Coir pellets are dead easy. Put some in the bottom of your windowsill propogator, dimple side up, add some tepid water, they swell to 3-4 times their size, then shove the seeds in and off you go. The pumpkin and courgette seeds I sowed last weekend are already up and have a great root system, the tomatoes I started in ordinary seed compost are only just showing through. Not sure if tomatoes are slower to germinate than courgettes and pumpkin, but I'm really impressed with the pellets, and won't bother buying seed compost again. I originally bought the windowsill propogator with 18 pellets in from Amazon, but the postage is as much as the item, so if you can find them in your local GC, that might be cheaper, they are also on ebay, and the postage isn't quite as much (and only another 50p if you want more than one of them). Green Gardener sell replacement pellets, apparently they're just right for germinating seeds as the air/water balance is right, and as the structure is so open they stay quite warm (if in a warm room). Don't know how they'll get on when the roots hanging out of the bottom get plonked in some chilly compost, I will let you know if they have a hissy fit.
Much less mess than compost and vermiculite, important if you're nesh like me and do a lot of sowing in the kitchen. Keep hoping for a small lotto win so I can buy a shed and go and hide in there!
@ Jess, a good courgette for containers is Midnight F1. I've grown it in a 12 inch pot, great for small sunny spots.Needs lots of liguid feed to get a reasonable crop.
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Coir pellets are dead easy. Put some in the bottom of your windowsill propogator, dimple side up, add some tepid water, they swell to 3-4 times their size, then shove the seeds in and off you go. The pumpkin and courgette seeds I sowed last weekend are already up and have a great root system, the tomatoes I started in ordinary seed compost are only just showing through. Not sure if tomatoes are slower to germinate than courgettes and pumpkin, but I'm really impressed with the pellets, and won't bother buying seed compost again. I originally bought the windowsill propogator with 18 pellets in from Amazon, but the postage is as much as the item, so if you can find them in your local GC, that might be cheaper, they are also on ebay, and the postage isn't quite as much (and only another 50p if you want more than one of them). Green Gardener sell replacement pellets, apparently they're just right for germinating seeds as the air/water balance is right, and as the structure is so open they stay quite warm (if in a warm room). Don't know how they'll get on when the roots hanging out of the bottom get plonked in some chilly compost, I will let you know if they have a hissy fit.
Much less mess than compost and vermiculite, important if you're nesh like me and do a lot of sowing in the kitchen. Keep hoping for a small lotto win so I can buy a shed and go and hide in there!
@ Jess, a good courgette for containers is Midnight F1. I've grown it in a 12 inch pot, great for small sunny spots.Needs lots of liguid feed to get a reasonable crop.
Hi have you tried delfland nurseries, I get nearly all my veg plants & seeds from them.
oooh thanks for all the tips!