It’s only been a week since buying the propagator and we’ve had the coldest recorded temperatures this winter. Even so, the sweet peas are already starting to show the first green shoots.
Sweet Peas starting to shoot
They’re only just poking through but at least it shows the propagator is working. Just have to be patient and wait for the chillies to come up.
Also finished off the raised beds, at last. It took a while but I know the effort will be worth it. Can’t wait to get planting, so the plan is that once the sweet peas are big enough they’ll be replaced in the propagator with our first onion sowings (Bedfordshire Champions). We also plan to get the first of the peas (Douce Provence) sown under cover in one of the newly built raised beds. Then there’s the red onions (Long Red Florence), cabbages (Golden Acre, Savoy Miletta) and potatoes (three varieties happily chitting in the conservatory)… Feels like things are going to get pretty busy pretty soon and it’s still only February.
February 13, 2012 at 9:23 am
I’m feeling a bit jealous you’ve got a propagator! Haha, but I feel excited for you! I’ve got some Bedfordshire Champions as well, so I look forward to seeing how each comes out!
Good luck with your year!
February 13, 2012 at 4:10 pm
We never really planned on getting one but it seemed like a good way to get planting despite the temperature outside. The next problem will be knowing what to do with things as they start coming up. I get the feeling the window sills are going to fill up pretty quickly…
February 13, 2012 at 9:35 pm
We too have just acquired a propagator (two actually as wife works at B&Q). We’ve just started planting in it and have found the seeds to get tall very quickly. Have you found the same? I guess its a bit early to call them leggy but I am worried that they are not getting enough light. Just wondering what your experience is?
February 13, 2012 at 10:26 pm
It’s a bit early to tell as we only bought it just over a week ago. I guess the idea is to remove them from the propagator soon after they are up. They should only need the warmth to germinate then be ok as long as they get plenty of light and aren’t exposed to frost. If things start to warm up we will start moving them out to the (unheated) greenhouse.
February 21, 2012 at 12:18 pm
After some reading Matt, books and internet, I remove the seedlings out of the electric propagator once most of them look like they have done germinating. Then they live on the windowsill until potting on time.
February 22, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Most of the seeds seemed to have germinated so we’ve now removed everything from the propagator. The chillies are on the windowsill and the sweet peas, which had started to look a bit leggy, are toughing it out in the greenhouse. We now need to think about what to put in the propagator next.
February 22, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Thanks Simon. I have decided on the same. We don’t have a decent south facing window (terrace house) so I’ve got mine under a fluorescent light with a daylight tube. They are doing really well now but soon they will start to be hardened off and out to the greenhouse