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Sowing seeds
Although the soil is warming up nicely I'm determined not to sow too early. It's easy to get lulled into a false sense of security at this time of year.
20 messages
Gardeners' World Web User
20/03/2009 at 17:44
Hi Adam and fellow gardeners, My son gave me a wonderfull present at christmas a Garden Planner. I is an A5 folder split into season which have graph paper and blank sheets. Now the time of year down here in sunny Sussex has come to start sowing I thought I would try and use it and I have tried making notes in it but it is already in one hell of a mess. I was wondering if anyone out there had what I would describe something that would help me note what seeds I sowed, when they germinate, pricked out etc. Which I can print out as a blank sheet and put in the file and carry it around with me to maake my notes and read (in the future) what did well and when. I have Googled Garden Diary Templates and Garden Journal Templates and all that gets me is only what I can describe as north american disneyfied rubbish. Any ideas anyone. Please
Gardeners' World Web User
20/03/2009 at 20:20
I made a similar template for myself using Excel, a bit fiddly, but it is specific to my location and from past experience. I separated each month into 4 weeks, and split each line in 2 (as sometimes you can still sow later crops, whilst the first lot have been planted out for successional harvesting). It looked something like the back of the colour codes you find on the back of some seed packets. More importantly, you can also learn when the harvest will be finished, so that you can plan the second crop for that area of ground, just by looking down the chart; eg. I plant out my leeks, usually after the overwintering broad beans have finished. Another good thing with the excel programme is that you can also use the grid like cells to plan the layout. I hope the above makes sense, it's easier to see than to describe. It also makes the dark nights fly by, when I keep looking at my seed packets longing for spring :)
Gardeners' World Web User
21/03/2009 at 12:31
Hi - my system is pretty simple if a little less high tech - I have a notebook a friend gave me with a diary section, and other pages and pockets for sketches and so on. Each day after I've been in the garden, I scribble down what I've done, what I've sowed and where. It's easy to refer back to then. Every year is different anyway, weather and so on, so sowing and harvesting times and germination can vary a lot. Personally, I just let things get on with it in their own time! I'm in Dublin and we've just had a lovely week of weather,the garden is ablaze with bulbs and everything in the coldframe has really started to come on. For seeds, I have a tiny chest of drawers I got in IKEA for very little. It has nine drawers, so I allot a drawer per month and that keeps things organised. http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80073304
Gardeners' World Web User
22/03/2009 at 07:46
I like the idea of those little drawers for the seeds, I can never seems to keep them organised. I too have used Excel, drawing grids and trying to keep track of everything. Since it's my first year having a serious attempt at growing my own veg Excel will allow me to keep track of where I've planted what and I can add comments to each cell on success or otherwise as I go along. I must admit, whenever I'm not in the garden I keep opening it up and tinkering with it, noting when things have germinated, when seeds have sprouted and when I've planted out in the garden or greenhouse, planning the next weeks activities etc. Loving every minute of it.
Gardeners' World Web User
22/03/2009 at 15:50
Ive planted my onions an carrots both in large planter boxes which have polly tunnels over them and ime keeping my fingers crossed. I hav'nt planted my dustbins and pots with potatos although like yours Jane they're there waiting with chits on. Do you just leave all the chits on if your holding back from planting or not? I am waiting til next month before planting beetroot in another large veg planter.But I have planted cabbage seed indoors hopefully by the time they're ready to go out the worst of the weather will have gone. Happy growing season everyone.
Gardeners' World Web User
23/03/2009 at 20:51
cant wait i couldnt decide last month between veg or flowers so i bought them both planting them out this month
Gardeners' World Web User
24/03/2009 at 17:32
i am on an allotment but no one cumes there is a 30ft polly tunnel i have it to my self i have done cuttings and veg and flowers it is grate but it wood be beter if sume one was ther to.
Gardeners' World Web User
24/03/2009 at 17:43
Glad I read this as I have just finished revamping a large raised border and was about to start planting (I think a symptom of a week of wonderful weather!). I will restrain myself and focus instead on the seeds for my windowsill and those hardy enough to survive my little plastic unheated greenhouse.
Gardeners' World Web User
24/03/2009 at 18:12
Hi trickyhicky, here's one: http://www.hmk.on.ca/images/detail.doc I'm looking for the same thing, this is all I've come upw with so far... Happy growing, Minikraut
Gardeners' World Web User
24/03/2009 at 19:32
Oops, of course I was going to say something on "not sowing early", but I was carried away. I've only had a garden for the past two years, no previous experience in my life (I'm German, you see, the majority of us live in rented flats/appartments). I checked a few mags, bought some seeds, couldn't wait - off I went into the garden at the first show of spring, chuck left, chuck right, water, done. Needless to say, the results were nothing to brag about. I still had results for the radishes and other fool-proof plants, and I didn't feel too bad about the bits that had literally never seen the light of day. This year, I did a lot more planning and bought seeds early enough to start germinating them indoors on the many sunny window sills our house offers. Inspecting them every day (before and after work), pricking out, wondering about the right soil mix, labelling everything! ... And now - oh my, they are my babies! How will I know when the time has come to put them out there? Minikraut
Gardeners' World Web User
25/03/2009 at 10:10
You'll know when the time is right. It'll be when the the days are consistently warmer, the nights aren't freezing and the wind has dropped! So we're talking sometime mid to late next month really to be on the safe side, depending on where you live, of course. make sure you harden off plants thoroughly before planting them out as we can still get cold nights in April, May, June... I love all this stuff about planning notes and so on - you all sound terribly organised! I'm more of a photocopied plan of the plot with blank beds and a folder of seed packets to be sown kind of person if I'm honest.
Gardeners' World Web User
25/03/2009 at 21:56
i have 12 drawers for my seeds, almost one for each month except the busy months like march april and may there's more of them ;-) i also made a seed planner from my seed packets in excel and i can never remember the follow up (particularly with perennials) i scanned all my packets and printed them and put them in a photoalbum front and back, so i can alsway look them up, it's like a personal encyclopedia... i have sown my carrots and covered them with polythene, so hopefully they'll be ok, should be according to the packet :-p...i had cucmber in the greenhouse as well as courgettes and kiwanos but they didn't survavie the mild forsts from las week...blah...the rest of my seedlings are still at home except for broadbeans and mais they colour the allotment already..:-D here's to another season
Gardeners' World Web User
26/03/2009 at 10:48
I VE NOT EVEN STARTED ANY SEEDS OFF YET THTS CUONTING TOMS AND FLOWER SEED ...HOPE IME NOT TOO LATE ..ANY ADVICE?..
Gardeners' World Web User
26/03/2009 at 20:20
my neighbour swears by mixing in turf ash to the soil before planting. can you tell me if this is ok before i plant my veg seeds please? he always has a lovely flower garden but what about veg patches? Thanks
Gardeners' World Web User
28/03/2009 at 20:26
I sowed my carrots mid April last year (autumn king) As soon as they were sown I fleeced the bed completely and left in on the whole time, only pulling it back to harvest as I needed. No carrot fly damage AT ALL yippeeeeee!! and the most wonderful, tasty, carrots I've eaten for years :) I'll be growing them this way in future.
Gardeners' World Web User
13/04/2009 at 17:52
hi all iam having trouble with my cabbage seedlings they keep dying on me the leaves go dry and fold under themseleves have tried different composts but it keeps happening any ideas
Gardeners' World Web User
14/04/2009 at 18:22
I am having the same problem growing cabbage. I tried using a propagator but that did not work, so I sowed some seeds out in the garden and only one came up.
Gardeners' World Web User
20/04/2009 at 17:37
Our local tip has compost going for free - does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the quality of this sort of 'free' compost? I was going to get some but not sure it's ok for growing veg and flowers in. Any info would be great as I'm just a novice starting off - thanks.
Gardeners' World Web User
24/04/2009 at 11:36
I have had an allotment since last year and on the whole had a successful season. This year I want to make a polytunnel to protect my strawberries. All the other allotmenteers on site seem to use blue pipe (water pipes I think) but when I priced them they were really expensive. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make cheap and cheerful polytunnels? Thanks.
Gardeners' World Web User
28/11/2011 at 18:38
I've done it again...planted seeds in my electric propogator. They sprout up, thin and weedy or the seed dissolves into a muddle of white threads. How do i use the thing to produce plants?
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