Yippee! The sun is here at last and yesterday I went out to Poundstretcher and bought some seeds. I am a total bargain-hunter and got pepper, tomato, french beans and cauliflower for a great price. ;D However, on my travels I completely failed to locate any aubergine seed - cheap or otherwise.
Anyone know of any shops in the South East London area which do cheap aubergine seed? Our local garden centres are sure to have them, but they will probably be quite dear.
How much is too much for how many??
www.realseeds.co.uk do nice ones.
And how many do you want??
Charlotte how many plants are you planning to grow? I have some seed if you want a few, just PM me your address. DP
Hi Doris, that's very kind of you. :) I will PM you in due course. I was thinking about 8 seedlings - half to be kept under glass, half to go out when its nice and warm (hoping for a blazing summer this year! ;D).
If they get lost, my offer still stands.
PS What happens at all the other times??
Are they tricky ?
I have never been ableto 'do' them and the same goes for capsicum & chillis. I feel like a total failure. :-[
I had success with aubs for the first time last year, but chillis are no probs! I have mine all sowed, and they seem to germinate slowely but surely and are really slow to get going, but then suddenly spurt up! I treat them the same as my toms.
I didn't do particularly well with mine last year, they all got red spider mite! :'( (not enough ventilation in my greehouse methinks!) But have been successful in previous years. Tim does really well with his if I remember correctly. I shall be giving them another go again this year, and Tim, now I am going to have to buy MORE seeds, some of those Aubs look very interesting!! DP
As I said to Charlie - how many do you want??
We have a small choice.
And Baggy - how do you attempt it? And what goes wrong?
Tim I only want a few different varieties to try, 2 of each? My space is very limited, sadly! DP
Address?
all these offers!!-and here is another one-pm me if you wish.
Stephan
My mate and I split a packet of cayenne chili peppers and she grews her in the greenhouse and I grew mine in the open. Hers wouldn't fruit but mine were going great guns and there were loads of fruits. We thought it must be down to bees or something so she put hers outside and hey presto she got chillies :)
I've never had a greenhouse and have always managed to grow chillie, toms, aubergines, peppers outside. Never had much luck with cucumbers though but this year I think it's going to be my year. I have my instructions from Tim so feel I can't go wrong ;D
Wardy
Which part of the country do you live in?
This must have an effect on your success.
In post tomorrow, Deb.
TIM
Did 'exactly what it said on the tin ' I think. Placed in the greenhouse (unheated) and some on a southfacing windowsill in our kitchen. The greenhouse ones did not show their heads at all (mice ? - real problem as there is a mouse community in he compost and I'm sure they use it as their local deli). The indoors ones started off then went all mildewy. As for Chilli's I have never had any success. I was even given a chilli plant and it got decimated by bugs. Can I try to plant culinary chilli seeds My MIL is from Sri Lanka and uses a specific typewhich I don't know the name of.
Quote from: wardy on March 17, 2005, 23:09:11
My mate and I split a packet of cayenne chili peppers and she grews her in the greenhouse and I grew mine in the open. Hers wouldn't fruit but mine were going great guns and there were loads of fruits. We thought it must be down to bees or something so she put hers outside and hey presto she got chillies :)
I read that the secret to getting them to fruit under glass is frequent misting (to set the flowers). That is exactly what I did last year and without exception each plant fruited (chillies, toms and aubs). Either it was beginner's luck, or Dr Hessayon's advice is very good. :)
The chillies fruited in excess really. I grew these from seed, on a sunny window sill with a radiator underneath it. They took their time germinating, but every single seed did, which surprised me a bit. I am guessing the radiator provides a nice bottom-heat. LOL Hopefully this will prove a successful technique for toms and aubs too! ;D Last year I bought these in from the garden centre as seedlings.
Red Spider Mite - that can be troublesome. You can keep it at bay also by constant misting. Affected plants need more water, but will still fruit if you pamper them. It was for this reason I didn't attempt to over-winter my chillies... didn't want to over-winter the R.S.Ms either!
Good luck to all with the aubs. Anyone growing any of the white sort? I have seen them in the books - rather a novelty - but distinctly un-appetising looking methinks!
Hi Charlie-you might get a whiteish one. One of the varieties I will send ranges from purple stripes to pure ivory.
Stephan
What's pretty about purple?? The 'whites' are ace.
I'm growing whites and blacks this year. All seedlings are looking good on the windowsill.
Baggi - can't answer for the indoor ones (too cool, too wet?), but I doubt that the greenhouse ones could have been warm enough without a propagator?
And chillies, I think, need even more warmth.
Charlie - misting? I know it's talked about a lot, but I reckon that, without care, you're as likely to cause scorching or moulding as you are to help setting. Means nothing, but I have never misted. For toms, I 'rattle' the wires when the petals are wide open. For the others, nothing, & our aubs averaged 20-30 fruit per plant, depending upon variety. As to pests, for whatever reason. we have never had whitefly or red spider (it goes for the cus!) - but plenty of greenfly. These are easily controlled, if the plants are near at hand, by squidging twice a day. Remember that the flaky whiteflyish things early on are probably greenfly sheddings. Whitefly fly - these don't!!
Second thoughts on red spider - don't you find that it occurs mainly in the top growth, where there is less air circulation & moisture, & late in the season when it is not so vital to production? With or without misting, for cus, a good damping down of the flooring is a help - & I don't find that it harms the other things.
Chrispea Live near Chesterfield in Derbyshire and grow stuff outdoors as no greenhouse and the chillies did brilliantly. I think also growing outdoors the plants don't suffer from as many pests. I got lots of hoverflies (probably cos I don't spray any insecticides about) and they probably eat aphids.
Just seen your reply Tim. Thanks for the tips. Maybe I did do something wrong - maybe I am aubergine cursed. I can grow fennel and cues no probs yet others on our site had probs last year. Would you say the white or purple are easier and is there anything in the taste between the two. Is it too late to do some now on the kitchen window sill (presumabley cling filmed to start em off ?).
Quote from: tim on March 18, 2005, 13:57:57
Charlie - misting? I know it's talked about a lot, but I reckon that, without care, you're as likely to cause scorching or moulding as you are to help setting.Â
Second thoughts on red spider - don't you find that it occurs mainly in the top growth, where there is less air circulation & moisture, & late in the season when it is not so vital to production? With or without misting, for cus, a good damping down of the flooring is a help - & I don't find that it harms the other things.
Hmm. Well, that is what my
books say. (Misting.) Anyhow... as we know, gardening can not be learnt in books ref: Jean de Floret. LOL Experience is a superior tutor.
The top of one of my chillies got scorched last year, but I blame that on the poly-carbonate roof on our leanto. :) We never had any mould problems, and my instinct is to mist... which means to say I think the plants look sort of err... grateful... afterwards! Alas I cannot damp down the floor of the leanto as it is not stone but vinyl tiles. To be on the safe side, perhaps I will mist only when the sun has gone round the other side of the house.
The spider mite I'd agree with you, a late summer problem when everything is past its best... well so far, for me anyhow! Can't pretend I have years of experience tho.
And I was meaning the tops of the cus - ie at roof height, where you can't see the d**n things, & you can't mist 'cos the leaves are touching the glass!!
Tee-hee. Yes, at 5' 1-and-a-bit", I can't reach all that high with the mister anyway. ;)