Kitchen Garden Forum

Started Tom's,Chillies,Aubs etc in a heated propagator back in Feb After 4 sowings Aubergines have not taken, Chilli and Toms are not even 2 inch tall! Never had this prob before. All seeds are this year. Last year I had so many of everything. Very frustrating
Any help please, ( apart from buying in a garden center!)

Oh - that's a shame. If it's not the seed or the propagator then I'm thinking maybe it's down to the compost?? What did you use?

Probably the high temperatures we enjoyed earlier 'cooked' the seeds/seedlings in their compost? Or perhaps it's old compost? Or the current cool temperatures are holding things back?

thanks , all new compost, transplanted some into pots and left in a warm 'boot room' so can't understand it!

It might be new compost but which compost? Lots for sale is full of bark & material not fully rotted into a nice texture to support plant growth as no matter how determined the little seedlings are they find their energy depleted pushing a bit of bark out of the way. I find it all a bit of a gamble, one year lovely so buy that brand the next year & it is rubbish. I could sieve it but I paid for seed compost & want that as busy enough early season without sieving it.

All those plants love warmth and lots of sunlight. I figured for mine that they stopped growing too for a moment when there was too little sunlight and too much clouds. This does not mean they're immediately lost! I just let them stand there a little longer. Often the problem solves itself as the weather changes. If you suspect it is the soil then adding a little bit of fertilizer may solve it. Try a fertilizer that doesn't have the risk of fertilizer burn (it exists) and wait a little before taking further action. Make sure they receive as much sunlight as possible! My larger windows are at the sunny side of the building. If you don't have too many plants you may want to place them at the other side of the building in the morning or in the afternoon, depending on where the sun is.

Hope this is useful

A lot of seed compost these days are just rubbish ,last year early on I had a lot of trouble getting seeds to germinate I binned the compost I was using and went back to John innes no 3 problem went away

I'm having the opposite problem, sowed extras expecting failures and apart from some 2 year old French beans, everything is growing, running out of space for a change. I use popular seed suppliers and regular multi purpose compost instead of seed compost, growing in larger cells/pots, so I can leave seedlings until a bit more established before potting on and the improvement in the plants is pleasing.

Thanks for all the advice, Lots to think about.
For info I have used Wickes compost now for three years, used to buy B&Q verve, but it was full of rubbish! I usually sieve the compost even though it says good for seeds! Never had trouble before. I have tried Innes 3 and found it rubbish! I also sprinkle vermiculite over the seeds. Hopefully with the weather warming now seedlings might be able to catch up a bit.