Topic: Rubish seed germination- is it just me?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm doing fairly well, but it's mostly my own saved seed, and #i start it in pots under cover. I do't sow in the open ground if I can avoid it.

[manicscousers]

Finally got some dwarf borlotti and french beans to germinate after 3 goes ::)

[Tabby]

I quite agree with the non germination of seeds, they seem poor this year. I've used Suttons as well for my runner beans, some I've germinated in root trainers on my windowsill and some in the greenhouse on the lottie. The ones from my windowsill which I planted 2 weeks ago are poor, the ones in my greenhouse are not doing that well either. Just have to wait & see if it warms up!

[strawberry1]

seeds sown on the allotment have been very poor esp carrots, which I have now re-sown. Beetroots sown in modules at home, early on, are romping away on the allotment, later sown seed has been pathetic and new modules planted out two weeks ago have had a slug attack. Very difficult gardening conditions this year

[antipodes]

Oh I thought it was just me! I got many of mine from vegetebleseeds.net or alan romans. Usually they are good. But this year, it was patchy. The chard has been very poor, brassicas were fine, lettuce and mizuna not too bad. Beets were very patchy. Squash has been pretty bad, and onions a complete failure. Parsnips too a failure (actually I will try to sow some more, they might still come through. Peas and beans were Ok though.

[Hazelb]

It's great to hear your comments, looks like it's not just me.

So I've sown more carrots and some swede and I'll re-do the parsnips this week.


I'm going to start other stuff off in modules ( toms, lettuce) then a least I'll know if they germinated!

I've done sweetcorn and runners in modules as well.  My potatoes are looking good, I just hope it's not going to be a blight year!!!

[chriselst]

I've had a really hard time getting things to germinate this year, in the ground or in seed trays on my windowsills.

Broccoli did well early on, but everything else has had a really, really poor return.

I even tried a tactic I picked up on some forum somewhere (may even have been here) about putting seeds between two sheets of damp kitchen roll and then sealing them in a plastic bag and putting somewhere warm to try to force germination.  That went better, but was a fiddly procedure when trying to retrieve and plant on.

[Hazelb]

I tried the method of 'pre-chitting' parsnip seed on kitchen paper. Loads of seeds germinated and put out a little root, I planted them on and only ONE came up in a whole row!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the next lot I plant.  ;D

[gwynnethmary]

I find sowing parsnip in loo roll tubes works well-good germination rate.  I also sowed some in newspaper pots and they were fine too.  Having said that, they came up pretty well when direct sown, although with more gaps than last year, but that's where the one's I'd done in the pots came in handy.