Tag Archive: seeds

Carnations

Just before Christmas my friend Tallulah gave me a lovely bunch of flowers and the Carnations still look fresh today. I bought myself some yellow ones from Lidl on Sunday. It’s been a long time since I bought myself any flowers. I was very pleased to see that three of the stems had shoots still attached and I have taken them off to try and root them. 20 days and tiny hair like roots are beginning to grow.

SeeKay Carnation - Hardy Border Mix - 300 seeds - Perennial

Friday 20th January 2017 – Carnation Hardy Border Mix – seeds have been sown on moist compost in a container with drainage holes and enclosed in a polythene bag to retain moisture and heat. Seeds from Seekay 300 for 99p. Update ten out of twenty seedlings showing after six days. 

Choose a container with drainage holes in it filling the container within an inch or two from the top with potting soil. Sprinkle the seeds across the top of the soil and cover them lightly. Water until the soil is moist and then wrap the container in a clear plastic bag to create a greenhouse effect. The beginnings of your carnation garden plants should poke through the soil in two to three days. Move the seedlings to their own pots once they have two to three leaves and transplant them outdoors once they reach a height of 4 to 5 inches and your area is free of frost risk.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/dianthus/growing-carnations.htm

Clematis from Seed

imageI love growing plants from seed. The pure joy of seeing a healthy green seedling pushing through after you have sown a tiny black dead looking seed is well worth the effort. It is time consuming and fiddly but I’m not very good at sewing, knitting or crochet like most ladies but I do seem to have some success with plants. I have been having a go with vegetable and flower seeds over the years but one plant that I have never grown from seed is Clematis. This Autumn I put in a few cuttings and am looking forward to seeing the results of those but I am determined to try and raise some from seed next spring.

I have read a little but prefer to learn by trial and error. The few tips I have gathered are as follows. Clematis seeds throw down deep roots so need to be sown in gritty, sandy compost in a deep container or pot. Germination can take from six weeks to three years. Ah well we will see. Heat isn’t needed and sown seed can be left in a cold greenhouse or outside. Moisture should be maintained by covering the pot with grit and enclosing in a polythene bag. I dread to think how many seed heads I have thrown into the compost over the years, however this last year I did save a few and put them into seed modules In sandy compost. I don’t hold out much hope for those but next year I will be more prepared.

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Remembering Adam – Viola Sororia Freckles 2017

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Quite unlike any other variety, Viola Sororia Freckles bears violet, speckled flowers from spring through to summer. The blooms are carried above neat clumps of heart shaped foliage. This Violet will self-seed freely. Perfect for growing in containers or rockeries. These plants propagate by forming rhizomes and spreading into large clumps. They also make beautiful star shaped seed heads and throw out their seeds to fall and make new plants. They are hardy and need very little care. These tough little plants will seed themselves anywhere. They’re  strong like Adam was strong and they will be growing all over the garden along with lots of other Violas next year and every year in memory of my brave boy.

Growing Acer from Seed

Sow seeds at any time of year in trays or pots about quarter of an inch deep in good seed compost. Place in a propagator or warm place. Seal the container inside a polythene bag to ensure a humid atmosphere and leave for 6 weeks. Place outdoors for eight weeks to chill. Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into 3″ pots. Grow on in a cold frame and plant out the following spring or autumn in a sheltered part of the garden. It may be up to three years before you can plant into it’s final position. Choose a slightly shady, sheltered spot in moist, free draining, lime-free soil. Sounds easy doesn’t it. I understand you can also use prunings to grow from a cutting. Ah well, the seeds cost nothing so I shall give it a go.

Update Sunday 30th October – the seeds are in a tray of damp compost which is inside a polythene bag. They have to stay like that until the middle of December. Tray put outside middle of December. Update 17th January. Tiny green shoots showing.

Leek – Musselburgh

I have sown a deep tray of Leek Musselburgh and put the tray into a polythene bags to preserve moisture and heat. I have grown this variety before with varying success which has more to do with the gardener than the variety. I shall grow them on until they look sturdy enough to plant out on the allotment. They will probably be put into the ground that the potatoes come out of where they will stay until early next year.

Brassicas – Sprouts and Calabrese

I have sown a batch of Brussel Sprouts Noisette.  Noisette are an old French variety that produces small to medium sized sprouts with a nutty flavour. Tip – Cut the top from this plant as soon as big enough to eat. This encourages the rest of the sprouts to mature at the same time rather than gradually but can reduce the crop slightly.

I have also put in some quick growing Broccoli Autumn Calabrese seeds. I have sown them thinly in a tray of moist seed compost and enclosed the tray in a polythene bag. I shall keep them indoors until they germinate which should be 14-21 days. They will need potting on and hardening off before planting into their final position but I am more confident with that now. At first I was very nervous when growing brassicas and lost a lot of seedlings.

Tip – Once you have cut the large central head from Broccoli leave the root in and you will more than likely get some tasty side shoots.

Exploding Seed Heads – Alstroemeria 2011

Today was another lovely day. A bit of grey cloud but warm enough for my first proper visit to the allotment. We did a lot of tidying up and digging over of beds. I brought back some bags of seed heads that had been left over the Winter to dry out. I have already put some Sweet Pea seeds to chit. They are a few Zorija Rose and some Pip Tremewan left over from last year. I brought home loads of Sweet Pea seeds but they will be mixed. I also brought home Lupin seeds but think that they have gone off. Time will tell. I will sow them and see what happens. The other seed heads were hard and round and I think they must be from the Alstroemeria. I don’t usually let them go to seed but pull them when they have gone over. The seed heads, if left, will explode and shoot their seed everywhere which is why the flower bed is always full of new shoots.

The Rhubarb plant is growing well even though we still have straw around it to protect from frost. I have bought two new crowns of Champagne Red and they look ready to put into the ground soon. We stayed for two and a half hours today and there are still loads of jobs to do. At home I have chitted some Hurst Green Shaft Peas and sowed them in trays ready to get a good start. I also have Broad Bean Witkiem Manita coming along in toilet roll tubes. I have sown the first four Tomato seeds, Black Cherry, bought fresh this year from T&M.

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Cucumber Femspot F1 Hybrid

 

After all my effort this years trying to raise seedlings for cucumber I have had to give in and buy seedlings from the nursery. I chose two sturdy plants of Femspot an F1 hybrid which I am assured will be successful. I have planted both in the lean to and they tower over my little seedlings which although green and healthy are very small so far. Cucumber Femspot is an F1 Hybrid cucumber, one of the best selling varieties in the UK. The plants are really strong growing, earlier cropper than most other cucumbers. You can enjoy the bitter free, ribbed fruits all summer long. Ideal greenhouse crop, but can be grown outside too in a sunny, sheltered spot in the garden or in your allotment plot. Femspot has proved to be one of the best all female varieties for outdoor production.

 

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