Using vegetable plug plants
pizzle
Posts: 3
Hello all - I am a newbie.... so bear with me. I went to Dobbies at the weekend and bought a variety of plug plants - cabbages, beetroot, various carrots, white onions, climbing French beans, spinach and 2 pumpkins. After purchasing the lot the assistant asked if I had a green house, I replied I did not - she said perhaps I am being a little premature with the plug plants.... help! I really want the plants to thrive, I cover them at night with fleece and I have put some in a small low level poly tunnel. I am keeping the pumpkins inside on a window sill at night but I have nowhere else to put them. Will they be ok? Also I noticed that the carrots were jam packed so I have started to separate them and pot into individual larger pots for now - good idea?
Posts
Cabbages, beetroot, carrots, spinach and onions are hardy, but if they've been kept indoors they need hardening off first, which means protection at night or if it's very cold for about a week until they are used to being outside. Carrots don't like root disturbance, never heard of them as plugs. I sow seeds, will sow some this afternoon. Then you thin them out, leaving some to grow on.
French beans and pumpkins are not hardy. They will need to be indoors until frosts are over.
the carrots in modules will be a dead loss, best to compost them and start from seed. I have no idea why garden centres continue to sell carrots and parsnips in module trays as they are just setting novice gardeners up to fail.
beetroots can be grown in module trays, just make sure there is only one plant per 2-3 inches when you plant them out (they can go out now they are totally hardy) onions can go in as well (about 4-5 inches apart - spacing dependant on variety)
cabbage need a little protection to harden them off, this weeks weather is great for that, then plant them into position at the weekend. spinach can go out the same way
pumpkins and French beans are not tolerant of ANY frost and do not like temps below 10 degrees, keep them somewhere cool with lots of light, a porch is great (a small poly is also good) and then plant out in late April/early May time (dependant on location)
Thank you treehugger80 and busy lizzie - excellent advice which I will follow.
Spot on, Welshonion. Last week I saw dwarf marigolds and busy lizzies (in flower!) for sale. But I resisted!
Apparently it really irks the garden centre trade bodies if popular television gardening show presenters advise viewers there's no great hurry to sow seed, not to panic or be in a hurry. because one doesn't have to sow anything at all until April. So, I guess popular television gardening presenters didn't. Apparently.
The climate is not a popular television gardening show presenter's fault, neither is the market saturation of garden centres.
Oh yeah sorry, your plug plants. What the others said.
Acclimatise them to the outside gradually by taking them outside in good weather for increasing periods of time, then in the evening but don't expose them to frost. If you are going to attempt to transplant carrots or other members of the Apiaceae family, try by headlamp at night o reduce the risk of apiaceae-loving insects (Psilidae, such as carrot root fly) getting a whiff. Alternatively do it when it's unfavourable weather conditions for carrot fly.
They likely will get a whiff, so rather than almost-certain disappointment I agree with treehugger compost the carrots and sow seed directly (the same conditions apply for thinning out)
Thank you all.... this forum is really useful, clearly I should have consulted you all before I went to the garden centre. Will know better for next time. many thanks.