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We've just booked a holiday for two weeks at Easter. Last year i planted all of my Greenhouse seeds (tomatoes, cucumber etc) on the 1st March and they sprouted within a fortnight, this year i will be away and don't really want to leave them for anyone else to water, should i start them early and hope they survive and if so any tips on how to do this, or wait until i return in mid April?

I would wait till April. They'll soon catch up and you won't have to worry about them while you're on holiday.

Hi Joe

I garden a few miles up the 616 from you and I would say that you are certainly OK to wait for your cucumber.

Regarding Tomatoes I sow mid  to end of March so I can't see a couple of weeks making much difference!

I would wait!!

What you will find that when they germinate in April they will grow quicker than they would when germinated in March.........more light available!

So they should catch up!

I'm abit further South but would still wait for your return..  :)

I don't sow my tomatoes till the third week in April. 

Thanks all

You can not leave them for two weeks unattended so the choice is wait til you get home or let some one else water them for you.

Personally I would sow a few and get some one to water them. Few people manage to plant out every single seed they sow anyway.

Please note for the future gardeners should take their holidays in December and January. ;D ;D

I was thinking of planting the day before i go and leaving them on the window cill in a propagator, they should just have come through when i get back.

Quoteleaving them on the window cill in a propagator

I see where you are coming from but I wouldn't leave them there!

The temperatures can be too variable to the point they might dry out.

If you take that route I would just put them on the floor  or on a table providing they can get some light and the temperature although coolish is reasonably constant!

Then your theory might work!

Last year I was in the exact position as yourself and come the end of April with all my seeds still in their packets I wondered whether to give it all a miss, particularly for my chilli seeds  :-\ I'm so glad I didn't!  True (and not helped by the bad summer we had?) my eventual cropping of toms, cucs and chillies, was later than those reported here but they all cropped abundantly, I still had more than enough for myself and to give away and my freezer's still full. The seeds all germinated quickly and the plants were all sturdy. I note that you've a heated propogator, so that's an extra bonus for you.

As an aside, I tried seeding some the night before I went away but honestly those I was here to seed/prick out/cluck like a Mother Hen over ::) were absolutely fne.

What can make you down-hearted, tho, will be seeing splendid pix of others' plants, reaching fruition while yours are no-where near :'(, but....it really does all come good in the end.

SO....go on hol, ;) have a glorious stress-free time and when you come back leave the wife to unpack/deal with the bills etc. - while you start sowing 8)

i wouldnt be able to resist starting at least a few off,even if i left them at a mates house whilst away

My husband thinks I'm crazy but I've taken the seeds with me on vacation and have sown them in trays  while away, left them in the warm car, shifting them from window to window to catch some rays and brought them home with us again, all nicely germinated.  ;D  Of course you'd have to put up with lots of comments!

If you're flying maybe just puts some on a moistened paper towel in a zip lock bag a week before coming home and plant the germinated seeds when you return. You'll gain a week.

I'd expect customs to be incredibly interested in a bunch of germinating seeds if
you're leaving/re-entering the country.

Cant you get some capilliary mat to put under them with the end in a washing-up bowl of water?

chrisc

I used to leave pot plants in the sink or the bath, with a couple of inches of water in it. I could go away for a couple of weeks, and they'd be fine. Maybe try the same approach?