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Post by roofgardener on Oct 20, 2015 18:30:15 GMT
Well dianthus, its all a learning curve  I'll do that markb; thanks for the advice. I DID wonder about soil moisture. I didn't water the seedlings much, but evaporation is minimal in the propagator; despite the ventilation holes, it tends to consdense on the lid, and drip back in. So the soil was actually remarkably moist. Possibly TOO moist ? Hopefully the NEXT group won't suffer so much, as the temperature has pretty much stabalised after my fiddling around, and we're not having any more 35-degree spikes. I might also run the propagator with the lid off for 24 hours to allow the soil/sand mixture a chance to dry out a little ? |
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Post by daitheplant on Oct 20, 2015 19:29:42 GMT
Roofus, when sowing seeds, water the filled seed trays, let them drain. THEN sow the seeds and cover with unwatered compost. as there is no really cold weather, just put them in a cold propagator.
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 20, 2015 20:15:41 GMT
Hmmm.... I don't really have drainage in my propagators daitheplant. I shall ponder on this..... |
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Post by daitheplant on Oct 20, 2015 20:22:07 GMT
Roofus, if you have electric/electronic propagators you should be sowing in trays, NOT directly into the propagators.
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 20, 2015 20:28:50 GMT
Meh... the seedlings are proteced from direct contact with the heater wire. The HW's are in metal tubes, and are covered in a layer of sand, then a layer of compost, then poured concrete, steel reinforcement, and finally thousands of tons of granite, which....
... wait... no, hold on.. I think I'm confusing my propagator with Dinorwig. I ALWAYS get those two muddled up.
Thats only in the most recent one... the older unit DOES use seed trays. (or rather, individual seedling pots)
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Post by SueA on Oct 20, 2015 21:02:07 GMT
I think they probably have 'damped off' Roofy, once they've germinated they don't need to be kept in the propagator, just keep them frost free in the polytunnel. They'll have been getting hot, sweaty & damp with the condensation in the propagator, you can still get damping off when they're not in a propagator though so just keep trying & some will survive - that's why they give you hundreds of seeds in a packet!  |
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 21, 2015 14:36:59 GMT
Wise words SueA. Oh... I've got all of the parts (finally) for the Flower Shower. If the weather is clement this weekend I may have a stab at assembling it |
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Post by roofgardener on Nov 22, 2015 19:45:55 GMT
Not a HUGE amount of progress, do be honest. I read that onions benefit from having mint planted nearby, as it confuses certain Allium parasitse/pests. So I tried to chop my existing mint plant into four smaller pots to spread around the roofgarden. It was brutal and unscientific, but I've done it. I now have four smaller pots of traumatised - and possibly dying - mint ! I sprinkled the new pots with this special miracle grow stuff that is supposed to act as a sort of rooting-powder-cum-food type thingy. If THAT doesn't work, I'll try electro-shock therapy ! As far as the Onions go.. there has been some tangential progress. The blockage was soil (and plantpot) reclamation... and I've stumbled across a trick that might help speed that up, as per my Main Blog . We shall see.... Oh.. and the main blog has an update on the Flower Shower . |
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Post by roofgardener on Nov 23, 2015 19:01:06 GMT
After a bit of tidying up, I've planted another 50-odd Toughball F1 seeds. Not in a propagator, just in a gravel tray. I found a piece of glass lying around, which I've plonked on top of the tray. Perhaps it will help ? Mind you.. it doesn't actually fit properly; there are gaps around it, so perhaps I should try clingfilm instead ? Any thoughts on that ? Or will it be OK just left open ? (bearing in mind that it can get below freezing in the 'Tunnel.) The Soil Dryer seems to be working, which will speed up soil reclamation, so I hope this will also speed up the onion planting. It's all been a bit unfocussed on the Allium front, but I think it is starting to accelerate now. |
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Post by SueA on Nov 24, 2015 16:55:10 GMT
Roofy if you mean the glass is touching the top of your compost in the tray because it's too small then it won't help because it will stop the seeds coming up, if it's above with a gap & covers most of the tray it should give some protection but if you've got a large clear plastic bag like a freezer bag etc. you could put the whole tray in there.
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Post by roofgardener on Nov 26, 2015 19:35:35 GMT
Hee hee.. I had already thought of that, SueA. There is a metal mesh an inch or so above the soil level (it's part of one of my standing units). The glass is sitting on THAT, so there is no danger of it squashing the seedlings. I don't have a transparant bag big enough to do the job SueA ... so I might have a bash with the clingfilm ? I can snip a couple of holes in it for ventilation ? |
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Post by dianthus on Nov 26, 2015 22:57:01 GMT
Master Greggory's bread bags will fit, but give them a rinse out first, in case any bread yeasts are left in there.... also reuses something that was going to landfill |
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Post by SueA on Nov 27, 2015 8:28:32 GMT
I've never heard of Master Greggory dianthus is that a Welsh brand? Good idea if it's largely see-through or you could give the clingfilm a try Roofy, you don't need to put air holes in it though. |
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Post by dianthus on Nov 27, 2015 20:27:29 GMT
I've never heard of Master Greggory dianthus is that a Welsh brand? Good idea if it's largely see-through or you could give the clingfilm a try Roofy, you don't need to put air holes in it though. Not at all, but was avoiding advertising  |
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Post by daitheplant on Nov 27, 2015 20:37:57 GMT
Not, all that Meats the Pies, Di?   |
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