themagnoliatreeblog

Those little seeds sown only a few days ago have sprouted quite a bit. I restricted the number of seeds sown, some I had to because I had shared seeds with friends and kept just enough for myself. Having seeds left at the end of the season and not having the space for them all is the problem, it was an issue in the past because I like trying the different varieties of tomato. I have been a bit disappointed that some of the varieties of seeds don’t appear to have the best germination although most of them, have 100% success but out of all the little trays, Sweet Aperitif and Rosella are the slowest and at the moment, not all sown, have shown their little heads. Only about 50% of the home harvested sweet pea seeds have sprouted but I have plenty of seeds to fill the gaps until I get what I want.

Black Russian seedlings

Sweet Pea seedlings

I decided to remove the covers of the propagator trays and switch off the heating below them. The seedlings were getting a bit leggy so I am trying to slow them down a little bit. They were cosy in their little nurseries as embryos but now they are sprouting toddlers. Some are just showing their first true leaves, so there is some time to go before they reach the next stage. There is a sense of pride in seeing the little green family develop and worrying when there are teething problems with them. I don’t like to give up on any of them and I have seen, what you might describe as, the runt of the litter, be a late developer and carry on to provide a decent crop.

At the moment I am bottle-feeding the seedlings. I find an ordinary drinks bottle with a spray head attached ideal for watering the seedlings. Watering them also means the houseplants get a drink as well. Those poor plants often get forgotten about but as long as the seedlings are there, the plants begin to look healthy.

The weather is still at freezing point in our area and I do need to get the greenhouse ready for the next stage in the little seedlings’ lives. It heats up nicely during the day but is bitterly cold at night, however, it makes it easier for me to keep them indoors for the sake of watering them. I am just as tender as they are when it comes to sub-zero temperatures.

Why not visit my other blog  Grannysattic