Sunday 7 June 2015

Seedlings galore!

This week I have mostly been potting-up seedlings....


Lots of my seeds are sown in seed-trays (called "flats" in the USA , I believe. In the UK, a flat is what Americans call an apartment...), or in pots. When the plants grow to a size that makes it practical to transplant them (usually when they have two proper leaves), I move the best ones into separate pots. Recently I have done this with my Endives. I have two varieties of Endives, "De Meaux" and "Caillard".


At this stage they don't look much different, although the De Meaux ones are mostly a fair bit larger, even though both were sown on the same day.


I will grow the Endives in these 3 and 4-inch pots for another two or three weeks, after which I will plant them in their final growing positions in one of the raised beds.

I have been doing the same with Purple Sprouting Broccoli too:


I have potted-up four each of "Early Purple" and "Red Spear".




Meanwhile the Leek seedlings are coming along nicely. These "Apollo" ones are not far off the so-called "pencil thickness" stage, at which they are best planted out in their final positions.


Whereas the "Winter Giant" ones which I sowed later are still very small. This is probably just as well, since at this moment I don't have much available space for them.


5 comments:

  1. We prick out into modules rather than parts. They are easier to transport to the allotment. They also take less space in the greenhouse.

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  2. Yes we call them flats. You work harder for your transplants than I do. I rarely ever pot anything up. But I supposed you have a smaller garden than I do, and potting up means you can transplant later and grow more in a given spot in the garden.

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  3. I started my peppers in "flats" and then potted up to 4 inch pots. The pots take a lot more room under the lights, which is a necessity here in March. I suppose now all of the potted up seedlings are outside because you have enough sun and warmth to grow them outdoors.

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  4. Looks good. Hopefully this year I can do a better job of succession planting. Your seed starting prowess provokes envy!

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  5. I usually don't pot anything up except for tomatoes and peppers. Most seedlings go straight outside once they are big enough (having 1 or 2 sets of true leaves). Having said that I wish I had potted up my leeks - I lost several of them (and there weren't that many to begin with), so I may do the old potting up trick for them next year.

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