Allotments 4 All

Another year over and still no luck I start in febuary every year I wash all containers new compost fill container and water day before putting seed in the tray cover with compost lightly water put container in a cat litter tray and cover with cling film about 10 days yes the seed pops its little head up  I take the cling film off put a drop of water in the bottom of the litter tray keep in a warm light area  and every bleeding year they die back . Help what am i doing wrong Ican grow nearly everything  but this has got me beat dont tell me to buy plants there is no fun in that please help  its the one thing missing from my garden. Thank you everyone for all your replys incase i miss someone. Rugbypost

They can be tricky... rudbekia do it for me! We all have something that keels over just for spite. Welcome to A4A Rugbypost. I'm sure someone will give you some real advice soon!  :)

Welcome to the site.  I will post while we wait for someone who knows what they are talking about.

Perhaps you could try sowing the whole pack of seed directly in the garden or pot and see what happens.  Sometimes the seeds will germinate in the tray but then they don't seem to take off - dampening off or something, perhaps the plant grows too quickly in the begining then it's too weak to keep going.

I am the same as you with Scabious plants - this year from 3 packs of seed I ended up with 4 plants.  So I am trying autumn sowing and hoping for small hardy plants that can go out in the spring.  Doing this with Sweet Peas and Hollyhocks so it will be interesting how it goes.

This is a difficult one because you don't say at what temperature and where you grow your seedlings.

I have read your notes and see that you use a method of growing that I don't go along with i.e. the cling film! or plastic bag as some people use.

I find the plastic back OK for cuttings but not seed!

Lets go through your method;

QuoteI start in febuary every year

You don't mention where you live but even so here in the UK I would say you are around a month too early!

If you germinate later you will have a  longer daylight hours ( possibly an hour) so the seedlings will develop better because 'light' is essential at this stage!

QuoteI wash all containers new compost fill container and water day before putting seed in the tray cover with compost lightly water put container in a cat litter tray and cover with cling film about 10 days yes the seed pops its little head up

As I said I don't like using cling film so if economy is an issue why not try one of these  clear plastic  trays with lids that you get when you buy cream buns etc!

This will have more or less the effect of your cling film does but it has other advantages too as I will mention later!

I use tray lids ( from wilkos)  as can be seen here;

(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/tgalmanac/March%202009/01-Coveredseedtraysonhotbed.jpg)

Quote
I take the cling film off put a drop of water in the bottom of the litter tray keep in a warm light area  and every bleeding year they die back .

I think this is where your problem are;

Think of it this way; the seedlings have been in a draught proof environment up till now then they are subjected to less humid conditions and quite possibly variable temperature conditions. e.g. temperature drop when the central heating switches off!

At least if they were in a cake tray you could close the lid at these times and open it up again when conditions are suitable.

As I think you are aware your plants are damping off and this is generally down to overwet and variable temperature conditions.

That is the compost is at one temperature the surrounding air at another and.....the critical bit, the surface of the soil is generally cooler than both the air and the compost! and even more so if the surface of the compost is wet and it is at this point that seedlings succumb to 'damping off'

So the secret is keep the surface of your compost virtually dry!

This is why the commercial people use a top dressing of perlite or vermiculite ( as you can see in my picture)

You don't mention pricking out??

Is this because you never get them to that stage?

I also get the feeling that you are adopting the method of one compost suits all (multi-purpose) I don't agree with this either

OK I don't want to purchase lots of different compost types so I just buy one for my flower seedlings.........multi-purpose!

At sowing time I add sand at a ratio of about 2-1 or 3-1 to make 'seed' compost.

If I know that my seedlings are going to be planted out within 4-6 weeks of pricking out I prick them out into the multi-purpose compost!

If they are going to remain this way longer than say 6 weeks I add some fertiliser to my multi-purpose to keep the plants sustained until planting out time.  Or I might buy a bag of 'potting' compost and prick out into this.

But personally with Asters because I am sowing later than you, my lot are not in the multi-purpose compost too long prior to planting out into the beds.

Now I am sure that others will have different opinions on this procedure but it all boils back to;

If you find something works for you then keep using it!

But in your case; it is not woprking so it is time for a change and what I have described above is one alternative (and I am sure there are more!)

Best of luck to you (and others) for 2011

ps
Yes! I do get some things 'damping off' but that is generally down to carelessness on my part! ::) :-\

pps
Use a hand pump spray rather than a watering can for watering, add a half strength fertiliser to the water to act as a foliar feed until the roots get going


 

See... I knew TeeGee would be along soon with very detailed advice..  ;D

With regard to 'damping off' Cheshunt Compound is banned from the end of the month.

valmarg