hang these pots as close to the windows as possible.
Come about mid April, they are trotted out to the greenhouse and hung along rails so as to leave space lower down for the other seedlings.
This is all the acclimatization they get.
In May, they get hung outside and they defy the squirrels by having the mesh and being protected.

I don't take them out for an hour, then back in or any of those gentle steps. I just make sure to watch the forecasts and time things accordingly. With that the weather guessers got it right!

 

Love this one...

 

Can't read through all the other comments, but I never sow anything until mid April. They probably flower later than early sowings but I don't mind, it isn't a race.
And I haven't got anywhere to keep them if I sowed them earlier.

 

I keep them in the house on windowsill and the wall pasting table I get out to put seedling on . I start Petunia / lobelia in February so plants are ready to be potted up and planted out for Late May into June . I take them into the cold greenhouse in march , the very tender stuff ( busy lizzie ) does have to come into the house and frosty nights or they don't go to the GH at all until the weather improves . I used to carry every plant back into the house fretting the weather will get them , I am more relaxed now . I been caught out a few times with plants in the GH with frost with no damage, unless its a hard frost or multi days of cold weather I just throw a fleece over them and leave them to it. The plants have already been planted on once by this stage usually into 12 cell tray or 20 cell trays so they not really seedling anymore .

 

With us being in the South, that would mean we could sow everything in January!

 

It's one of the Access ones. Great growhouses, but terrible customer service. Don't ever try claiming on the 25 year guarantee!

I could feed power from the garage for fan heaters if needed.

 

So true. I think your method works for a small amount of seeds, but when you are dealing with 20 pots of seedlings, then 20-30 seed trays it's not really practical.

I think more fleece, and bringing them in if it's really cold is probably the answer.

 

I so wish, but you yourself said that you've had hard frosts......the biggest worry is the uncertainty of frost hits, they can happen any time and catch us all out. That's why I leave things until as late as possible now, a lesson I learnt the hard way

 

Oh it can work if you have determination.

I have always grown everything from seed / cuttings and our garden is a fair sized one, I also grew plants for my Dad's very large garden too. Like @Selleri I used piles of books for makeshift shelving, covered everything in close proximity to windows with tin foil to reflect light....you name it , I tried it and with great success I might add.

It was without doubt messy and time consuming, but nevertheless 100s of plants were grown successfully.

Now I prefer an easier and somewhat calmer germination time and leaving it all to as late a date as possible allows more opportunity for the weather to lend me a helping hand.

 

If you had unlimited space and heat and lights, you probably could.
But we all have to make our own judgement for our own conditions and what equipment etc. we have available.
If you find you are having to move things back into the house during cold snaps in April, and the quantity of plants involved is too great to do that, then maybe just a week or two later sowing would avoid that.

 

@PeterJ it depends on what you are growing too. I tend to grow a lot of annuals so I am used to the pot shifting dance. By the time I am able to plant out them out, I usually have about 150 to 180 little pots of annuals. Lots of running up and down the stairs.

And I still buy more in the summer!

It is all good exercise.