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Frosty
James Elby
Posts: 13
in Fruit & veg
Hi I am new to gardening recently spent a long time digging trenches and beds for veg to go in, about 3 weeks ago i sowed, onions, potatoes, peas, spinach, lettuce, beetroot, and spring onions. So far only peas and onions have stuck their heads up and all my courgettes I've put outside have died. I'm now worried that the seeds I've planted aren't going to germinate, will this cold weather we're having have killed them off is it worth me re sowing some of these?
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Welcome on board James.
I'm in sunny Devon, and I'd not dream of planting out courgettes before Mid May at least.
Where are you James, is I may ask?
Hi James - it's something most of us have done. The temptation to encourage spring into our gardens - living further north means that patience is forced on us!
If the soil's cold and wet, it pays to wait with your seed sowing so that you can plant out when everything's at a good size, and hasn't got leggy and weak. Especially if you don't have a greenhouse to move them into fro a while before planting outdoors.
Yo can resow as scroggin says, and if you can be bothered, mark it on a calendar or a diary so that you can refer to it in future and save yourself some time, effort and grief!
You're right about those sowing times on packets etc scroggin. I bought some Acidanthera bulbs again in March ( on sale in February ) and all it says is plant in a sunny spot, flowers in late summer etc. No mention of needing to keep them frost free. Very misleading if you're new to sowing or planting anything.
If I'd planted them when I bought them, never mind February, I'd never see them again.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Plastic bottle cloches are a possibility - the little plants will need some protection. I find those bottles blow away though. You'll certainly need to harden them off - get them used to outdoor conditions bit by bit - before they can go in the ground. They'll also need potting on, i.e. transplanting into bigger pots that they're in at the moment.
Step 1 - prepare a 3 - 4" pot for each plant, half-full of multi-purpose compost (or you can mix this half and half with sieved soil).
Step 2 - carefully remove each plant from its little pot/module in the propagator, complete with its roots and all the compost, and place it in the middle of its bigger pot. Be careful not to damage the stem - handle by the rootball and leaves only. Fill in round the edges, firm the compost and stand the filled pots in a tray of water for half an hour.
Step 3 - leave them in a greenhouse/on the windowsill for a few days to let them settle down.
Step 4 - start hardening them off by moving them outside for short periods on warm days at first, then lengthen the periods and eventually, after a couple of weeks, leave them out on a warm night.
Step 5 - plant them in the ground.
Brassicas (all those in your last post except fennel) are usually sown in situ, or in a seed bed outdoors, but the recommended dates vary.
Courgettes and other similar plants are sown indoors in 3" pots in late April/early May and planted out after the last frost.
Good luck!
Big investment, and it'll never be big enough, but if you're keen - go for it! A lot can be done, though, with windowsills and a cold frame.
Btw - don't overdo the courgettes or you'll be overrun with the things. If they grow well, one plant will produce plenty of courgettes for one person. They do need space (a yard each way) and rich soil though.
Cold frame. Yes.
Get an old window and some bricks or big lumps of wood out of a skip (if you don't have them lying around behind the shed). Build the wood/bricks into a shallow box about a foot high (ideally higher at one side than the other) the same size as your window. Plonk the window on top and you have a cold frame. Very useful for sowing and hardening off - a sort of mini-greenhouse.
Put the higher edge against a wall to benefit from some heat leaking from the house. Opinions vary as to the best way to face.
Keep the glass clean, and the plants close to it.