...because seed can be a pain in the butt to grow from if you don't have a greenhouse and daily time and attention to tend to it. They take space, on the whole.
I will be buying more seeds this season. First, because plants are getting more and more expensive (1.59 for a small petunia in my local GC this spring, and I don't expect them to make it cheaper in the years to come). And second reason, to make sure I have the plants I like and want for my garden next summer - who knows, how that situation with the lockdown will develop. The choice of plants in our GC this summer was probably 1/3 of what they normally have, for obvious reasons, hopefully they will be back to normal, but if not, I would like to have a plan B.
I too was a hesitant seed-grower, but I started with stuff that I read was "easy" (cosmos, eg) and gained confidence. I have grown more and more each year, and never tire of the the thrill of watching them pop up!
Seed growing has always been hit and miss for me. Either too good, masses of sweet peas ready too early, or failure like cherry toms this year. I grow in the conservatory and each year have three grow bag trays full of plants, I really don't have room for more. So now I try to cut to a minimum what I sow, only doing the best of flavour veg, most used or an odd experiment. Next year I would like to try mini munch Cucumbers, but their seeds are £3 for six, not cheep in my eyes and so few that there is a chance of failure, not acceptable when space is restricted. This year was difficult as more had to be grown from seed, so fewer flowers were started in preference to veg, and I can see the same happening again this coming season.
I do grow some from seed, some I buy. My reason is that I work full time and have a family so I dont have much spare time. If I had more time, I would certainly grow much more from seed.
This year has bucked my seed planting trend. I worked all through lockdown but my hours were adjusted which was beneficial to me, starting earlier in a morning and finishing earlier in the day and no weekends 😁 I had surplus plants which I passed on to friends and relatives, which was gratefully received.
I grow as much as I can with just windowsills, a small cold frame, and the shelves from a blowaway in a sheltered spot against the house wall (the cover got ripped to shreds, and it's much less likely to blow away in a gale without it anyway), all of which have to be shared with cuttings. This year tomatoes, cucumbers which grew fine but later got slugged or snailed, 2 types of lobelia for baskets, some morning glory, some nasturtiums, and a few types of perennials. Foxgloves sown in pots failed but there are loads of self-sown ones growing in the tomato buckets so I'll be rescuing those later. Surplus get given away.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I had terrible germination with all brassica seeds except Kohl Rabi this season and even that was not great, even with repeat sowings of them all!
Of one lot of caulis I had 12 plants, the birds and others going blind I ended up with 5 actual caulis that I actually picked,
I saw packets of F1 caulis at £4.99 for 10 seeds, and 10 plants for the same price, it is actually cheaper to buy them in the supermarket, without the hassle of losing most!
PS Mine actually tasted great, and for once no caterpillars to spoil them!
I don't have a greenhouse so will have to reign myself in but like others will use the kitchen and other corners here and there. I've set up a sheltered area outside in the back garden and will be doing everything on the cheap such as plastic containers for protection etc, I also work full time so will be mainly weekends but I'm looking forward to having a go.
Thanks @Grassly, but it's not the same this year because of Covid 19. I went to OH's cottage in England the end of February and my plane back in March was cancelled, finally came back in July. Now I'm selling my house here in France.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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The choice of plants in our GC this summer was probably 1/3 of what they normally have, for obvious reasons, hopefully they will be back to normal, but if not, I would like to have a plan B.
I grow in the conservatory and each year have three grow bag trays full of plants, I really don't have room for more. So now I try to cut to a minimum what I sow, only doing the best of flavour veg, most used or an odd experiment.
Next year I would like to try mini munch Cucumbers, but their seeds are £3 for six, not cheep in my eyes and so few that there is a chance of failure, not acceptable when space is restricted.
This year was difficult as more had to be grown from seed, so fewer flowers were started in preference to veg, and I can see the same happening again this coming season.
I do grow some from seed, some I buy. My reason is that I work full time and have a family so I dont have much spare time. If I had more time, I would certainly grow much more from seed.
This year has bucked my seed planting trend. I worked all through lockdown but my hours were adjusted which was beneficial to me, starting earlier in a morning and finishing earlier in the day and no weekends 😁 I had surplus plants which I passed on to friends and relatives, which was gratefully received.
I don't have a greenhouse so will have to reign myself in but like others will use the kitchen and other corners here and there.
I've set up a sheltered area outside in the back garden and will be doing everything on the cheap such as plastic containers for protection etc, I also work full time so will be mainly weekends but I'm looking forward to having a go.