Sowing Veg Seeds.....What Am I Doing Wrong?

Ok, so I still consider myself a newbie at vegetable gardening but wouldn't consider myself a newbie gardener overall. But I still keep having troubles with my vegetable patch in the garden nearly two years on.

A good example is that I sowed a load of carrot seeds direct in the soil and none of them came up. Also I sowed a load of spring onions and lambs lettuce and hardly any of them came up either. I've dug the soil over with compost and manure throughout the years and I still can't seem to be able to sow seeds directly into the ground on my vegetable patch. I can sow ornamental seeds fine elsewhere in the garden, but on my vegetable beds I can't seem to get hardly any, if at all coming up.

I wonder if it's because of the fact that my vegetable patch now gets full sun throughout most of the day and these are cooking the seeds before they have time to germinate. Is there a way I could provide some shade quickly if so? I planted a pear tree at the bottom of the patch but that will take time to produce a small amount of shade, if at all.

Some opinions would be appreciated. I seem to be fine with growing onion sets, shallots and beans, things which are raised elsewhere but can't seem to get anything to really germinate in the soil.

 

I found that when sowing my carrot seeds this year (first time veg grower) I had to water them everyday. Have you been doing the same?

 

I was watering my carrot seeds a lot but all that seemed to come up were a load of nigella seedlings.

The method with the plank sounds intriguing, but what stops slugs and snails hiding under it and then eating the seeds once they emerge? I think I have a slug problem too, I sowed my spring onions in cells and then transferred them to the bed and then they all vanished overnight. The same with my broccoli plants too. Is there a way of keeping the slugs out of here without having to result to slug pellets?

I'm looking into making some folding frames to go over the beds this winter and was going to cover them with chicken wire to keep the cats off them, but am wondering now if I should cover them in something else instead.

 

Hiya JJ.

As already stated, it's very important to keep Carrots watered until they emerge, something I've learned along the way. A couple of years ago, I also learned that slugs can completely devour seedlings the moment they emerge. I thought mine too had failed, but then I spotted the remnants of my Carrot seedlings, just below the surface. I use pellets to control the slugs as I find they are the only really effective method. I'm not too bothered about birds eating them (slugs) as I also keep my Carrot bed netted. Hope this helps

 

I'm on heavy clay, so may not be a good comparison. I have raised beds, so drainage somewhat better than just-clay.

I grow carrots in pots. I mix 50:50 spent multi purpose compost from some other crop (Potatoes in bags, for example) and sharp sand. They are a slow germinator outside, particularly if the temperature is cold. Make sure you are using an early variety (Nantes or Amsterdam Forcing perhaps) when sowing early in the year.

I don't bother, I raise everything (roots are a bit of an exception) in pots and plant out. I can do the seed sowing in the evening, after dark, without being dependent on good weather / dry ground when I have time available. Generally I prick out to 3" or 9cm pots and then plant out from there. Those pots neatly fit holes made with my bulb planter, so its a quick process: how the weeds off, bang holes in (using a measuring stick for spacing), water the holes if the ground is dry [so that there is plenty of water under the plant, and it sends its roots downwards], knock the plants out of their pots and pop them in the holes and firm the soil around them.

It probably sounds a lot of faff, and of course it helps if you have enough greenhouse space (I take over the whole of the conservatory until May, we don't really use it in Winter / Early Spring anyway), however I think it's even-Stevens:

• I can sow when I want (including after dark, regardless of weather)
• Seed is germinated indoors - optimum temperature for germination, you can use a propagator if you like, but just central heating will do for most (be careful not to give Brassicas too much heat)
• Can plant out when I want - plants will "hold" for a couple of weeks in 9cm pots, so there is a decent "window" for planting out
• No weed competition - unlike seedlings sown direct the plants go out and then the weeds start to germinate, thus the plants steal a march on them. Less risk from slugs too (plants bigger, but can use pellets at planting out time)
• Exact spacing - no thinning, no wasted space from gaps, failed germination
• Exact number of plants - we eat 2 cauliflowers a week (on average, not according to an institutionalised menu rota!!), they stand about a fortnight, so I sow 4 x 9cm Cauli twice a month. No massive row of Cauli's all going over together and winding up on the compost heap (you could freeze the excess of course). Same with lettuce etc.
• For some things where it is advantageous to eat the thinnings I grow (e.g. for Beetroot) 3 per 9cm pot.
• Some exceptions: Parsnips I chit on damp kitchen paper and then "prick out" into skinny but tall pots made from Newspaper (rolled around an aerosol can and the bottom tucked in, they must not have disturbance to their tap root). Sweetcorn I also grow in newspaper pots to reduce root disturbance. I don't plant out Carrots (they don't transplant, I tried it once in newspaper pots - need FAR too many even for my level of faffing about!). Potatoes are planted straight out, natch

They won't be cooking, as such, as vegetables need full sun. But the sun will be drying out the seedbed, and for a seedling struggling to get a root down that may be the crunch-point. You can run a watering can along the drill before you sow the seed, and then when you cover (with dry soil from the edges) there will be water under the seed. You could perhaps also cover with newspaper, but it would need to come off the moment the seeds germinate.

Temporary shade better than permanent (as veg need full sun)

That's the point from which I started raising everything in pots

 

I have heavy clay as well, although it has been improved since we moved in, but still isn't perfect. My beds are slightly raised by about 6inches and this probably isn't helping with the drying out situation.

I did use Early Nantes and sowed them in about March this year and none came up I don't think, most looked lie nigella seedlings to me which seem to germinate everywhere at the moment. I sowed a different variety again in mid summer in the hope of getting some for Christmas, but not a single one came up. I even built a special raised bed for raising carrots from seeds. I have grown them in bags last year but didn't have enough space in the veg patch to have loads of them dotted around. I still have the bags though and was toying with the idea of using them again this year but guess I have missed the window to sow carrots for Christmas now, even if I brought them into the greenhouse. My greenhouse will be empty after the tomato season has ended so I could move in all my bags of carrots into the greenhouse perhaps to finish off growing when I try again next year?

I'm not sure what to do with this special raised bed now that I haven't used. If I should get rid of it for more space for pots and bags that I can move into the greenhouse or grow something else in it?

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Interesting idea, that I was doing with a few crops like spring onions and broccoli, but found the slugs were eating them as soon as they were planted. I'm looking to sort this out this winter though. What stops the seedlings having shock before you plant them out? Do you put them in a cold frame or do you just pick a mild week in the spring to do so? I don't have room for a cold frame anymore as I found I wasn't really using it. I have a couple of those paper potters knocking around and never saw much use for them but I guess the newspaper keeps the soil damp longer when they are planted in the ground? Do the paper pots have to be tall and thin then for root crops or all vegetable plants? I'm hoping to plant out swede, leeks and turnips next summer and I'm not sure what size pot you would need to accommodate the roots of these plants as I've never grown any of them before.

Damp newspaper does seem like an interesting idea, but I'm now looking into building some folding frames to keep the cats off the beds and so I can put slug pellets down without the local birds being effected. I'm looking into perhaps having one side of the frames having shading on until the seeds or plants have taken hold in the soil and then turning them around and having chicken wire on the other side.

What kind of material would make good shading that I could stretch over to block some of the light out with? I have this close knit green plastic mesh, which I think is wind proof membrane but I wonder if this is too close and won't let much light or water through.

 

That's all mine are raised. I dug out the paths between the beds and put the soil on the beds, so lower paths is about all the "raised" they have. I've found its enough to keep that 6" raised part drier

Carrot seedlings do look a bit like that - I was assuming you had seen a carrot seedling to know what it looked like, but maybe not? "Feathery" probably describes it.

Sounds reasonable. Do you have a hard floor, or beds, in your greenhouse? We grow Chard over-winter for a hungry-gap spring crop. Have also tried Lambs Lettuce, but it grew so slowly I gave up on it (would have had to be sown around 01-Aug I reckon)

Don't know if you can mono-crop Carrots? I have toyed with putting loads of sand down where I want to grow carrots, and then as part of my crop rotation that will improve my clay year-on-year. Never actually done it though!

Yes I do harden them off. I don't have cold frame, so out during the day in a sheltered spot on a warm, low wind, day, and bring in at night (luckily I have a sheltered terrace right next to the conservatory that is ideal). I put fleece over them (outside) if the sun is very strong, or there is more wind than I would like (for the first few days). Do that for a week, then in second week leave out on mild nights - particularly if you get lucky and there is a 10C Min night. But I do also plant straight out at times - not deliberated, but sometimes we get a forecast of min 10C for several nights in a row and I take advantage of that if I am behind with my hardening off schedule!

Not sure about that, but it is important to tear off any newspaper above ground (when you plant out) otherwise it acts as a wick drying out the paper below ground.

I thought it was a waste to make them wider, but for other veg that are more horizontal rooting that may be important. I think that knocking a plant out of a pot doesn't disturb it much at all, so I've never worried about it (but I do use proper pots, rather than a variable sized collection of Yoghurt pots etc - although I'm not sure that would make any difference), so my preference is to use a pot for anything that doesn't mind being planted out. Newspaper pots take more time to make, and are a bit messy to plant out - they are not rigid, so want to fall out of the gravel tray I carry them on and so on.
http://kgarden.wordpress.com/tips/how-to-make-pots-from-newspaper/

Swede I would grow 1 per 9cm, Turnips like Beetroot 3 x 9cm and then harvest the thinnings. Leeks I do differently, I take a polystyrene box (sort of thing a fishmonger uses), put some holes in the bottom, fill with multi purpose and then sow seeds carefully 1/2" apart (it takes a while but no pricking out or thinning). Cover with newspaper until germinated. This is the only way I have ever got transplants that are pencil-thickness. To plant out tip the whole tray out, break up carefully (although supposedly root damage doesn't matter at the planting out stage) and then shake them up and down in a bucket of water to get the compost off and separate them to individual plants.

Scaffolders debris netting maybe?
http://kgarden.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/brassica-netting-against-cabbage-white-butterfly/
The Enviromesh people probably have a material specifically for shading, but may be expensive.

 

These are what have germinated, most of them look like nigellas to me, amongst a few other weeds.

I have a gravel floor. All my tomatoes are grown in pots and then that part of the greenhouse is pretty much empty until the next round of tomatoes growing there the year after. I give about half of the greenhouse to these plants now as I love my toms. I've never grown or tasted Chard, it's something I haven't really seen in the shops. Is it any good?

Do you mean I can't grow carrots in the same place year on year? If that's the case I may as well get rid of this bed and replace it with a cold frame then, which would be more useful. I think I would rather have a cold frame than taking plants in and out everyday. I'm quite forgetful and have been thinking about getting a cold frame anyway.

I don't know where I could get hold of polystyrene boxes from. Do they have to be these type of boxes then? I do have some large wooden wine boxes lying around or Dave could knock up some boxes for me. I was just wondering if they have to be made from polystyrene for a reason?

I have this stuff knocking around the shed. I picked up a load of it with a few rolls of chicken wire and reels of wire for £3. The plastic seems pretty thick and the holes only seem to be 5mm each. I've got no idea what it's for though.



I thought about doing the Geoff Hamilton (I think he came up with the idea) of sticking tubes in the ground and then draping protection over the top, but then concluded it would be a bit of a faff for me to store. That and I couldn't work out where to get the pipes from.

 

Poor man's Spinach. Cut & Come again though, crops for ages.

I don't think you are supposed to (i.e. it is supposed to be part of the crop rotation), but whether its a bad idea (pests / disease will increase and/or the plant will strip the nutrients it needs out of the soil) I'm not sure.

Also prevents dropping any / tripping over them. I manage to do that several times during each Spring :(

No requirement to be Polystyrene. Any box of reasonable depth will do. Pick a size that you can carry when it is full of Leek plants and soil! or perhaps choose a size that with seeds at 1/2" spacing each way will give you enough plants. I can get about 150 in my box, and we plant about 100 Leeks plants.

Looks all right Not sure how much shade it will cast though?

use canes with an old tennis ball on the top instead, or canes with an up-turned pop bottle on top perhaps?

 

Funnily enough I tried spinach for the first time last week and it tasted horrible.

I think I had this in the back or my mind when I built the raised bed for the carrots that I should rotate them, I can't remember if I was only going to use the bed for the first year while I improved the others. But have now concluded it's not worth keeping and will be dismantling it shortly and then building a cold frame. I'm not sure what to do with all the soil though.

How big are these boxes that you use? They sound quite large to me if you can fit 150 in one box! I take it you put a few drainage holes in the bottom too.

 

I had the stuff that come lose in a bag like salad. Steamed it and it tasted rather bitter and sloppy, a bit like eating algae.

 

We prefer Leaf Beet ... but its personal preference of course. Worth trying it the once probably.

Put it on the other veg beds so they are somewhat raised? It will help drainage if your soil is heavy (even if no formal edges etc. so called "lazy raised beds")

A square 12 x 12 will hold 144 plants ... so if you manage 1/2" spacing (which is a bit fiddly / tight) then 6" x 6" will do (which seems tiny now I think of it!) so I think perhaps 1" spacing would be better, that's a foot square. Mine is a bit wider than that and quite a bit longer say 12" x 15"

Yup