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Good draining compost
AlastairS
Posts: 42
Monty on episode 5 of Gardeners World recommended a compost that will drain well for sowing Verbena bonariensis in a tray.
I have some of this year's sowing compost - can I just add sharp sand to it and some seived earth from my garden ?
Thanks Alastair
0
Posts
Sand and fine gravel mixed with potting compost, around half compost to the sand and gravel, then just cover the seed lightly and they will need some warmth 18-20 degrees. They are a bit hit and miss taking up to three weeks to appear.
When ready to be planted out in a sunny border add manure and compost as you plant.
If you put the roots in boxes under glass in March you can take root cuttings a month later by far the quickest way to propagate. Watch out for Aphids when you put them out.
Frank..
Hey Frank, long time no see. Hello
In the sticks near Peterborough
I know this isn't any help to you Alastair, but down here in SW France they grow like weeds! I only wish i could pull up all the self seeded ones and send them to you. Its such a waste to throw them away.
Perhaps I should start a mail order company!
I originally grew mine in ordinary seed compost, they took a long while to germinate, they didnt seem to grow much but wh
en they took off, i planted them out in the summer and they were 5ft high before I new it, they will self seed, just have a go,
The Tv gardeners seem to make a meal of everything.
Thank you for your replies.
THat's great, I have a good idea what to do now, though is sowing /seedling compost okay to use ?
Boy, I wish I lived in France !
AlastairS, seed compost is finely sieved mixed with sand and has very little goodness in it, seeds contain their own food for the first week or so.
We pot them on into a slightly better compost that still contains only a little nutrient because like babies seedlings need to be weaned. I use half compost half fine grit.
Pot on into a full compost three quarters compost a quarter grit to grow on and harden off in the pots then plant out into the border after preparing with compost or manure.
Hope this helps, Frank.
Hi Frank, Yes that is very helpful, thank you. I need to buy ordinary(as opposed to seed) compost - peat free or not ? Finally, grit, can I buy that in my garden centre ? A link would be helpful.
THank you, Alastair
I tried to seed some this year and ended up with just one!!
I first saw them properly at the Southport flower show last year and I love the way they are tall yet you could get away with planting them mid border because you can see through them. Insects love them as well.
I can't remember Monty NOT telling us to plant into 'free draining compost' and it's alright for him with his endless amounts of grit and so on that he can buy courtesy of the BBC! On last night's Gardener's World he threw about £20's worth of grit casually over a raised bed!! I felt like jumping into the telly and gathering it all back up to cart it off to my humble little patch.
For us normal gardeners where the cost of things is a concern, we have to just get by. Personally I leave grit for my succulents that really DO need free draining compost and I use perlite or vermiculite mixed with multi purpose compost for other seeds. The perlite and vermiculite goes a bit further cost wise than grit.
Good luck with the Verbena, they are worth a go in any type of compost in my opinion, they are such lovely plants.
I usually sow seed in ordinary compost but when I plant out anything I add grit as a matter of course because I have clay and lots of rain. My verbena (sewn last year) stayed evergreen - in pots against the house wall - and only started to look scruffy about 5 or 6 weeks ago after the winter. I just tidied off the rough bits and they have loads of new growth. I'd potted them into bigger pots with some alliums in the autumn and they're now all in the raised bed I made last year.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...