My coal cellar germination station is in full operation now. The top shelf has LED lights whereas the lower legacy shelf is the traditional fluorescent strip light. Both shelves have got heated trays which raise the temperature to about 20C
These lobelia seedlings are stealing a march.
Once germination has been achieved the hardier seedlings (broad beans and alliums) go out into the greenhouse...
...and then outside for good days.
The broad beans to left of the picture went out to the allotment yesterday, under fleece protection to start with. The set up has evolved over the years and seems to be working well this year.
How many days to germination? When is it time to throw in the towel? Could you be throwing out viable plants or are you wasting valuable greenhouse space? Annually these perrenial questions arise. As you can see from the above I remove non germinating seed pots to a dark corner of the shed - just in case there is a chance they spring to life. The dates of sowing are on the reverse of the labels and reveal that this batch of cucurbits is beyond redemption.
Sowing Dates
But something else I was about to give up on has revealed signs of life after I had given up all hope. It is the only dahlia I am growing this year so I was a bit put out about wasting my money and effort. The tubors have been sitting in moist compost in the greenhouse since 5/4/18 and even given trips out when the weather turned warm.
The Bishop of Landraff -at last
I was on the point of reusing the pots and compost when I spotted some growth above soil level yesterday.
The Bishop Emerges
It is not necessarily all or nothing either: These beetroot were sown on 7th March and afforded protection from the elements in the greenhouse. Only a few emerged within the first month despite the "seeds" being clusters of seeds and those that did emerges have been so slow to grow that I might as well have just waited for the conventional out door sowing at the beginning of May.
But here is a warning about giving up. Last year I tried to save some seed from our Lenten Rose plant. "Use fresh seed" is the hellebore mantra, so I popped them straight from the seedhead into this tray on 13 June last year. Absolutely nothing happened (except for the occasional spray of water) until about 4 weeks ago when the first sign of life was detected!
Today I have potted the seedlings up and have high hopes that they will flower - next year! I am amazed - Amazed that I had the "good sense" not to give up and recycle the potting compost and grit when I did my spring clean up.
After my last post I hadn't anticipated having anything to report for a while but already there are signs that the leeks cabbage and cauliflower have germinated. I was ready for them as I placed the lighting strip over the propagator from the outset.
Here's a closer view of the corner where the action is:
and an even closer shot of the leeks:
That only leaves nine more pots to watch over.
I am relieved that my light from last year is still working. I don't have a spare bulb and wouldn't trust buying one over the internet/in the post (although that's how the first one arrived as part of the set up). I have yet to find a local stockist.
My old heated propagator has been rather underwhelming having achieved an all time high temperature of 16.6C. It tends to sit at about 10C (It is located in a former coal cellar under an external stone staircase and possibly the heat could be coming from the neighbouring refrigerator!) The brassicas seem to appreciate that the above 8 degrees threshold has been achieved but it is not surprising that the tomatoes haven't decided to germinate just yet! It might be time to buy a new heated propagator specifically for heat loving plants although this one clearly has its use.
It's snowing again outdoors, but indoors something is stirring:
Broad Bean
The broad beans have not had any "extra" heat although they have appreciated indoor temperatures. Now that they are coming through they will be turfed outdoors to get as much daylight as they can.
The other new starts are a bit more thermosensitive and need a bit of encouragement from this:
The Germinator
Lifting the lid:
Tomatoes, Celeriac, Parsley, Basil - Onions
Everything has come through, except for the parsley, a notorious slow germinator.
