A good one I've seen here in France @Latimer is "sow under cover" on seed packet instructions, I know what they mean but would someone starting out understand?
I agree - and under cover could mean a shed or garage rather than a cold frame, greenhouse or inside a house itself.
It could mean those things, my question is does it mean any of those things? Would a warm house over winter not be different to a cold greenhouse?
There are multiple reasons for sowing things indoors @Latimer . One of them is to "get a march" on the garden - getting plants to flowering size sooner, as they wouldn't germinate outside when the weather is too cold. For instance, you can direct sow cosmos, which isn't hardy, in May around here - but it won't flower until considerably later than the ones sown indoors in March-April and cossetted thereafter. And there are some seeds, especially of non-native plants, which need specific conditions including high temperatures to germinate.
You asked how sowing indoors might affect the germination and onward growth of the plants. Germination is often speeded up if you can give the seeds the required temperature, which is generally higher than you can achieve outside. The "onward growth" bit is where it becomes more difficult - because unless you've germinated a house plant, you'll want it to get used to living outside once the conditions have improved. This will involve a lot of shuffling plants about from inside to outside and back again.
If you think about plants growing from seed in the wild, the parent plant produces far more seed than will turn into viable offspring, and they are shed in late summer and autumn generally. Some will germinate straight away but most will sit around being food for birds etc, or if conditions are right, germinating in Spring. They don't read seed packets... so for instance, I grew some perennial lobelia according to the instructions (indoors early in the year, prick out, grow on...) and now they have self-sown babies all round them which I'm going to have to put on the compost heap. Presumably they didn't know they had to wait for temps of 18-25 to germinate.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
It just means you can start them in autumn rather than spring, and yes - you'll get them to flowering size sooner. It's simply a head start.
Having said that [oh no says @Latimer!] I often find sowing in autumn isn't worthwhile, because, yet again, the growing conditions/temps will be a factor. I grow sweet peas every year which are very hardy annuals. I rarely do them in autumn, because even when I get a few plants, they just don't thrive, or even survive if it's colder, and that's when they're undercover. Rain/wind is a bigger problem for small plants, so the protection is largely for that, but if it's too cold, there still isn't enough protection for them to do well. On the few occasions I've done them, and they've got through, they don't grow more rapidly than spring sown ones, so it just isn't worthwhile. In milder areas, it's worth it, because it's mild enough over winter, and mild enough in spring to get them out and planted. A couple of years ago I did some autumn ones, and we had no winter at all [for this part of the country] and a mild spring, and they did well. I can't assume that will be the norm though, year on year.
This is where the experimenting comes into it, but also the understanding that if you get a colder than usual winter/spring where you live, some plants won't make it, in the same way that I can't assume a couple of mild winters means I can successfully sow every autumn no problem. I consider this winter to have been mild again - despite the long freezes in December and March, because in between those it was much milder than usual
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It is making sense though, which is kind of what I need. I’m definitely a logical person so the throw it in and see what happens method is hard for me to follow!
Great thread @Latimer. This is year 4 of serious sowing from seed for me and I am still not getting things quite right all of the time. (Oh that tricky balance of light and temperature when sowing earlier in the year...) I have always shied away from direct sowing but intend to attempt it this year. I've sown poppies, cornflowers etc in pots and they have done ok, but the self seeded ones were so much better/stronger. Anyway, nothing to add - just to say that I am just appreciating the thread and all the useful answers and coments.
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When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
You asked how sowing indoors might affect the germination and onward growth of the plants. Germination is often speeded up if you can give the seeds the required temperature, which is generally higher than you can achieve outside. The "onward growth" bit is where it becomes more difficult - because unless you've germinated a house plant, you'll want it to get used to living outside once the conditions have improved. This will involve a lot of shuffling plants about from inside to outside and back again.
If you think about plants growing from seed in the wild, the parent plant produces far more seed than will turn into viable offspring, and they are shed in late summer and autumn generally. Some will germinate straight away but most will sit around being food for birds etc, or if conditions are right, germinating in Spring. They don't read seed packets... so for instance, I grew some perennial lobelia according to the instructions (indoors early in the year, prick out, grow on...) and now they have self-sown babies all round them which I'm going to have to put on the compost heap. Presumably they didn't know they had to wait for temps of 18-25 to germinate.
Having said that [oh no says @Latimer!] I often find sowing in autumn isn't worthwhile, because, yet again, the growing conditions/temps will be a factor. I grow sweet peas every year which are very hardy annuals. I rarely do them in autumn, because even when I get a few plants, they just don't thrive, or even survive if it's colder, and that's when they're undercover. Rain/wind is a bigger problem for small plants, so the protection is largely for that, but if it's too cold, there still isn't enough protection for them to do well. On the few occasions I've done them, and they've got through, they don't grow more rapidly than spring sown ones, so it just isn't worthwhile. In milder areas, it's worth it, because it's mild enough over winter, and mild enough in spring to get them out and planted. A couple of years ago I did some autumn ones, and we had no winter at all [for this part of the country] and a mild spring, and they did well. I can't assume that will be the norm though, year on year.
This is where the experimenting comes into it, but also the understanding that if you get a colder than usual winter/spring where you live, some plants won't make it, in the same way that I can't assume a couple of mild winters means I can successfully sow every autumn no problem. I consider this winter to have been mild again - despite the long freezes in December and March, because in between those it was much milder than usual
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It is making sense though, which is kind of what I need. I’m definitely a logical person so the throw it in and see what happens method is hard for me to follow!
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I have always shied away from direct sowing but intend to attempt it this year. I've sown poppies, cornflowers etc in pots and they have done ok, but the self seeded ones were so much better/stronger.
Anyway, nothing to add - just to say that I am just appreciating the thread and all the useful answers and coments.