Hi
I sowed eight tom's seeds (f Alicante, Harbinger and Gardeners Delight ) in John Innes Seed in pots on a window sill in a cool room three weeks ago but they are not showing any signs of life, but me lettuce, brussels, carrots, cabbages, and onions all look good.
Does any one have any ideas !
Many thanks
Roger
I have always used a small electrically heated propagator and they come up in 3-4 days.
So do you think I should start again in a warmer room ?
Tomato,s should be germinated in a temperature above 50 Degrees.
Did you cover them
QuoteSo do you think I should start again in a warmer room ?
The ideal temperature is 70°F (21°C) so I would suggest you put them a freezer bag or similar and put in the cylinder cupboard.
Check them daily!
Once germinated immediately move them into good light and maintain a temperature of around 50°F (10°C)
If this happens to be a windowsill remove them at night and return them in the morning. Plus turn them round daily to ensure all sides of the plant get equal light.
Thanks for your help !!!
I put them by the hot water tank, and they come up in no time. A few things like peppers and aubergines need extra heat, and won't do anything unless they're sitting on top of the tank.
Snap my tomatoes took ages too just ended up putting them on top of my fish tank. Don't think aubergines are going to come to anything though they are on top of the fish tank now.
I also put mine on top of the fish tank Rosyred and they germinated in 7 days! ;D Usually I put them on the windowsill and shift them onto the floor at night but this takes 2-3 weeks.
They do keep straining towards the window though so I have to turn them twice a day.
Maybe if you've got no fish tank Roger, you could set up a temporary 'brick and plank' shelf with a lamp underneath? :-\
Good luck anyway :D
Donna.
A tip to counteract the straining towards the light (think I got it from Geoff Hamilton!)- put a sheet of silver foil (I uae a piece of stiff cardboard covered in foil) behind the tray to reflect the light- it works!
Ive put them ontop of the boiler know, ( I think they may pop up cooked )
The boiler has quite a nice gentle heat so that might do the trick listening to the advice.
I put mine on flat top of my gas fire resting on a bed of folded newspaper to dissipate the heat.
They germinated within a few days and are now sitting happily on my window sill. They are removed at night when the curtains are drawn as even with double glazing it can be quite chilly behind there.
Good idea that Caroline I think I'll use that one, I was fed up keep turning them around every day last year. Now I've got my Mr Stripey's I'll give it a go. Cheers Lish :-* ;D ;D ;D
Thanks Caroline, I remember seeing that too, and yes, I think it was Geoff Hamilton with his silver lined half-box. I had completely forgotten about it but I'll give it try too. ;D
Donna
thanks caroline we have been turning them round twice a day! i'll create my superdooper sun reflectors tomorrow OH will think i've gone mad but hey ho!! :P
If you have a fitted kitchen,top cupboards, as most people today have, (i think?) sit the covered trays on top of them, 99% success rate, that's where your heat is, most of my veg or flowers get started there, cost nothing and very successful.
It a good idea to place a piece for silver foil behind seedlings so that the plants grow straight. I go one step further I lined my garden frame with foil to turn it into a large light box and I found the plants grow much happier and stronger
Quote from: libby on February 27, 2007, 04:41:22
If you have a fitted kitchen,top cupboards, as most people today have, (i think?) sit the covered trays on top of them, 99% success rate, that's where your heat is, most of my veg or flowers get started there, cost nothing and very successful.
Thats an excellent idea !
On top of the fish tank!
Now thats an idea. We have two.
Thanks!
no fish tank, no airing cupboard but we have got kitchen cupboards with a space, well there's a space there...at the moment ;D
I have all my radiators under the windows so I put all my seed pots on the edge of the sill so that the heat rises. Everything has come up ok Aubergines took 2 weeks though. The seeds I put in pots I covered with the bottom of plastic pop bottles I had cut off. This kept the moisture in.
is it not too early to sow? my packet of sweet million seed tells me to sow them in march or april., have i missed the boat?
Quote from: shirlton on February 27, 2007, 15:04:00
I have all my radiators under the windows so I put all my seed pots on the edge of the sill so that the heat rises.
Me too. Downstairs the window sills are made of quarry tiles so they really soak up the heat. Perfect for anything that likes a warm botty, oo er missus.
Quote from: mr plasma on February 27, 2007, 18:23:35
is it not too early to sow? my packet of sweet million seed tells me to sow them in march or april., have i missed the boat?
I've got my hands tied firmly behind my back until mid-March....I'm typing this with my nose ;D
to cold
Quote from: Alishka_Maxwell on February 27, 2007, 19:17:34
I've got my hands tied firmly behind my back until mid-March.
Me too. Started too soon last year, got spindly leggy toms which gave me no advantage. Not sowing anything til march *sigh* wish I had a greenhouse. Am making do with examining my chitting potatoes every 15 mins. ::)
OT (sorry but got to say it) greyhound your avatar is genius. It's the ears. :D
I'll tell her. ;D
Yes, it was a bit early, but I've only sown a few things that can be difficult to get going; aubergines and a couple of chillies. If they do OK I have room inside for those few till it warms up.
Looks like the silver foil thing will catch on, I'm going to give it a go.
No more turning for me. :D
Too early for toms will leave them a while yet. ;D ;D ;D
I have just checked the packets as some of you are saying its a bit early to sow them but they all say under glas Jan Feb March, I put them on top of my boiler and within three days they started emerging just hope they dont go leggy !
Have always started mine in January....always on a windowsill with
aluminium foil at the back of them. I put them in a heated greenhouse
when they have 3 sets of leaves. Usually start harvesting
in June :)
Quote from: Roger Skilton on March 02, 2007, 18:03:33
I have just checked the packets as some of you are saying its a bit early to sow them but they all say under glas Jan Feb March, I put them on top of my boiler and within three days they started emerging just hope they dont go leggy !
Too early for me coz I've not got a greenhouse to put them in.
Last year I sowed my toms at the end of March. I had to keep them in a crowded mini greenhouse through the miserable May we had, by the time it warmed up and they could go out they were v spindly. Will wait another week or two this year.
Quote from: agapanthus on March 02, 2007, 18:25:16
Have always started mine in January....always on a windowsill with
aluminium foil at the back of them. I put them in a heated greenhouse
when they have 3 sets of leaves. Usually start harvesting
in June :)
I have greenhouse envy :'(
Thank you very much for all this advice. As a new gardener i was getiing very disheartened by the lack of growth from my toms but after a few days in my airing cupboard they sprang into life and now are happy on the windowsill and the cats are very interested in the silver foil that streched across!
So a big thank you
Foil is a brilliant idea... Supersprout would have loved it as only a couple of weeks ago we were talking about how our 'supersprouters' made our seedlings lean to the window and we were debating whether or not to turn them... ahhh she would really have loved it!
Reading thro the posts on Tomato,s and germinating, growing on etc on the windowsill and moving them at night, i pondered on this for two days, why do they need to move them at night and replace them the next day as my room temperature stays pretty much constant and my heating goes of at 11.30 pm. I could just not figure it.
Two days this was on my mind, the light finely came on when i banked the open fire up and said " AAAGH your the reason i don,t move my tomato,s "
I'll be planting mine in the next couple of days; I just need to nip down to the allotment and get pots and labels. So far I've got eight varieties I'm planting; Stupice, Clear Pink Early, Taxi, Prima and Buckbee New 50 Day, which all did well outdoors last year. Then I'm going to try Harbinger, Alaskan Fancy and Black Cherry for sure. I've got more varieties than I can actually grow, but Ruud sent me several that I'm keen to try, and there are several that I want to research to try to get an idea how they'll do outdoors.
Last year I planted them about this time, kept them indoors till mid-April, much to Namissa's annoyance, and then put them out in the mini-greenhouse. They were planted out at the end of May, under cloches. I'll follow the same scheme again this year.
I'll be planting a couple of varieties of pepper as well, and aubergines as soon as they arrive from Real Seeds.
my four Tigerellas (victims survivors of skidding across the floor incident on Saturday morning) have been buried and reburied neck deep and STILL they produce more leaves and growth ! Hardy little things ! They're on the east facing window sill during the day and on the bed at night. They must be dizzy with the amount of times I turn them during the day !
All my other experimental sowings are doing fine and am seriously considering giving them their own pots at the weekend.
Anyone want to come and babysit at the end of March though ? This will be the "telling" time and probably result in a few more sowings ! What's a little compost and seeds between friends !
;D
My Tigerellas have only just germinated...seemed to take ages.
They were sown on 25th Feb (my birthday) but all the other seed germinated in only one week.
San Marazno has taken a while too. I have kinda gone overboard on growing things. My kitchen is full !!!
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Chris - those pots are TOO big for tiny seedlings!
Yes, Roger, but few of us are favoured with a heated greenhouse - unlike some!!
And many don't even have a greenhouse?
Quote from: tim on March 08, 2007, 08:50:02
Chris - those pots are TOO big for tiny seedlings!
Why? I only need a few, just doing what Dr D G Hessayon says, they are only 3" pots.
Surly it gives them room to grow. You live and learn i suppose, if i'm wrong.
Just a thought, Chris - it is normally reckoned better to get a well established root system, in plugs or similar, before potting on. In general, a root system should have filled its present container before being moved on.
But then yes - 3", or even better, 4".
I knew you were full of knowledge, thanks for that Tim.
Need to remember for next season.
Cheers
;)
Of course, contrarywise, you sow a seed in an open plot??
I put a whole batch of small seeds into a 3-inch pot, then plant them out into individual pots later.
Just in a greenhouse for me, but i was thinking of planting some in 9" pots on the patio.
I've just been looking at pots. and although it does depend how deep they are, perhaps 9" is a little small.
On average a 9" pot holds less than 10 litres and I would have thought that a bit below what a tomato plant needs........ I'm sure someone here can give a definitive answer.
Am I being silly but grow bags aren't that big are they?
Lucy
I think th enromal size ones are around 35 - 40 litres.
Ahh can you tell I'm new to all this!
It's surprising isn't it - they don't look that big.
I've now found a couple of sites that recommend 10-15 litres per plant.
Hence 3 to a Growbag?
But, to my mind, that gives you undesirable crowding.
Tim I agree, 3 to a bag is too much whatever the bag says, even if the soil in the bag was enough, the space between them would be grossly insufficient, they would be much too crowded. XX Jeannine
I wouldn't use pots less than 12 inches. Stability is a consideration too - even these can go over in a blustery wind. Best I find are those square plastic planters - nothing seems to shift them.
A typical, good growbag is 36". Three plants allows 12" between. Including those in the next bag. Two plants allows 18" all through.
Since Peppers & Aubergines spread to 24" or more, even this is pushing it?
On the subject of germination, can anyone tell me if my seedlings are failing? I had them germinated in 1 week by putting them on top of the fish tank, this was on the 10th Feb. Despite turning them and then using foil behind them, they haven't grown any more at all! I have been putting them onto the sunny windowsills this week as it's been so lovely but still nothing. I even transplanted them all into little 5cm pots 4 days ago but still, nothing. They are all still pert and sturdy, just not growing any extra leaves.
Help ???
Donna