Thanks everyone, hopefully I'll be reporting back with a success story! Supernoodle, I imagine I'll be much the same I don't have any children so this is the next best thing hahahaha!
Plants don't get you up for night time feeds, they don't have colic, they don't need changing as often, and 16 years later they don't need taxis at all hours of the day and night - speaking as a parent, plants are a good option
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Apologies if someone has already told you - but there is nothing - nothing that slugs and snails enjoy more than lupin seedlings. I have lost mine every year - this year I'm adopting a different strategy. I am planting seedlings on my allotment and encircling them with a combination of slug pellets and wool pellets. In my garden I am trying copper tape round the pots until they get big and brave enough to plant out - then I may still employ some other deterrents.
Perhaps this year I shall at least see one or two plants survive!
Gardenbear- yes I've been researching the slug/snail issue in advance and think I'm going to try making some garlic water spray and hope for the best! I've been watching How To Be A Gardener on youtube and they did a test with slugs in ep 5 where they used, gravel, holly leaves, egg shells, oatmeal, grapefruit and beer traps around a delphinium to see which kept the snails at bay. Unfortunately none of these methods worked! If you want to watch it you can see it here, at around 6 mins in-
Another option is to find a friend who has lupins and take some cuttings - arguably simpler than growing from seeds if you are an absolute beginner. A further option is buying a plant (or plants) from a garden centre and splitting the plant into cuttings to create more plants. You'll end up paying at least a couple of pounds for seed but Lupins are often only sold for a few pounds each anyway. In my experience this is often more successful than sowing from seeds - cuttings tolerate forgetting to water for a day or two etc.
I am very new to gardening, I have a few questions about growing lupins from seed..I have used seeds I collected summer 2013...
Do I even stand a chance? Ive planted seeds in a propagator now (sept 2014) I had no idea you had to sandpaper or soak them! Or even when was the correct time to sow them. Ive sown them in sowing compost, they have been placed on kitchen windowsill. Is it ok that the lid gets lots of condensation?
I dont have a green house but I do have a summer house,to bring the plants on(if I get any!!) Would appreciate any tuition or indeed do i hang on toany hope that I maybe successful? Thankyou.
I grew a load in a deep root planting seed tray and so didn't have to pot them on. They were easy to grow, I planted them out when they were about 6 inches tall. I didn't realise they were caviar to slugs and they all got eaten!
In the end I bought a plant for £3. Good advice about the slug pellets I can't put them down because I have a dog that eats everything. I did try crushed egg shells but that didn't stop the slugs.
Yes Kaz809 you stand a good chance depending where in the world you are. If you're in the UK then you can grow your young plants in a cold frame although I've grown them outside in their pots in a sheltered spot so long as we don't get a very hard winter.
They should grow on for you now, pop them outside somewhere sheltered to get hardened off, there's still a bit of time for them to grow before the winter sets in. They should flower for you next year and you can plant them into their spot in springtime.
By the way, I've grown lupin from seed for manys a year and sometimes they're a success other times the slugs get them. Good luck.
So just to be sure , is it ok to plant the seeds in late September in an open tray on the windowsill ? First time ever I have tried gardening and at 66 if anything grows I will be delighted !!
I've used 3 parts ammonia and 3 parts water to keep slugs away from hostas, seemed to be successful.
Went on site to get tips on starting lupines from seed. I did a whole pkge in seed trays, 2 came up and then died. Bought more seeds today to try again. Never had a problem at our other house, where I sowed them directly into my nursery, had so many sold them at my plant sales.
Posts
Plants don't get you up for night time feeds, they don't have colic, they don't need changing as often, and 16 years later they don't need taxis at all hours of the day and night - speaking as a parent, plants are a good option
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Apologies if someone has already told you - but there is nothing - nothing that slugs and snails enjoy more than lupin seedlings. I have lost mine every year - this year I'm adopting a different strategy. I am planting seedlings on my allotment and encircling them with a combination of slug pellets and wool pellets. In my garden I am trying copper tape round the pots until they get big and brave enough to plant out - then I may still employ some other deterrents.
Perhaps this year I shall at least see one or two plants survive!
Good luck with yours.
Thanks Lyn I'll look in to the pixie annuals!
Gardenbear- yes I've been researching the slug/snail issue in advance and think I'm going to try making some garlic water spray and hope for the best! I've been watching How To Be A Gardener on youtube and they did a test with slugs in ep 5 where they used, gravel, holly leaves, egg shells, oatmeal, grapefruit and beer traps around a delphinium to see which kept the snails at bay. Unfortunately none of these methods worked! If you want to watch it you can see it here, at around 6 mins in-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KErkUxXo6kA
Another option is to find a friend who has lupins and take some cuttings - arguably simpler than growing from seeds if you are an absolute beginner. A further option is buying a plant (or plants) from a garden centre and splitting the plant into cuttings to create more plants. You'll end up paying at least a couple of pounds for seed but Lupins are often only sold for a few pounds each anyway. In my experience this is often more successful than sowing from seeds - cuttings tolerate forgetting to water for a day or two etc.
Cheers
Gary
I am very new to gardening, I have a few questions about growing lupins from seed..I have used seeds I collected summer 2013...
Do I even stand a chance? Ive planted seeds in a propagator now (sept 2014) I had no idea you had to sandpaper or soak them! Or even when was the correct time to sow them. Ive sown them in sowing compost, they have been placed on kitchen windowsill. Is it ok that the lid gets lots of condensation?
I dont have a green house but I do have a summer house,to bring the plants on(if I get any!!) Would appreciate any tuition or indeed do i hang on toany hope that I maybe successful? Thankyou.
I grew a load in a deep root planting seed tray and so didn't have to pot them on. They were easy to grow, I planted them out when they were about 6 inches tall. I didn't realise they were caviar to slugs and they all got eaten!
In the end I bought a plant for £3. Good advice about the slug pellets I can't put them down because I have a dog that eats everything. I did try crushed egg shells but that didn't stop the slugs.
Yes Kaz809 you stand a good chance depending where in the world you are. If you're in the UK then you can grow your young plants in a cold frame although I've grown them outside in their pots in a sheltered spot so long as we don't get a very hard winter.
They should grow on for you now, pop them outside somewhere sheltered to get hardened off, there's still a bit of time for them to grow before the winter sets in. They should flower for you next year and you can plant them into their spot in springtime.
By the way, I've grown lupin from seed for manys a year and sometimes they're a success other times the slugs get them. Good luck.
So just to be sure , is it ok to plant the seeds in late September in an open tray on the windowsill ? First time ever I have tried gardening and at 66 if anything grows I will be delighted !!
I've used 3 parts ammonia and 3 parts water to keep slugs away from hostas, seemed to be successful.
Went on site to get tips on starting lupines from seed. I did a whole pkge in seed trays, 2 came up and then died. Bought more seeds today to try again. Never had a problem at our other house, where I sowed them directly into my nursery, had so many sold them at my plant sales.