OH NOOOOOOO!

[goodlife]

FIRST DISASTER of the growing year This is not starting with good promises...
I just popped up into spare bedroom to check if my chilli plants need watering.....its been few days since last time.
AND..the light has dropped on the plants and they've been 'fried'!!! And it was supposed to be 'the great chilli year' this year I might be able to salvage few...but looks like its is going to more tomatoes instead..
I wonder if my 'faitfull' little companion has been poking her nosy little head under the covers for the light to drop like that... she also has bad habbit sneeking that room in the middle of the night..I've had my dressing gown pulled from chair on to floor, by 'somebody' and used as a 'bed'.
Oh dear....must go and take 'happy pill'..its only my plants 

[goodlife]

[Digeroo]

It is sooo frustrating to nurture something for weeks and then loose it.   Still time perhaps to sow some more, or buy some plants later on.

[Duke Ellington]

Oops!!!

start again

[Nigel B]

I very carefully sowed two seeds of each of the varieties of tomato and chilli in this year's seed swap, and a full row of what I considered to be suitable plants for growing outdoors on the lotty.
I also very carefully entered each one on a database I created just to keep track of them, only for the file to corrupt so I have a full tray of perfect baby plants and not a name amongst them!
Poo!




I'm going to have to start again I know it. What a flippin airhead! 
                                                                                     

[ed dibbles]

What a shame, it's always so frustrating particularly with percieved "high value" crops like chillies. I say percieved probably because they need more care and the annual sowing window is only open for a short while.

It's still not to late to start again, I'm on my second batch of chilies/peppers after many of the early sown ones rotted off. (I have a few early ones left)

Yes you could buy in plants later although you would of course be limited with the varieties available.

I like the way you say it's the first disaster of the year. As gardeners all of us are forced by fickle chance to enjoy the triumphs and suffer the disasters. 

Hope it all works out.

[Jayb]

Not good news G'life. Can any be trimmed back and salvaged? They'll have a good root system to get them sprouting again.

Nigel, I know it's not a lot of help for yours already sown but I find sowing and planting in alphabetical order can be helpful if a plant marker goes missing etc. I guess I do it mostly with tomatoes just as an aid to keeping an eye on varieties and watching for any wrong ones turning up. It doesn't help much though when you drop a whole tray of just emerging seedlings on the floor though, which is what I did last week  Had to chuck the lot and lost a couple of varieties as they were the only seed I had.

[goodlife]

Can any be trimmed back and salvaged?

Time will tell. I tidied up what I could and now its left to see what will happen.
I ain't going to be totally chilliless as I've got few over wintering ones on the windowsill so not all is lost. I just wanted grow LOOOOOADS of chillies this year..don't ask why..just one of those things If the over wintering plants produce half decent crop there is propably more to come than I eat anyway
But I'm 'glad' to hear its not only me that has been getting stuff 'muddled up'..would you like to let us know what varieties you lost...perharps I/we can dig some replacements out for you?
As for starting chillies now...well it does start to be bit late for sowing..particularly if the summer weather is not favourable for fruit ripening. I did sow some chillies June and July last year...but those were my over wintering plants..they did try to flower and one gave one ripe fruit too..but that was only a bonus, I just wanted manageable size plants for keeping over winter and the plan did work well

[Deb P]

I wouldn't fret too much,I only sowed my peppers and chillies last week and do so at the same time each year and always get ripe chillies before the frosts. I can heat my greenhouse now, but only do so when I have seedlings out of the propagators, so that isn't usually before March and carries on until mid May so it isn't costing too much by starting too early.

I find more light and the hopefully increasing temps in March outweigh the benefits of sowing really early in the end, but that's just what works for me here in the midlands!

[GrannieAnnie]

There is some law of nature that states when we try so hard to stay organized and scientific then we shall drop a tray or whatever and jumble everything. Very disappointing every time it happens.

Last year when somebody on this site suggested setting out toms in alphabetical order I tried that and what a simple solution!

[Nigel B]

Last year when somebody on this site suggested setting out toms in alphabetical order I tried that and what a simple solution!

JayB suggested doing this too. A lesson learned, certainly.

Alphabetical it shall be from now on.
Top tip folks. Thanks.

[chriscross1966]

I haven't sown my chillis or tomatoes yet... planning on doing so next weekend...

[daveylamp993]

I have put my Habanero,Tobagan Congo Red chillies,my Hundreds and Thousands,Shirley f1,Burpee De Delice Tomato seeds in the heated propogator today,hope its not too early

[galina]

Did some of these peppers pick up?  Sad thing to happen after nurturing tiny seedlings.  Hope some are making an effort for you by now.

[goodlife]

Did some of these peppers pick up?  Sad thing to happen after nurturing tiny seedlings.  Hope some are making an effort for you by now.

Luckily some..those that were directly under the bulb haven't survived. Trouble is that they were still in tiny pots=could fit many in small space= loosing many from that same area.. and the bulb is not exactly small neither.
I should have enough to keep me going

[lezelle]

I had a moment like that as when I planted three rows of cabbage someone asked what variety were they. Cabbage suprise said i as when I sowed them I listed them in my diary etc  but the dog (darling little thing ) took a fancy to the labels and chewed them all so I could not tell from cauli to calabrese or cabbage. did add a bit of excitement at harvest time though.

[galina]

I had the first OH NOOOOOOOO! moment of this year.  I put a tray of peas and a tray of broad beans into the greenhouse to harden off and a mouse got in and munched all the seeds, leaving plants without roots.

Well I have plenty more seeds of both, so no drama, but soooooooooooooooo annoying.  Every year these mice and voles nibble through stems of mature pea and bean plants and seriously diminish yields, but I haven't had them doing this in the greenhouse yet.  GRRRRRRRRRR.

[goodlife]

I had the first OH NOOOOOOOO! moment of this year.  I put a tray of peas and a tray of broad beans into the greenhouse to harden off and a mouse got in and munched all the seeds, leaving plants without roots.

Well I have plenty more seeds of both, so no drama, but soooooooooooooooo annoying.  Every year these mice and voles nibble through stems of mature pea and bean plants and seriously diminish yields, but I haven't had them doing this in the greenhouse yet.  GRRRRRRRRRR.

Pheeewwww...at least it wasn't last of your seeds. Truly annoying that.. Are you going to give little peanut butter on convenient 'serving dish' close to the next lot? Those 'serving dishes' are so handy..giving portions of treats for the little bleeders, 'restricting' their appetite so they don't get overly fat..we wouldn't want to being accused of making nation's rodents obese...

[Robert_Brenchley]

I had a mini-greenhouse blown over during the week, with everything I'd planted. It's all replanted now anyway.

[galina]

Pheeewwww...at least it wasn't last of your seeds. Truly annoying that.. Are you going to give little peanut butter on convenient 'serving dish' close to the next lot? Those 'serving dishes' are so handy..giving portions of treats for the little bleeders, 'restricting' their appetite so they don't get overly fat..we wouldn't want to being accused of making nation's rodents obese...

Oh no!  - that would never do .................................................

[cambourne7]

sorry to hear that big hugs !!