Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

How many seeds

amberspyamberspy Posts: 382
in Fruit & veg
Aware some salads and veg can be sow outside rather than start with wee pots inside 
but how many seeds do I actually use 
it’s to salad leaves and spring onions in raised bed 

Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    How many plants do you want?
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • amberspyamberspy Posts: 382
    @punkdoc
    about 2ft long tray each 
    It’s all new to me 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Always tricky this one but because they are outside, a larger percentage will fail to germinate or be lost to slugs etc., so I work on only 25% coming up.  If you try and sow them so you have about 2 seeds per cm, you will probably get 1 plant coming up every 2cm which is a good spacing for salad leaves and spring onions.   If more come up than that you can thin them a bit.  If less, you know next time to sow more seeds of that particular variety next time.  I try and remember to sow a few small pots/trays of salad leaves and lettuce every 2 weeks, so I have a continual supply until it's too cold for them.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • amberspyamberspy Posts: 382
    @BobTheGardener
    cheers for that bob 👍
    hopefuly slugs not get to them as they raised off ground 
    does this apply to all veg 
    as got chantenay carrots and cauliflower I want try as well I’ve five raised beds so they all be separate 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    If any of the seeds are F1 varieties, they'll be fewer seeds per packet so I always start those off inside (except carrots & parnsips - always sow those direct outside.)  Otherwise, it's not a bad rule of thumb.  Cauliflower is tricky, even for experienced gardeners and you are best to either sow those in a 'nursery' bed or row and thin them, always keeping the strongest looking plants, before transplanting them into their final positions when they have 5 true leaves.  When you transplant them, bury them a bit deeper, so that the bottom leaves are now at soil level, and firm the soil around the roots really well.  That's how I grow them and it took me a decade before I finally 'cracked' them. :)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • amberspyamberspy Posts: 382
    @BobTheGardener this great info 👍
    yeah heard that about cauliflower it’s one my favourite veg so I give it a go not not expecting anything to be honest 
    I start the cauliflower indoor I do after tea 
Sign In or Register to comment.