@Pete.8 sowing first week of March do you give any of those bottom heat? My first time this year and my plan was that only the Peppers and Chili would get it. Was gonna leave the tomatoes another week or two and not give them heat, or maybe heat them til they’ve germinated only.
They need heat to germinate - ideally around 24-25C. I sow my tomatoes, peppers and chili in little pots that I put in small bags and leave on my heated floor which is about 25C most of the winter They're up within a week when I transfer them to a heated propagator in my unheated greenhouse. I keep the propagator about 20/22C and leave them there until the ambient temps are warmer - at least 10C then they go on the greenhouse staging. I keep peppers and chillies in the propagator longer with no lid, but with the heat down at about 16/18C
They won't like low temperatures so best if you can keep them with some bottom heat.
PS - I should mention I only put them on the heated floor as it saves a week's worth of 'leccy in the propagator
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Once seedlings have two true leaves on them I prick them out into their own pots they soon pick up after that, of course as others have said they need light this time of year I use grow lights for a couple of hours before sun up and after sun down although I have some seedlings under ordinary LED's at the moment which look to be doing ok.
If the seedlings are leggy but otherwise healthy, then you can just bury them deeper when you transplant as the stem will root where it is under the surface. It doesn't work with all plants but tomatoes root readily on the stem and are often planted deeper anyway because it makes for stronger plants.
I always forget I have things in the propagator and need to wean them from the high humidity environment and I just prop up one corner of the lid a bit or slightly of set it a bit. You can then just increase the gap over a number of days and they will acclimate.
As an alternative I plant tomatoes and cucumbers seeds in separate plugs to start with in trays and covered, but not heated, and kept in my conservatory. Lots of light but not much heat. They take about a week to sprout, but without heat slow grow without getting leggy. The lids come off during the day when the true leaf appears. They will be potted on twice before going in the unheated greenhouse late April to mid May, at which time they will be about 9 to12" tall, depending on the weather.
Mine tend to be quite slow to grow on from germination. My kitchen would only reach the temps @Pete.8 describes in summer, and they aren't in the kitchen by then. The higest it really gets is about 20 on a sunny day. I have a radiator under the windowsill they're on, but I don't have the heating on a lot, especially with these mild winters we've had recently. It's often only around 12 degrees in there when I get up, unless the heating's on for my younger daughter as she starts work at stupid o' clock. The other thing to watch is draughts, which can affect the foliage a bit, but isn't usually a major problem unless the cold is long term. It's always about making adjustments depending on circumstances.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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I sow my tomatoes, peppers and chili in little pots that I put in small bags and leave on my heated floor which is about 25C most of the winter
They're up within a week when I transfer them to a heated propagator in my unheated greenhouse. I keep the propagator about 20/22C and leave them there until the ambient temps are warmer - at least 10C then they go on the greenhouse staging.
I keep peppers and chillies in the propagator longer with no lid, but with the heat down at about 16/18C
They won't like low temperatures so best if you can keep them with some bottom heat.
PS - I should mention I only put them on the heated floor as it saves a week's worth of 'leccy in the propagator
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I always forget I have things in the propagator and need to wean them from the high humidity environment and I just prop up one corner of the lid a bit or slightly of set it a bit. You can then just increase the gap over a number of days and they will acclimate.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I have a radiator under the windowsill they're on, but I don't have the heating on a lot, especially with these mild winters we've had recently. It's often only around 12 degrees in there when I get up, unless the heating's on for my younger daughter as she starts work at stupid o' clock.
The other thing to watch is draughts, which can affect the foliage a bit, but isn't usually a major problem unless the cold is long term.
It's always about making adjustments depending on circumstances.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...