I'm germinating quite a lot of annuals in my kitchen, which gets very hot and very sunny, so once germinated, the seeds dry out very quickly and tend to become leggy. However, my only alternative is an unheated coldframe or an unheated greenhouse. Is it ok to move them out there, or will it be too cold for them?
Hi Caroline.
I have just started to sow annuals, mine are in a heated greenhouse but you should be able to get away with putting them in an unheated greenhouse under fleece and keeping an eye on the night time temp if it's going to drop below -2 i would cover them with old newspapers as well, remember to open vents during the day to keep the air fresh or you might suffer with damping off.
Hope this helps
Bob
Thanks, Bob- when it stops raining I'll move some of them out- and keep an eye on the forecast.
Hardies might be OK but I think it might be a bit cool for half hardies I find these need around 50*F (10*C)
If freezing temperatures are forecast I would fetch the half hardies indoors for the night.
You could light a few candles around your hardies its surprising how much these can raise the temperature locally. Watch you don't set the fleece alight!
Take care with the watering the root system of a moderatley dry plant can be about 5*C warmer than a wet one
I do have a small paraffin heater, but I haven't used it for a couple of years because i was always hopeless at remembering to light it/ turn it off! Have just checked and they are mostly half-hardy.
hiya. i am also in a greenhouseless situation with many seedlings so this year, have decided that it is best to start off as i mean to carry on and as soon as germination occurs, i have bunged everything outside in a sort of plastic growhouse without a front. I figure that this will save the endless weeks of hardening off - in and out every morning and night for weeks! So far, everything is OK (and there are some borderline annuals such as ursinia, thelesperma, omphalodes linifolia, flax and phacelia campanularis). Anyway, there is still loads of time for more sowings if this lot fail so hey, have a go.
There's a very good chance you'll get away with half hardies in an unheated greenhouse, but we could still have a cold snap. It would be sensible to have a greenhouse heater in reserve just in case.