Seed help

[Annmarie1988]

Hi, we are new to having an allotment so still not sure about quite a lot. About 5 weeks ago we planted our seeds for cucumbers, leeks, tomatoes and cabbage. The packets said that they were fine to put in a green house. The seeds haven't started, not a single one. I was wondering if the seeds had died due to the extreme cold we have had here in Yorkshire. Any help would be appreciated

[veggiechicken]

Hi Annmarie and welcome.
Its too cold outside, even in a greenhouse, to germinate cucumbers and tomatoes. You might be lucky with cabbage and leeks though.
There's a good chart in https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ion_93787.html which shows the effect of temperature on germination rates for various seeds. Cukes and toms like 70F + at a time whilst your GH temperature overnight will be around freezing.

[Snoop Puss]

Well, cabbages might just about have germinated by now and I always find leeks take longer than I expect, but it's been far too cold for the others. Seed packet instructions have to cover a wide range of circumstances, from Cornwall up to the north of Scotland. So the dates cover a long time span. For north Yorkshire, I think you might have been a bit early.

If you're keen to get a head start on things like tomatoes, you could consider a heated propagator. Likewise for cucumbers, but they grow at such a rate that, to be honest you're probably better off waiting a bit, otherwise you're going to have to find quite a bit of space for them before it's safe to put them out. Tomatoes, for example, need at least 10 ºC, not just in the daytime but at night too.

There are lots of growing guides here:
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/how-to-grow

They might help you work out when to start sowing in relation to your last frost date.

Meanwhile, welcome to the Vine. Lots of friendly folk here. If you need more information about a specific vegetable that isn't covered in the growing guides, check using the search facility or start a thread in the appropriate part of the forum.

[Annmarie1988]

I was thinking it was too cold but I was wanting to get started. Will the seeds germinate or should I write them off as duds?

[veggiechicken]

Sow some more in pots indoors. You can leave the others in the GH - they "may" do something?

[Annmarie1988]

Thank you for your replies. I'll give bringing them indoors a go, anything is worth a try

[SarrissUK]

Yeah I'd bring them in to the house. I'm sowing tomatoes and chillis tomorrow, and they'll be placed on all surfaces that I have near windows in my front room, dining room, kitchen, and all the bedrooms lol

[Bigmallly]

Cucumbers are grumpy beggars, you only have to look at them & they start sulking, so start them off indoors until the weather warms up a bit, then harden them off by putting them outside for short periods.

[Annmarie1988]

Our flat doesn't have any window sills, the windows are very odd and we only get natural light in the living room so space is limited for propagators but I have squeezed a few in. I brought home the cucumbers and tomatoes. I did notice that the cabbages have tiny little shoots, so small you could miss them haha. Thanks for all the advice, we have only had the allotment since September and combined with family issues and bad weather we haven't got very far but fingers crossed for some good weather.

[Annmarie1988]

A quick update, the cabbages and leeks have started. Really happy and to be honest we are just winging it this year. Both of us don't have much gardening experience so at last I finally I feel like we are getting somewhere

[nickdub]

If you're short on space one tip is to start the seeds in small plastic boxes with just some damp kitchen roll at the bottom, mostly they don't need light at this stage, so I put them in the airing-cupboard. They can go in to slightly colder conditions once they've germinated.

You do have to keep a good eye on them though - one day they may be just sitting there and the next they'll have a long root sticking out.

Of course when things do finally warm up its a lot easier to sow stuff directly outside.