Thanks for the tips Steve. At the moment each of the seeds from the second batch (I.e. indoors from the beginning of sowing) are in fibre pots which have no drainage. Would you recommend I put holes in the bottom of each pot and then place a tray underneath to catch excess water?
Thanks, think I've learnt to keep the vents open from now on haha.What's the purpose of having the option to open/close vents on a propagator?
Dovefromabove - I got a propagator mostly to have an outdoor space for growing fruit/veg/plants without need for an expensive, more permanent structure to keep birds/pests off. It's not a heated one, no but may convert it into one at a later date.
Fibre pots are permeable, so need no drainage holes (although for plants that like sharp drainage, it might help to poke some through). Yes - do stand them in a tray, but don't water them again before they've germinated ot they'll rot.
The whole point of fibre pots is that roots will grow through them so you can plant the whole thing in the soil when the time comes without disturbing the roots. It's a bit of a waste to use them for germinating things that you're going to thin out or transplant anyway. You'd be better off next time using ordinary plastic pots or (better) seed trays.
I agree with Philippa about using a cold frame. It's easy to make one from an old window and a dozen old bricks (both available from skips if you don't happen to have any lying about the place) and you instantly have a mini-greenhouse for seeds, seedlings and hardening off.
I think for the moment I'll harden off seeds indoors until we get the warmer weather and then put them under the propagator lid (alternating between the vents being opened/closed), at least until I've got the hang of that/routine etc. Then I'll maybe look into a more permanent solution.
Good point about starting out with the plastic pots and then moving to fibre pots when things start germinating.
Is the thing of plastic from the pots contaminating seeds (i.e. for fruit and veg) as they grow just a myth? There doesn't seem to be definitive evidence either way from what I've searched on the web.
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Thanks, think I've learnt to keep the vents open from now on haha.What's the purpose of having the option to open/close vents on a propagator?
Dovefromabove - I got a propagator mostly to have an outdoor space for growing fruit/veg/plants without need for an expensive, more permanent structure to keep birds/pests off. It's not a heated one, no but may convert it into one at a later date.
Fibre pots are permeable, so need no drainage holes (although for plants that like sharp drainage, it might help to poke some through). Yes - do stand them in a tray, but don't water them again before they've germinated ot they'll rot.
The whole point of fibre pots is that roots will grow through them so you can plant the whole thing in the soil when the time comes without disturbing the roots. It's a bit of a waste to use them for germinating things that you're going to thin out or transplant anyway. You'd be better off next time using ordinary plastic pots or (better) seed trays.
I agree with Philippa about using a cold frame. It's easy to make one from an old window and a dozen old bricks (both available from skips if you don't happen to have any lying about the place) and you instantly have a mini-greenhouse for seeds, seedlings and hardening off.
Thanks both for your help.
I think for the moment I'll harden off seeds indoors until we get the warmer weather and then put them under the propagator lid (alternating between the vents being opened/closed), at least until I've got the hang of that/routine etc. Then I'll maybe look into a more permanent solution.
Good point about starting out with the plastic pots and then moving to fibre pots when things start germinating.
Is the thing of plastic from the pots contaminating seeds (i.e. for fruit and veg) as they grow just a myth? There doesn't seem to be definitive evidence either way from what I've searched on the web.