Must hold myself back on sowing tomatoes

[richard p]

im picking chickweed at the moment, its growing happilly outside, sows itsself dont need touching until its picked, lovely in a ham sandwich , supposed to be very high in vitamin c

[Mike Vogel]

Yes, lettuces are a different kettle of fish altogether. Some last all through the winter, including American Land Cress, and as for rocket, once the weather is warm and dry it wilts.

For what it's worth, as I know peppers and aubergines need a long season, I am bringing some seed compost indoors tonight, to bring it up to room temp, and will sow some of the seeds I have in modules for germinating indoors. Once they are germinated, I intend to let them grow on a bit, then pot on and cover each pot with a polythene bag. They will be kept in my little unheated greenhouse by day and indoors at night. The polythene bags will be removed mid-May when I put them in their final pots / planting places in May. Some I'll put in the allotment in june.

I still expect JB to tell me I'm early with the sowing and he's probably right. I won't sow toms till March.

good luck

mike

[Johnboy]

Hi Mike,
Certainly Peppers and Aubergines take a lot longer to raise than Tomatoes.
The place for Aubergines is Scotland. There the commercial growers have the plants raised abroad (and probably in the other hemisphere) because during our summer there is a lot longer daylight. So it is not length of time but it is also light levels and day length that you have to take into consideration.
JB.

[Marge]

Ta for all the advice. Mind you I just cannot bring myself to dump such lovely seedlings (I probably shouldn't get so attached but there you go ), I shall keep potting them on and promise not to plant them out until the frost has well and truly gone - honest gov'nr!

[Mike Vogel]

Marge, you might get away with that by planting the seedlings deep when youpot on. Then, as Johnboy and others have hinted with regard to rooting suckers, these seedlings might start forming roots where a node meets the soil and so you'll find the stem not growing quite so straggly as the plants energy goes into forming those roots. But BEWARE!! That is simply a guess on my part. I know it works quite well in planting out brassicas because some books I've read say so [and of course i believe everything I read in books].

Anyhow, you could use some of your early sowings to experiment with in that way.

mike