Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 10:02:12 GMT 1
Rinky-Dink's cabbage dilemma got me thinking about transplants 'cos this is the time of year when I start mine.
Em's start-up gardening would be easier if she got ahead with transplants too. Even when seed packets only refer to direct sowing in the ground most veg can be started in pots and put out later.
So who else out there is sowing like a good'un now? Those with greenhouses/polys - Ali, Donk? Christiana? Troll? Sooty? Kergotu? Elkay, Troll and others - must be. What crops? And why not everything?
Windowsills are ok too. I use mine. I direct-sow very little. Why does anyone?
|
|
|
Post by Elkay on Jan 2, 2012 10:30:24 GMT 1
Hiya annon - I don't direct sow much; just some root veg and (off the top of me head) swiss chard and everlasting spinach. The rest I start in propogaters in the cellar or seed trays in the polytunnel.
I have a problem with voles eating the seeds, so I often start things like beetroot, peas and beans (of various sorts) in loo roll middles which I plant complete with seedling. The voles don't seem to bother once they have germinated.
By the way, thanks to your advice re leaving the cut cabbage stalks in the ground we have some nice looking greens growing on them!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 13:54:44 GMT 1
ok Elkay, your loo roll transplants must be quite small then, so you must have to plant them out p-d-q? Or really look after them in the poly?
Have seen farmers planting out tiny plugs by machine - farmers don't sow everything direct either - but those plugs where raised under near-laboratory conditions. Plugs that size have to be got out quick because they're too high maintenance to keep watering, etc.
That's why I prefer to use 3" square pots, and produce big transplants. They're practically zero-maintenance and they give you a wide window to plant out - typically March - May.
With everything else do early in the season it's good to have stuff chugging along in the background, in pots, waiting for when you're ready, and conditions are right, n'est-ce pas?
|
|
|
Post by Elkay on Jan 2, 2012 14:34:41 GMT 1
The loo roll seedlings tend to go out quite quickly cos they are quite high maintenance - I'd say it's just a way of preventing the seeds from being eaten before they germinate. I even do it with runner beans - and get 100% success. There are only two of us (apart from visitor who like the home grown veg) so I only grow about 7 or 8 runner bean plants up a high obilisk and that is plenty for us. If I 'feed' the voles I would have to put in a whole packet of seeds!
Other veg, such as brocoli etc I sow in a seed tray and plant on into plastic pots then plant the sturdy plants out when either they or the ground is ready - sometimes I have stuff queueing up to go in when something else comes out, mine isn't a huge veggie plot.
|
|
|
Post by <-Rinky-Dink-> on Jan 2, 2012 21:16:37 GMT 1
I do sew seeds in small pots first, but can only do a few at a time because of lack of space to keep them. What with no greenhouse or polytunnel at the moment, and the all the work being done in the house, finding suitable space is a bit of a problem.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2012 11:38:40 GMT 1
With the upheaval in your house, Rinky-Dink, can understand not wanting to clutter up with pots as well...... A golden opportunity for others to grow extras for people just like you, and hand 'em over at the plant swops? Here in Hampshire we even co-ordinate over-production of transplants amongst ourselves so that there's plenty of everything for everyone.....
Lack of space is the main reason why people don't grow as many transplants as I do, but I still only use windowsills. Starting with the cool temperature crops, now, in January, eg white cabbage and other brassicas, spring onions, leeks, lettuce, flat leaf parsley, these get stood outside as soon as they're established in their pots, to make way for other, frost-tender stuff. It's a production line, which by starting early, now, means most of want I'm going to grow this year is coming along by March, whatever the weather.
And what else can we do in this season of dirty weather? Waiting for the season to come on leads to too much to do in March, and that's assuming the weather let's us get on then.....
Ps Elkay: Would be interested to know what you're growing your transplants in - the compost mix - 'cos if we want to get the true flexibility of transplant production the mix is key....
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2012 21:23:29 GMT 1
Tiddly transplants are what you get if you rely on multi-purpose compost alone to grow them in. MPC has very little in it. Mixing it with garden compost enriches it, and adding sharp sand (grit) or small gravel improves 'drainage'.
Some topics can't be covered without considering technical stuff. If anorak-talk causes your eyes to glaze over you really oughta look away now...
Air-filled porosity. Making sure that there's enough air in the compost, along with nutrients and water, is what makes big transplants. So the compost mix is important. Very. One way of assessing air-filled porosity is to weigh 1 litre of your mix before using it. If it weighs 800 grms - 1kg it's a happy mix. If it weighs less, or more, it's not happy.
|
|
|
Post by Elkay on Jan 3, 2012 22:15:52 GMT 1
Some topics can't be covered without considering technical stuff. If anorak-talk causes your eyes to glaze over you really oughta look away now... Keep the info coming, annon - it is very helpful. Compost is very expensive to buy here, so I tend to mix spent compost with very good quality bought organic compost and my own home made with some leaf mould thrown in
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2012 22:25:35 GMT 1
Elkay, I'm not able to comment on the air-filled porosity of your compost mix, at this time, but it does sound good for water - maybe too good - depending on how - or better still, if,- you water it.
Not watering is a good thing. Better gather my thoughts before saying anything else .........
|
|
|
Post by Pasha on Jan 4, 2012 3:09:41 GMT 1
Had a nice little wormery going late summer early autumn(for fishing purposes) -- and collected from it about 3/4 litre of serious good worm mmmm water/juices-- diluted it down and labeled it -- couple of days later --asked Tanya where the bottle was?? Her answer-- "I did not like the colour of it-- so threw it away down the loo" ---mmmmm Did a little xperiment -- 2 small tubs-- one with normal soil and one with soil from me wormery-- and potted 6 prepped hunions in each-- twas no contest -- wormery hunions won by a zillion miles
|
|