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Seeds
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[Deleted User]
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in Plants
Hi,
I have probably ordered far too many seeds for my first attempt at growing veg, salad, onions etc. I did a mass order at the weekend but I have noticed some seed packets have like 300 seeds and some have 6-10. So my question is do I plant many of each seed because not all of them will germinate?
I ordered lots of potato sets and have like ten in each bag. So how many potatoes can I expect to grow from say 1 potato seed?
And if I dont plant/use all seeds will they last until next year so they wont waste?
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some seed last longer than others. Tomatoes last for years, but parsnip needs to be planted in year one. It doesn't do any harm to sow them in following years, , but do it a bit earlier so you have time to catch up if they don't germinate
Lettuce is best sown little and often so that you get a succession of leaves. If you sow loads you'll have tons of lettuce all at one time which you won't be able to use. I do enough to fill a couple of troughs or a few pots - just sprinkle sparingly on the surface of the compost and lightly cover. I'll do that a few times over summer using some to cut and come again and leaving a few to get to full size. That's plenty for me and my two daughters. One packet will easily last a couple of years
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
store your left over seeds in a cool dark dry place and with luck they will be ok for a few years, i have used five /six year old seed
Wow thanks guys! You are all so helpful! I am loving my new hobby and Ive not even planted anything yet
I have so so much to learn but I am determined I'm going to have some home grown veg this year! I have written loads of notes in my planner - cant wait to get started. Think I am going to treat myself to a little propagator on pay day
As to your potato sets, are you intending to grow them in containers or in the ground? If in say a potato bag then 3 tubers are normally enough and you'll find 1st or 2nd earlies or Salad potatoes will do best this way and depending on the variety they'll come up first. Maincrop potatoes are better planted in the ground. As to the yield, they're all different and it will depend a lot on how much you feed and water them and the variety you've chosen. Best of luck.
With some small seeds, you need plenty so you can sprinkle the seeds in the bed and then thin them out as they germinate (e.g. carrots, salad leaves). With bigger seeds such as peas, beans, courgettes, you only need a few spares as almost every one should produce a plant. Tomatoes and chillis should almost all germinate if you sow them carefully. Some crops you can sow in succession, so you need enough seeds for several batches. But sometimes they just give you far too many seeds! You can save some types (see other posts) and you may manage to give away or swap some.
I have decided to plant some in containers and some in the ground, I will take your advice ladygardener and put maincrop in the ground
I will try to plant seeds in succession to keep the batches going - sounds like I need to keep my diary at hand to tell me when to do what! I have pulled out a planting seeds and harvesting timetable out of gardeners world magazine this month which I am sure is going to be handy! Thanks greenmagpie
It makes a lot of sense to keep notes on what you sow when, if only to avoid making the same mistakes each year. It also helps you know when to expect things to germinate and crop. I also add notes like "Do not plant so close together next year!".
Some things you can sow in succession, some you don't need to. Courgettes, chilis, tomatoes will ripen when they're ready and go on fruiting for many weeks, but peas, beans, carrots, and especially salad leaves can be sown in several batches. Don't sow too many courgettes! Things that take many months to cropping (broccoli, parsnips) might as well be sown all at one time.