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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: tim on July 20, 2006, 08:57:58

Title: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: tim on July 20, 2006, 08:57:58
.............but drop one seed onto the bark path......!!
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: supersprout on July 20, 2006, 09:20:37
that's a vote for mulch then tim? :)
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: Tinkie_Bear on July 21, 2006, 07:29:43
Well done Tim, are you going to leave it there or move it?
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: saddad on July 21, 2006, 07:45:09
I have some stray lettuce that germinated in the asparagus bed, must have gone there with some spent compost!
;D
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: caroline7758 on July 21, 2006, 17:03:55
I've got tomatoes coming up in my parsnip bed- also from the compost, I guess!
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: thomasb on July 21, 2006, 19:31:55
I say a repeat of Gardners World with Alan Titchmarch a few weeks back on UK Style Gardens in which he spoke about sowing lettuce in hot weather. His technique was to sow the seed and then place a block at each end of the row and cover the row with a plank of timber. The timber shades the ground and keeps its cooler and allows the lettuce to germinate. I tried this a few weeks back during another very hot spell and it worked very well.  You remove the timber once the lettuce is germinated.

Thomas
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: plot51A on July 21, 2006, 19:47:15
What a good idea Thomas!
I've resorted to seed trays back indoors where I can keep them cooler and sowing in modules. They have germinated in 2 days.
Title: Re: Try to germinate a lettuce in this weather..............
Post by: Tee Gee on July 22, 2006, 12:51:01
I've had a similar situation as Tim.

I have a small bed just outside my greenhouse door and when I sweep out my greenhouse the dust is swept onto it.

A Cauliflower seed must have been in the sweepings and has germinated so I just let it grow to see if it would come to anything, and as you can see from the picture I took this morning I will have one for the pot.

(http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Misc.Photos/Pics/Cauli%203.JPG)

and this is the heart;

(http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Misc.Photos/Pics/Cauli%201.JPG)