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Normal failure rate for planting seeds?
MisterBoy
Posts: 52
in Fruit & veg
This year we've done a lot more planting from seeds, mostly veg but some flowers as well. We've attended to our seeds carefully and researched the right conditions for each but seen a lot of variation in success.
Some packs every single seed grow, in others we've had literally one or two plants out of an entire pack sprout. Paying for a pack of seeds for one bean plant doesn't seem very good value.
The ones which seem to have done poorly include broad beans and french beans, celeriac, and lavender. Our pack of 200 spring onions hasn't had a single sprout!
On the other hand, peas, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes and even melons and swetcorn have had abour 100% success and we are throwing them away there are so many.
I always through seeds were seeds, is it possible we got duff batches or should pick another supplier? What would you normally expect in terms of failure ratio when planting seeds?
Some packs every single seed grow, in others we've had literally one or two plants out of an entire pack sprout. Paying for a pack of seeds for one bean plant doesn't seem very good value.
The ones which seem to have done poorly include broad beans and french beans, celeriac, and lavender. Our pack of 200 spring onions hasn't had a single sprout!
On the other hand, peas, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes and even melons and swetcorn have had abour 100% success and we are throwing them away there are so many.
I always through seeds were seeds, is it possible we got duff batches or should pick another supplier? What would you normally expect in terms of failure ratio when planting seeds?
0
Posts
Tomatoes and melons I find reliable but I've had lots of trouble with carrots and parsnips so you're obviously doing better then me there!
I often get 'mixed' results with direct sowing.
Planting in a heated propagator failures are generally rare.
Just one pack of Webb's Wonderful lettuce this year that was 'duff' firstly direct sown and it was more like Webb's Woeful, with other varieties sown at same time thriving, then to test I tried in the propagator with same result. It's a variety I usually get great results with.
Does it make a difference where you buy seeds or is just a case of find a good price?
and they were all fresh seed. I think we have had a strange weather start this year and stuff is all over the place.
This year the growing conditions were very odd. To begin with it was cool with so much moisture in the air, then it was warm to very warm but with a late frost and so, so dry. Obviously you can control the situation in the greenhouse but you’re not totally excluded from the elements beyond the glass wall.
My French bean germination rate was also poor though a second set, sown a couple of weeks later was rather better. The runner beans, well, ran away. I think the best philosophy is just to be slightly astonished that anything grows at all. I know I am. If things grow well one season then it is entirely attributable to my expertise. When things grow poorly then I blame the adverse weather, the poor compost, the seed supplier, nibbling mice, Monty Don.
As has been said though, it was a strange year, I was really having to think about sowing times and planting out to fit around the unusual weather, where it could be boiling hot in the day and still frosts at night. I think having a heated propagator with artificial light in my garage (I don't have a green house) where temperature was stable made a huge difference this year. It's a method I'm going to stick with I think.