I have no excuse to offer other than growing things from seeds scare me a bit. There. I said it! Other than a few lettuce and some ground cherries (the stuff that somes up by itself in the compost or between the pavers doesn't count ;-), I have had *really* poor success with getting seeds to germinate in the past. I think I've done everything wrong so far, from overwatering to underwatering, to giving them too much sun and then too little sun! Poor things.
However. Thanks to some overzealous ordering from this year's annual seeds catalogues (um yes, that would have been me doing the ordering), I now have a *ahem* large number of (mostly) heirloom vegetable seed packets in my hot little hands, and therefore no excuses not to learn how to get the precious little things growing properly!
Click on the banner above or in my sidebar for the Challenge rules, but it is, very simply put, to push ourselves to grow more food - from seed - and post about it once a week. I might not have much to post about until the weather over here warms up a bit, but I will be posting regularly about my progress once I do!
Any tips on successful germination will be gratefully received ;-)
9 comments:
Welcome aboard the Growing Challenge!
Follow the seed packet directions.
Don't sow them too deeply.
As soon as they poke their heads through, mulch heavily between the rows.
We've found covering everything in bird-proof netting this year has helped the seeds gallop along.
Our rule of thumb for watering - if it hasn't rained by 5pm, we give them about 1 x 8 litre watering can per 2x2 mt vegie box in Winter.
In Summer we give them 2x watering can full.
Get an old stocking, shovel some cow manure into it, tie the end off and soak it like a teabag in a 20+ litre bucket of water.
After 1 week you can decant 1 litre of this into the watering can for the seeds/seedlings as liquid fertiliser. But only 1 feed of it per week.
Old seed-sowing rhyme -
1 for the worms,
1 for the crow,
1 to rot
and 1 to grow.
Sow more than you need ;)
Secret to seed growing - I got a cheap ass greenhouse off ebay for $38, put seeds in some peat (though they say not to - peat moss is apparently better), water them in and then don't water them again until you have a seedling about 1 inch high.
Placing the greenhouse-thingy somewhere sunny helps too : )
Also, some seeds are S L O W to come up, and some just fail altogether.
Capsicums and tomatoes I have found take forever, but most lettucey type stuff comes up in 3 - 5 days.
If packet says sow direct, I put them into an egg carton filled with peat and then cut out the "egg" when I have a seedling and plant the whole thing in the ground. Then I go on a vigil killing snails.
Hi Julie,
Congratulations you have won the DVD on my giveaway. JUst send me an email so I can get your address and it will be on its way.
sunnycorner2340 at yahoo dot com dot au
Hi Jayne and Cat,
Thank you guys so much for your tips (and I love the rhyme Jayne). I've written them all down faithfully, and I'll keep my fingers crossed ;-)
Hi Tracy,
Oh wow! I'm so excited! I'll email you in a sec, THANKS!
Cheers, Julie
Well done on joining! I received my peanut seeds a couple of weeks ago and am looking forward to fulfilling a specific personal goal for the challenge! I found starting with "easy" vegies like rocket and lettuce really eased me into it...also, have a look at making your own individual paper pots to avoid transplant shock - they work well but I never seem to have time to make them :) ! Love Jayne's rhyme!
I forgot to add that I have been cutting along one side of a 3 litre milk carton and placing it over my row of seeds to act as a mini greenhouse and then, when I transplant the seedlings I put a milk carton on top (lid off) to protect them for a week or two (more if the chooks are particularly active!).
Hey rebecca, try putting them in egg cartons and then snipping each "egg" off when you want to transplant (carton and all). Recycles your egg cartons and good for saving time on making them.
Just make sure you pierce a hole at the bottom of each "egg" with a skewer, and I snip off the lids and line them with aluminium foil and use them as the trays to hold them : )
oh, CM, the giuys is listing another greenhouse like the one I bought. I swear it is a great little thing for seed propagation. I have 600 seedlings all on the go at the moment in mine! (of course I have no idea where I am going to plant them all)
Anyhoo, link is here
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/GREENHOUSE-PORT-3TIER-SEED-PROPAGATOR-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ160266975036QQihZ006QQcategoryZ20518QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Hi Rebecca, thanks for the tips :-) We go through heaps of milk here, so I love your milk bottle reuse!
Hi Cath,
Thanks for the link; coincidentally the greenhouse is identical to one I picked up at Bunnings! About the same price too (phew). I'm definitely going to use your egg carton tip too, thanks :-) Now I just have to find somewhere else to keep my cold-tender bromeliads so I can use the greenhouse for my *seeds* ;-)
Cheers, Julie
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