Thanks! I have tonnes of seed, so I'll plant again in March and up the soil levels. Many thanks for your input, both. Hopefully next time round I'll fair better
If you've got about 10 seeds to spare, and you're open to experimenting, then why not have a go at 'winter sowing' there are lots of info about the 'system' on youtube. It's sowing outside as nature intended without using heat, but using a little help from a plastic milk carton. It costs practically nothing.
Some of my 'winter sown' seeds have just surfaced (without the worry of keeping them warm). Trouble is with the pic below, I forgot to write on the carton what I'd sown, but I think the seedlings are perennial sweet peas.
You can sow annual sweet peas autumn or late winter/spring @SonnieB, nut they don't need any cossetting, which is the mistake most people make with them. They don't need lots of heat, and too much is counter productive because you just end up with weak, etiolated plants. They only need protection from the roughest weather. In warmer areas, autumn sown ones will need regular pinching out to keep them bushy. They should take around 2 weeks or even more to germinate, and that shows you're getting the temps and conditions right for them.
Again it's about when you can put them outside. There's no point in sowing them early here for example, because planting them out in April is rarely worthwhile. It's too cold for any decent growth, so they just sit there doing nothing. I sow mine in March, just in the small growhouse, so that they can safely be outside by May, when growth here gets under way. We're around 4 weeks behind the south for our growing season.
Perennial sweet peas are different, and have no scent.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I planted 50 annual sweet pea seeds two weeks ago and left them in the unheated greenhouse. Most of them have started to poke through now. In my experience you don't need artificial heat to propagate sweet pea seed.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
As stated, warmth isn't the problem indoors - light is. You can get around this with grow-lights as supplemental lighting. They work brilliantly. The only problem is space, as your plants rapidly grow to mature size!
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
I started sweet peas in yoghurt pots outside in a lidded plastic planter in December and they all germinated and are going well now fwiw. I have my potatoes and shallots in the downstairs loo atm as it always seems to be 20-22 c in there .. I’m going to start my seeds off in there shortly - I don’t think I’ll need any extra heat !
I don't think any part of my house is ever that warm until the sun's high enough to reach the back windows in the kitchen @muckyhandsmike Light is definitely as major a factor as warmth, as @Loxley says. Up here, the two things go hand in hand anyway. This time of year is tricky without a conservatory, porch or similar.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Ah the benefits of being in glos 😁 i have experienced Scotland in winter though as my daughter lives in Edinburgh. We are supposed to be heading there now actually but other family commitments have, unfortunately, changed our plans. i just love Scotland apart from the midges and the weather at times - a beautiful country - there would be standing room only if the weather was better !
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@philippasmith2 @Fairygirl thank you both for the advice, I'll put it to use next month
Some of my 'winter sown' seeds have just surfaced (without the worry of keeping them warm). Trouble is with the pic below, I forgot to write on the carton what I'd sown, but I think the seedlings are perennial sweet peas.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
See this thread for more info... https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1061345/winter-sowing-for-2022/p1
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Again it's about when you can put them outside. There's no point in sowing them early here for example, because planting them out in April is rarely worthwhile. It's too cold for any decent growth, so they just sit there doing nothing. I sow mine in March, just in the small growhouse, so that they can safely be outside by May, when growth here gets under way. We're around 4 weeks behind the south for our growing season.
Perennial sweet peas are different, and have no scent.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'
I have my potatoes and shallots in the downstairs loo atm as it always seems to be 20-22 c in there .. I’m going to start my seeds off in there shortly - I don’t think I’ll need any extra heat !
Light is definitely as major a factor as warmth, as @Loxley says. Up here, the two things go hand in hand anyway. This time of year is tricky without a conservatory, porch or similar.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
i have experienced Scotland in winter though as my daughter lives in Edinburgh. We are supposed to be heading there now actually but other family commitments have, unfortunately, changed our plans.
i just love Scotland apart from the midges and the weather at times - a beautiful country - there would be standing room only if the weather was better !