jade
New Member
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Post by jade on Apr 9, 2011 20:29:45 GMT
advice please
do i need vermiculite to cover seeds as i am never lucky growing seeds normally
my greenhouse is so hot
Joyce
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Post by floydie on Apr 9, 2011 20:34:06 GMT
Depends what are you trying to grow? I dont used it.
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Post by scrumpy on Apr 9, 2011 20:54:53 GMT
advice please do i need vermiculite to cover seeds as i am never lucky growing seeds normally my greenhouse is so hot Joyce I cover with compost. Hot greenhouse shouldn't make any difference to seed germination....it's the temperature of the compost that counts and that will be a lot less than air temperature, hence the use of bottom heat propagators. Thorougly water the seed compost before sowing, then to keep moisture in you can fit the seed trays in freezer bags...i only use half and quarter size seed trays. Most seeds should be through in 7-10 days. Soon as they show take the trays out of the bags. |
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Post by Fractal on Apr 10, 2011 7:27:48 GMT
Hi Jade, I'll expand a little on Floydie's comment. It does depend on what you are sowing as there are a heck of a lot of plants out there and many have seeds that need certain treatment before germination will take place.
Luckily, many of the "flowers" and veg plants sold in seed packets have seeds that will germinate readily (if fresh) with just the usual gentle warmth and moisture.
As a rule of thumb, seed around the size of sugar grains or less should just be surface sown. Check the packet though as most will say if they need to be covered. Any types with larger seed should be sown no deeper than the width of the seed.
If the seed is elongated, plant on its side to its width depth, not its length.
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Post by Fractal on Apr 10, 2011 7:31:00 GMT
....and yes, vermiculite is fine. We use it to cover mostly medium sized seeds of plants such as tomato, capsicums, viola's/pansies etc.
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Post by Geranium on Apr 10, 2011 8:01:06 GMT
I often use vermiculite, Jade, in an ordinary domestic greenhouse. It lets light through. Nothing to do with heat, though. I still use my propagator when I read the seed packet and find that the seeds need 18 degrees to germinate, for example.
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Post by Cherry on Apr 10, 2011 9:05:36 GMT
I use vermiculite to cover most seeds.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2011 9:08:43 GMT
And all WF seeds she donated fo r community garden were sown two weeks ago lightly covered Jade with compost and they are in m greenhouse and will soon be needing pricked out they have grown quickly.
Welcome Jade sorry I should have said that 1st lookin g forward to your posts and photos .
Kath
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Post by Cherry on Apr 10, 2011 9:11:44 GMT
My greenhouse is too hot too. I grew a grape on the side of it to shade it during the summer. I made the mistake of growing a free giveaway one, when I should have invested in a better quality grape.
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jade
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by jade on Apr 10, 2011 21:45:19 GMT
Thank you all for the replies they are very helpful comments the one from cherry about shading the greenhouse outside with a grapevine is good i suppose anything that climbs will do
many thanks
Joyce
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 27, 2011 17:16:32 GMT
If you can't run to a vine, then sheets of newspaper to protect the pots during the hottest part of the day are fine...so long as you don't leave them there. People do tend to overwater too. When sowing I always stand the little pot in a tray of water for a few minutes first. If you water with a watering can the seeds can be washed down theside of the pot without you knowing. Don't make the compost too soggy as this will mean that the seeds will struggle to absorb oxygen as they germinate, they will also get very cold at night if they are too wet.
Whatever you do, some seeds will fail to germinate! even experienced gardeners have failures... however if nothing is germinating then there may be a problem.
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Post by sweetpea on Apr 27, 2011 22:06:33 GMT
I almost always use vermiculite to cover seeds.
I don't have a heated propogator but if something needs heat to start it off then it goes in the airing cupboard.
I tend to water the compost PRIOR to sowing the seeds and then cover with the vermiculite. After which I might just spray with copper fungicide to prevent any problems with damping off though so far this year I haven't done so for the simple reason I haven't got any.
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