@Fairygirl I've got a diary and jotted down what was planted and when, so far mainly hardy annuals sown Oct/Nov which are outside in the cold frame. I do currently have a fleece jacket covering it though and everything seems to be doing OK so far. On some of the colder days the orlayas have looked very sorry for themselves but perked up again. OH's mum's greenhouse is north facing which isn't ideal but it's also quite sheltered and I do have a number of fleece jackets.
I think this will definitely be a lesson for the future!
Most of us have been there @februarysgirl, and it can be hard to stop yourself cracking on with seed sowing if it seems that winter's over, especially when info on seed packets suggest January is fine for sowing. The reality is that it's too early unless you have heat and light for plants, and then somewhere for them to go once they're potted on
Hopefully you'll get some plants surviving, and doing well though. Sometimes they can surprise us
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I echo that @Fairygirl - it so tempting to sow veg seeds in Feb and March but they often outgrow windowsills by April and then you can risk loosing them outside.
I do similar to @JennyJ. I’ll keep an eye on forecast and sow my tomatoes end of March or into Easter week.
I know I've said it many times on the forum before @AuntyRach , but the problem is that, as well as the seed packets, many well known TV shows would talk about seed sowing in February, and I had lots of failures when I started, until I realised my conditions were somewhat different. It can be a big learning curve.
If the forum had been around at that time, it would have saved me a lot of disappointment - we don't all live in balmy climes
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Far too early yet if last nights-6 degrees was anything to go by .Leave it until the weather is a lot more trustworthy, I know here in the UK it’s impossible to know for sure but seeds will germinate quite quickly when you do plant them if it’s warm enough ,even if it’s April or later you’ll still get results .
Even here we're still going below freezing at night so I won't be sowing any tomatoes or chillies for a week or two till it's a bit warmer because, tho I have heated mats to help germination I don't have the means of keeping seedlinngs warm enough to cope once thru.
Light levels are another consideration. We've just passed the 10 hours of daylight point of the year and I don't want seedlings bending towards light when, in a few weeks, I'll be able to put them safely in the polytunnel in one of my covered shelving systems that give extra protection against cold - and hens - and they can grow straight.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
@Fairygirl I currently have them on the windowsill in the back bedroom which is south facing and has a radiator beneath it. I have lots of other seeds to get started so they can't stay there for much longer. I'm thinking perhaps the windowsill in the bathroom, still south facing but no radiator. Hopefully because they're Tumbling Toms size won't be as much of an issue but as for everything else 😬🤞
It will depend on the conditions in your bathroom @februarysgirl . Many become very hot steamy when being used, then a big swing the other way when they cool down. My shower room, and the bathroom upstairs, are never very warm, but the window's open for a good while after a shower so I expect it wouldn't be great for any seeds or plants. Damp conditions won't be ideal for them either. My kitchen isn't even warm enough most of the time for seed sowing. Until there's enough sun coming in [another month] it's around 15 at best unless the heating's on, or the oven. It's 14 in there just now, heating's been on for half an hour, which is the first time since tea time yesterday. I think you'll just have to manage them as well as you can, and be prepared to sow more later on.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I've just been in my cold greenhouse and in the past week it went down to -3.7 , so no sowing here yet. I tend to sow and grow in my conservatory, but even in there the temperature difference is too great to do any sowing yet. Usually I sow about the third week in February for tomatoes and cucumbers, but last year as I was unwell they didn't get done until mid March. I thought it would reduce my harvest being so late, but it turned into a bumper one ( probably due to the heat) but the plants I found easily caught up in May when they went permanently into the greenhouse, even the outside spares didn't suffer, so in the fluctuating temps of Lincolnshire a late start is not always a bad thing.
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I think this will definitely be a lesson for the future!
Hopefully you'll get some plants surviving, and doing well though. Sometimes they can surprise us
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If the forum had been around at that time, it would have saved me a lot of disappointment - we don't all live in balmy climes
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Light levels are another consideration. We've just passed the 10 hours of daylight point of the year and I don't want seedlings bending towards light when, in a few weeks, I'll be able to put them safely in the polytunnel in one of my covered shelving systems that give extra protection against cold - and hens - and they can grow straight.
Damp conditions won't be ideal for them either.
My kitchen isn't even warm enough most of the time for seed sowing. Until there's enough sun coming in [another month] it's around 15 at best unless the heating's on, or the oven. It's 14 in there just now, heating's been on for half an hour, which is the first time since tea time yesterday.
I think you'll just have to manage them as well as you can, and be prepared to sow more later on.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...