Seedling update

I have got LOADS of seedling on the go now. Fortunately the weather is reasonably mild, allowing me to get my seedlings outside in the garden most days, although I am still bringing many of them indoors at night-time. This year I am trying very hard to give my seedlings as much light as possible, to stop them going drawn and leggy. In past years the weather has often been cold and wet at sowing time, and I have usually ended up with every windowsill in the house loaded with trays of seedlings in little pots. I am making full use of my two little plastic mini-greenhouses, but I have also acquired 4 propagator domes which fit over seed trays.

These are effectively tiny greenhouses in their own right, and being so small are easily portable, so once the seeds have germinated (indoors) they can be moved in- and out-of-doors whenever required. If the weather allows, my propagators are taken outside in the morning and brought in again in the evening.

Here are pictures of some of my seedlings:-

Miscellaneous brassicas

The brassicas are pretty hardy, and I don't feel the need to bring them indoors at night-time. I think that inside one of the mini greenhouses they will be OK. The tomatoes though need a bit more TLC, so they come indoors each evening.

Rainbow Beefsteak tomatoes

You will have noticed that I have started my seeds "collectively" in small pots, rather than in individual modules. My plan is to choose the strongest-looking seedlings of each type and prick them out into bigger pots in a couple of weeks' time.



 The Baby Leaf salad has just begun to appear.

Baby Leaf salad mix - aka "Daddy salad"

When my daughters were tiny, they used to call mixed Baby Leaf salad "Daddy Salad", because it epitomised the type of salad I used to grow. Of course I have moved on to greater things now! :)

I think the two nearest seedlings are Cress of some sort

The chillis were the first seeds I sowed this year. They went a bit leggy in their first few days, but I think they will be OK.



Everything is looking OK so far - except the Celeriac, which has still not germinated. Patience is a primary requirement for the gardener...