Direct Sowing vs Pots

theend00 · February 2019

Hi there !

I am happy to report in that most of my seeds have germinated and I felt a great sense of achievement in creating little grottos throughout the garden during winter

I have discovered that in small biodegradable pots kept indoors, that they germinated with surprising speed and are seemingly very happy with their conditions. The direct sown seeds of the same varieties have germinated not quite as early at least, more often than not the activity tends to just be seedlings of cleavers.

This was enough for me to wonder and seek advice from much more knowledgeable gardeners aka you haha.

The species I am growing: Campanula (Persicafolia, Lactifolia, Rotundifolia) , Delphinium Elatum , Polemonium Caerulum , Gentian Acaulis , Aquilegia Vulgaris and Nigella Damascena

All of them have been planted with the same type of seed starting compost dug in, barely covered and I have given a very small bit of lime for alkali lovers and mulch for acid, the ground however is pretty neutral, quackgrass was a real pest in my garden before I uprooted a lot of it. The winter in Liverpool hasn't been that bad , it didn't drop below freezing much, and it has been quite rainy but not enough for a flood out there.

How likely is it that these seeds have been eaten by birds? Or are these species just too delicate for North England direct sowing? Is it too early to expect anything? Or is the above paragraph containing an obvious flaw?

I'm genuinelly a newbie at this, this is my first year gardening properly hahaha

As always any advice is greatly appreciated , and I thank you in advance

John

nutcutlet · February 2019

perennials are much slower to germinate and grow on than annuals and easily get overcome by weeds . The only one of those I would direct sow is Nigella

Posy · February 2019

There are lots of enemies out there, John, as well as the weather. Your germinating seeds may be overwhelmed by stronger-growing weeds, eaten by birds and mice or gobbled up by slugs before they are big enough for you to see them growing. In my garden aquilegia, nigella and polemonium self seed but all the others need to be started in pots.

theend00 · February 2019

Thanks for replying! I did try my utmost to prevent weeds like ivy and sow thistle from hindering growth, and I have tried to prevent slugs by putting lots of sharp grit down . The ivy has been growing happily for years so I don't quite know how deep down its roots go

The magpies have their nest somewhere out there in one of the sycamore trees though I thought they were carnivorous and bullies. It may be that despite my efforts they were still eaten which is inconvenient but at least I kept each variety in pots too. I am surprised that they got through such an alarming amount if so , I planted several thousand seeds out there , perhaps it will be more successful if I get some parent plants established first

JennyJ · February 2019

The Nigella and Aquilegia self-sow happily so if they haven't been eaten or rotted off they should come up. I'm about the same latitude as you but further East and further inland, so it's dryer and colder on average. Not sure if that makes much of a difference

Direct Sowing vs Pots

Posts