Hi everyone I planted a whole packet of beetroot seeds a few weeks ago, covered them with fleece & watered regularly, kept the bed weed free, etc yet I still have very patchy results with many gaps in my rows. Any ideas why? Could it just be bad seeds?
Thanks for any suggestions as to how I can do better with the next lot I plant
Seeds do not all show at the same time.
I constantly get bad mouthed by cleaver people by saying this.
Nature has it's way.
One of the ways is with seeds.
Some come up quickly, some come up a bit later and others later still.
This way if there are bad conditions the species still has a chance to reproduce.
We do think that when we sow a row of seeds that they should all come up together. They do not.
Some seeds will even come up a year or more after being planted. By that time you have selected other uses for that bit of land and the seeds will come up as weeds.
Funny thing, beetroot. The fruit that sticks the seeds together has a germination inhibitor which has to wash away, apparently, so they're even more patchy than most seeds. Mine are always patchy unless I start them off in modules.
I was told to germinate Beetroot seeds on damp tissue paper before planting. This has worked well for me.
G x
Mine are coming up intermittently, took ages for the first one to show. Ignore them and keep them watered so they can surprise you ;)
I wonder whether soaking them would get rid of the growth inhibitor, which seems to be the source of the problem.
;D Thank you all so much for your replies....saved me from replanting missing sections in error. I will give the ground a good soak tonight & then let nature take her course.
I will germinate on paper next time ;)
You will find that you may have clumps of two or three plants and then gaps.
Carefully thin out the clumps to leave one plant and replant the thinnings in the gaps.
I generally just use my finger as a dibber and as I pull out the thinings I form a hole with my finger and transplant them.
Water them in and you should end up with full rows.
Thanks Tee Gee will do this once the plants are abit stronger.