Seed sowing for beginners

Very nice cold frame @Jocko and brilliant that it is raised. Easy to reach in and the wood table looks thick enough to insulate the bottom.

 

Thanks, Lori. I struggle to get down then have to pull myself up on something so raising the frame was a must. The coffee table top is covered with thick ply so the base of the frame is about an inch and a half thick. The polycarbonate is double thickness too.

 

I planted lots of different seeds in pots on the windowsills a couple of weeks ago. It was probably too soon, but I didn't plant everything and kept some seeds back for later. The Ipomoea "Heavenly Blue" seeds came in a packet of 6 from Poundland, and they have germinated. I am not sure if they will survive though as it will probably be too cold to plant them outside until well into March at least. I kept back my more expensive Ipomoea "Grandpa Ott" to plant later.

I also noticed a Salvia splendens seed had germinated, which also came from a Poundland packet of 6.

I also planted some Viola seeds and Saxifraga seeds, which haven't yet germinated, as they aren't especially tender plants and should cope outdoors as soon as they are big enough to plant out.

 

You really dont want to plant out Ipomoea until very late May or early June depending in where you are.
So seed sowing for them, being that they grow fast, can be as late as mid or late April.

 

@pete, yes, I just got carried away wondering if they would germinate. I am wondering if I can transplant the Ipomoea into a larger pot and keep them indoors as a houseplant on a windowsill for a couple of months. It is warm and sheltered outside where they would grow.

I am sometimes surprised how plants defy the rules, as I have some dwarf ten week stock (from a Poundland pack of 6) in a wall basket that flowered a bit last summer (they were planted together with too many other things) and now have two good sized plants with flower buds on them, having survived the winter. Also last year's nasturtium leaves have survived well, with pruning of any dying leaves, and they look quite decorative in winter.

I have so many Ipomoea seedlings coming through I might try different things with them, growing some indoors for longer and trying some outside from about the beginning of April. They were so cheap it is only an experiment, and I will keep back my Ipomoea "Grandpa Ott" seeds until mid to late April, or plant them outdoors slightly later (I will probably split the packet and try both).

The Poundland packet, "6 in 1 seed collection for Hanging Baskets", has Ipomoea tricolour Heavenly Blue, Verbena, Nasturtium Tom Thumb, Busy Lizzie, Petunia and Lobelia Cascade mixture.

 

I find that Morning Glory is better sown indoors in late April/early May as I've found it a struggle to keep plants happy in pots until it's time to plant them outside. They grow so quickly I don't find any advantage in sowing early.

 

I am sure you are right. I don't think these Morning Glory I planted will make it, I planted them too early. They are fascinating to watch growing from seeds, and I will try to keep them alive. It is very mild here compared to other parts of England. I struggled to keep plants happy in pots indoors too, what happened last year with my Lobelia seeds should have taught me that they get very tall and thin where it is warm but not enough light and tend to just keel over, I think they call it damping off. Even a few days indoors makes plants paler and weaker.

I will probably end up trying their luck outdoors sometime in March.

 

So far so good with the Morning Glory, Ipomoea tricolour Heavenly Blue seeds that I planted in early February. They seem happy on my kitchen window sill, and are clinging to the stakes. They might still not make it, but maybe they have a chance. And they are fascinating to watch at a time of year when not much is growing.

 

The Salvia and Viola seeds planted in early February germinated too. Again not sure how long they will be happy on my kitchen window sill or how soon I can get away with planting them outdoors. It is mild here.

 

I have planted out the first of my Sweetpeas, grown on toilet roll tubes, with some bottom heat. I then set them out in the cold frame for a while. Just sown another batch.
I have some Morning Glory "Heavenly Blue" doing well but the Antirrhinums, Foxgloves and Laurentia have been a disaster. I have started a second lot of Foxgloves and Laurentia.

 

IVE GOT SEEDLINGS! I planted white stock which look great. Antirrhinum,(tiny but seem good) Rudbekia cherry brandy, Triola and Gloriosa (cherry Brandy are coming up but other two are no shows so far but its only been twi weeks). I also planted some cosmos on Sunday which are just starting to curl up. most exciting! On the info for the Antirrhinum, it says to stick them out in the cold once they emerge. they are very small so should I give them a little longer then put them in the cold frame ( which I still haven't made yet?!) thank you

 

Toilet rolls? that sounds interest. will have to google it!

 

oh! thats clever! and I do like a spot of recycling!

 

Where do all those toilet rolls come from? I tried to save some for sowing but got bored after amassing perhaps... four? Without venturing into too personal information, how does one obtain hundred empty toilet rolls?