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.
All the alliums and other hardy veg has been moved to the path outdoors. And here is an unheated propagator with spring salads that gets the lid popped back on at night.
Everything is labelled
Up above I am delighted with the progress of my basil seedlings!
Living in Scotland I might be a bit rash growing frost sensitive plants so early in the year. The other side of the coin is that the short growing season means you have to make an early start to stand a chance of a harvest. It looks like this year I have got away with it. Tonight the temperature is set to drop to one or two degrees and I will be dragging everything I can fit into the greenhouse, shed and coal cellar for the last time. (The greenhouse gets the benefit of a paraffin heater if there is a threat of frost.) After that the minimum night temperature is set to be no lower than 4 degrees C until the end of the month. I will, of course be checking the forecasters don't change their prediction, but it looks like everything will left in the same place day and night hereafter. Just as well as there are more seedlings indoors under lights waiting to be pricked out.
This year I have deployed conventional light to stop my seedlings getting too leggy. It seems to be working for these annuals which currently have light but no extra heat. (The lights are located in our coal cellar). New this year is a new LED light setup. It is made up of small red and blue lights which explains the funny colour of these pics:
But it seems to work for tomatoes:
and peppers:
Outside in the (unheated) greenhouse transplanted lobelia ...
...and other hardier plants...
Leeks
...have rapidly been moved on after tricking them into germinating indoors!
Broad Beans
It is always a juggling act finding protected space once seedlings require transplanting into bigger containers. The greenhouse is the last resort and offers shelter from wind and rain/hail/snow but is no protection from the cold. I have a paraffin heater at the ready and will be keeping a watchful eye out for any sub zero predicted overnight temperature once the non hardy plants take up residence.
After my protracted excursion into the wild you might think I have given up raising vegetables. Fear not. I did get carried away with the warm patch at the end of February and sowed lots of things. Then of course the weather turned cold. Today for instance the thermometer has peaked at a balmy 7C as the sun has made an appearance. The night time temperatures have hovered perilously close to freezing. I have the paraffin heater at the ready because the greenhouse is bursting at the seams. Under the circumstances the production line from propagator to indoor lights to greenhouse to outdoors, has well and truly come to a grinding, if temporary, halt. I've taken a snapshot of the situation with the benefit of the aforementioned sunny interval:
Propagator
Indoor lights
Greenhouse Right
Greenhouse Left
Greenhouse centre
Hardy outdoors
Shed
I do have two rows of early potatoes already planted at the plot
But the rest are waiting for the Good Friday day of planting.
It has been a nervous week of watching the temperature forecasts and I am so looking forward to a change in the wind direction and a jump in the temperature so that I can get the production line going again. After all it is April and according to the seed packets it is the ideal time to sow just about ANYTHING you may care to grow.
As I write the sun has disappeared and a shower of hailstones is pelting down.
Too early to sow tomatoes? Well these were sown in January:
I figured: If you have a propagator and lights, why not use them? Of course I hadn't reckoned on one of the coldest springs on record. So I have been watching the outdoor temperatures and biting my nails since then. This week I have potted them up and today I potted up the chillies that were sown at the same time. They get to spend days out - in the greenhouse - but still get pampered at night for now. This hardening off lark is no joke
On the plus side I have refrained from sowing beans sweetcorn or courgettes up until now!
These pictures are a week or two old - my trusty pocket camera has jammed and is off at the repair shop.
I started out 4 weeks ago using a bespoke microgreen growing tray from Johnsons. Following the instructions scrupulously I sowed coriander and basil which, according to the packet, should be ready in 10-16 days and 16-21 days respectively. Well I am now 28 days in and it is time for some intervention. Progress has been painfully slow, and I make the following observations:
The design of the kit needs to be modified. What you get is a clear tray that holds a reservoir of water over which the growing trays are suspended. At first sight I thought the clear tray was a cover to retain moisture in the atmosphere above the seeds but no, it is the base and there is no lid. After the slow progress of three weeks I have enclosed the unit in a polythene bag to rectify this omission.
Also after three weeks I was having doubts about the design from the point of view of the growing medium. Spraying kitchen towel 2-3 times a day doesn't seem particularly onerous. Once you have been doing it for 21 days without fail you begin to wonder who is the mug! If you miss one session the kitchen towel soon dries out.
So after three weeks I took the third packet that came with the kit (Rocket - Ready in 16-21 days) and sprinkled it on the surface of a more conventional set up. A half sized seed tray with potting compost and a cover. This had the advantage of being moveable without the reservoir of water sloshing all over the place. I put this enclosed unit in an internal cupboard and forgot about it for 4 days. On first checking it looked like this:
so I removed it to the kitchen windowsill alongside the designer model. Given the time it has taken for germination of the first sowing I have to conclude that our kitchen is colder than your average kitchen. (Although it gets hot from cooking and the boiler is located in there too, there is no radiator so the temperature can drop.) I also have become convinced that there is a decided lack of sunlight.
Time to deploy the growlight setup in our (former) coal cellar. The tray can be heated but I haven't switched the heat on just yet. Now that germination has occurred I feel sure that the level of light is the crucial factor in producing green microgreens.
So, in conclusion, my purchase of the right kit for the right job turns out to be a bit foolhardy. It is less faff just to use the same system as I do for cut and come again salads but harvest them a bit sooner and pamper them a bit more with indoor temperatures and the supplement of some artificial light. No bother really but it has taken a bit of working out! To grow a seed needs adequate moisture warmth - and light.
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.
