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Post by balc2 on Mar 13, 2022 17:26:26 GMT
I can't find a seed sowing thread, for 2022 at least, so I'm starting one today.
Today I sowed my 1st SEED of 2022! (Yeah, SEED, in the singular!) It was a Sunflower seed given to all who attended our church this morning. Our pastor also supplied a pot with compost so that we could all sow them today! She also provided us with the Ukrainian flag & a prayer by the archbishop of Canterbury. She asked us to use this prayer, as well as our own spontaneous prayers, whenever we looked at the Sunflower growing over the coming months.
Tomorrow I plan on sowing some tomato seeds I got a week or so ago. This year I've bought 'Gardeners Delight' to grow on the balcony. I grew it some years ago when I had an allotment - though I lost practically ALL my plants to blight! One plant that was separated from the rest caught it as well but somehow survived, no treatment other than removing infected leaves was given, & it went on to produce fruit!
Every year I grow 9-10 plants on the balcony. I've never had blight on the plants on the balcony except one year, I think it was the same year my tomato plants on the allotment died from blight. I probably brought the spores home on my clothes!
So, what are YOU sowing this year?
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Post by daitheplant on Mar 13, 2022 17:29:16 GMT
Sowing? I`m already pricking out and potting on.   |
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Post by seaburn on Mar 13, 2022 18:47:40 GMT
Same with me, though I need to sort out toms, cucs and peppers this week.
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Post by daitheplant on Mar 13, 2022 19:39:26 GMT
Not bothered with toms and cucs yet. Will sort them tomorrow.  |
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Post by balc2 on Mar 21, 2022 17:42:02 GMT
Seems like I forgot to mention that I sowed my tomato seeds, one week earlier than I normally do this year. Most years I sow them on the first day of spring 21st March but this year I decided to sow them a little earlier. I sowed them on March 14th & today, 21st March, they have germinated!
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 . It might seem a bit late for some but I have no way of keeping them warm enough on the balcony nor do I have space inside our flat to keep them for many weeks. I've tried other years but they get too elongated & die & I have to start over again & lose about a month or more. So I end up further behind rather than in front!
Sowing them at this time has been very well for me & I still get my tomatoes.
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Post by seaburn on Mar 21, 2022 17:58:30 GMT
I sowed my toms cuc and peppers yesterday. I tend to do them on hubby's birthday so I am always consistent. Also sowed some herbs today.
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Post by balc2 on Mar 22, 2022 17:03:50 GMT
I've never tried growing Cucumbers on the balcony! Their leaves get so enormous that they would take up too much room. I did grow them on the allotment many years ago.
I once grew a few Sweet Peppers but they didn't have a long enough time in which to ripen their fruit! But they did do quite well on the allotment!
I grow tomatoes every year on the balcony & over the space of 20 years have grown quite a number of varieties. Last year I took part in a seed trail - actually it should have been the previous year but the seeds didn't arrive till the middle of May!!! I sowed 3 seeds not really expecting to see any fruit ripen before having to pull the plants out. But I did get a few fruits!
I saved the seeds & sowed them on 21st March. ALL the seeds germinated (100% success!) I was quite happy at that after all they weren't kept in the ideal conditions! So I grew them as the only variety on the balcony last year. They did quite well & I had tomatoes for several months afterwards as well!
They were called 'Rugby F1' & were pretty consistent the whole time. They were a medium beefsteak, according to the info I received. Never having grown beefsteak toms I was curious to see how they would do compared to other varieties from other years. Their name may have changed if they were commercialised this year.
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Post by lincslass on Mar 22, 2022 19:27:32 GMT
I've never tried growing Cucumbers on the balcony! Their leaves get so enormous that they would take up too much room. I did grow them on the allotment many years ago. I once grew a few Sweet Peppers but they didn't have a long enough time in which to ripen their fruit! But they did do quite well on the allotment! I grow tomatoes every year on the balcony & over the space of 20 years have grown quite a number of varieties. Last year I took part in a seed trail - actually it should have been the previous year but the seeds didn't arrive till the middle of May!!! I sowed 3 seeds not really expecting to see any fruit ripen before having to pull the plants out. But I did get a few fruits! I saved the seeds & sowed them on 21st March. ALL the seeds germinated (100% success!) I was quite happy at that after all they weren't kept in the ideal conditions! So I grew them as the only variety on the balcony last year. They did quite well & I had tomatoes for several months afterwards as well! They were called 'Rugby F1' & were pretty consistent the whole time. They were a medium beefsteak, according to the info I received. Never having grown beefsteak toms I was curious to see how they would do compared to other varieties from other years. Their name may have changed if they were commercialised this year.
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Post by lincslass on Mar 22, 2022 19:35:29 GMT
I've decided I'm not growing toms or cucumbers in the greenhouse this year, first time in over 30yrs so that is going to be strange for me, we want to go away and out and about as much as we can, don't want to have to ask anybody to have to come and do the watering Balc, however I am going to purchase a few tom plants for popping in the garden, they'll stand a better chance of survival when I'm not about, hopefully...
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Post by balc2 on Mar 22, 2022 21:20:04 GMT
I can quite understand you, Lincs! As much as we love our plants they really do tie us down, don't they? My wife & I almost never go away so I do the watering on the balcony every day as I usually do. But our son lives only a few minutes away by car & if we are ever away he comes round & waters the. I do the same for the plants in his garden. He lives in a rented house & so grows most of his plants in pots & troughs like I do.
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Post by seaburn on Mar 23, 2022 8:46:47 GMT
We bought a battery operated timer about 20 yrs ago and that meant we could go away and the watering takes care of its self. I grow the petita type cus as full sized ones never get all eaten before they go off. One of the best garden 'toys' I have ever bought.
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Post by balc2 on Mar 24, 2022 13:50:05 GMT
Yesterday I didn't do anything with my plants, either in the house or outside on the balcony.
However today I watered the majority of pots outside on the balcony as they are drying out faster due to the very warm temps we are having this week.
I sowed some packets of seeds I had left over from last year.I've sown some Calendulas, some Californian Poppies & a packet of Rudbeckia seeds that came free with the Gardeners World magazine a couple years ago. These last seeds were still in the original sealed packet they came in originally. The other packets had been opened last year & some of the contents were sow.
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Post by Eli on Mar 26, 2022 16:15:41 GMT
I never sow any seeds until the 2nd week of April, I haven't got anywhere to keep them when they grow too big, they have to go straight outside. By sowing in April, it's usually warm enough for them to go out, or to be sown outside.
I have several packs I didn't sow last year but I can't remember what they are.
With Tomatoes Peppers and Cucumber I just buy one or two plants, it's enough for me.
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Post by balc2 on Mar 27, 2022 15:59:32 GMT
I have the same problem with our balcony & is the reason I don't sow many seeds. The summer flowering bedding plants, other than Geraniums & Pelargoniums I have to buy in as I can't produce the conditions (or space) they need.
I sow tomatoes because they take up little space really & if I sow them on March 21st I find it's warm & light enough for them to grow successfully.
I sowed some tomato 'Gardeners Delight' seeds a week earlier & without heat & they germinated exactly one week later on March 21st! If we go back to very cold weather then I will have to bring the plants inside at night otherwise they will have to put up with the weather outside!
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Post by seaburn on Mar 30, 2022 7:12:38 GMT
my cucumber seed has germinated now  |
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