Sorry for being a pain but I need a bit of advice. We want to start our seedling/potatoes off soon but due to house layout we do not have any window sills that can be used to put seed trays on. Please could anyone suggest the best way (no greenhouse either) we could start the seedling off without great expense.
Thanks in advance
I tend to use any spare space I can find, on top of the wardrobe is usually a good place as the heat rises so their nice and warm, although you do have to be careful the seedlings don't shoot up too fast. I use old egg boxes for chitting potatoes and yoghurt pots/margarine tubs etc for seedlings if I don't have enough plastic seed trays and lids. If you can afford it, you can usually pick up the little plastic greenhouses for around £10 and up. Or you could see if there's a local freecycle group and post a wanted add on there. Good luck with it all!
I start mine off on a table next to the window,once sills are full.
Spuds I leave on the worktop in the kitchen,chitted no prob.
Also found not to start things off too early,especially runner beans,they did not transplant well.
Not enough daylight hours for a while yet. :)
The top of the wardrobe is good for chitting potatoes... if you can get some of those big cardboard trays and use egg cartons to keep them upright... ;D
After that most seedlings can wait a bit here in sunny Derby. one of those £15 PROPAGATOR/MINI-GREENHOUSES from a place like wilkinsons does a good job. Use half trays for most seedlings, you get far too many from a full tray! :)
we also use the table next to the window if the sills get too full, also, the grape packs with a lid make a good mini propagator :)
Re the seedlings (not the spuds), they will need daylight once they start growing or they'll get thin and straggly trying to grow up to reach some light. What seeds are are you planning to sow now?
we were looking through our seed packets today and were looking at starting off the early nantes, brussels, broccoli, and onion as they all say feb for sowing, but as the front of our house faces a house wall we get no sun at the front and the only window sill we have at the back is a small bedroom one which would be lucky to fit 2 half seed trays on.
we've covered half our raised carrot bed with plastic to warm the soil for early nantes carrots , we'll keep the plastic over it ( home-made cloche) once they're in to keep them a bit warm then swap to fleece to keep the carrot fly off :)