Now or Later?

[Newbie]

Hello

I am absolutely itching to start sowing my seeds but i am off on holls for 12 days mid april so will have no-one to tend to me seedlings for me whilst i'm away.

Do i start planting now & risk my little babies withering & dying whilst i'm away or do i sit on my hands & start sowing as soon as i come back but risk falling behind & things like pumpkins / squash / tomatoes not having long enough to ripen? Or could i just bung them in the ground before i go, like i'm going to do with my potatoes & hope for the best?

My "to sow" list looks like this:

French beans - neckargold & Bluelake & 2 lots of dwarf something
Beetroot - Bolthardy
Squash - Wee bee little, Butternut & Festival
Chilli - Hot Mexican
Leek - Bandit
Pak Choi - Canton Dwarf
Tomato - Red Robin, Sub Arctic Plenty & Gardener's delight
Cucumber - Marketmore
Courgette - green & yellow - can't remember varieties off hand
Sweetcorn - Swift (i think)
Lettuce - Little gem

By the way, i don't have a greenhouse.

Thanks for your help...xxx

[wayne]

hi newbie, looks like you got a real dilema! are you sure you carnt get someone to water them?... i guess if you use capilary matting and give everything a good soak plus keep out of direct sunlight that will dry em out real fast. you could also try experimenting now with the pots and soil youre going to use and see how long they take to dry,maybe will give you a rough idea?
good luck

[zazen999]

Hi there fellow East Midlander...

I would put them into some distinct groups and treat them differently.

Sow outside, and put some sort of cloche over them if you can - they might survive and there are usually plenty of seeds in these packets for you to resow if they don't:
Pak Choi - Canton Dwarf
Lettuce - Little gem
Beetroot - Bolthardy

tip for cheap cloche: upside down clear plastic storage box. Put a couple of bricks on the top to weight it down and drill a couple of holes for air circulation.

Sow inside and you could pretty much leave alone whilst you are away, if you leave them somewhere cool and give them a good watering before you go.:
French beans - neckargold & Bluelake & 2 lots of dwarf something [I might add a few of these to the above category just in case the weather is fine, but keep a few indoors if it isn't]
Leek - Bandit

leave until you get back, these need alot of water and are sensitive to the cold:
Cucumber - Marketmore
Courgette - green & yellow - can't remember varieties off hand
Sweetcorn - Swift (i think)
Squash - Wee bee little, Butternut & Festival


Sow now, and let someone look after them whilst you are away:
Chilli - Hot Mexican
Tomato - Red Robin, Sub Arctic Plenty & Gardener's delight
If you haven't got anyone, pm me and I can look after them for you for the 12 days - as long as there's only a few of pots of each!!! [by that I mean you haven't sowed the whole lot and have 50 of each needing to be looked after - the OH would go bonkers]. PM me if you need me - we come to Nottingham about every 3 days on average, so it's easily done!

Another tip for you; sow little and often. It extends the season and if the earlier ones do die then you still have the next batch on the way ready to take their places. My Oh never does this and it drives me crazy!

Or, you could sow some of all of them [except the fragile squashes and sweetcorn] every few weeks, and some the day before you leave, and hope for the best. Depends on how much space you have around the house.

Whatever you do, hope you have a fab holiday!

[Newbie]

Thanks very much Zazen999 (and Wayne), breaking them down into groups makes me feel a whole lot better about it! And fab tip for the cloche - would never have throught of that! I do have some of that fleece stuff though so i may put the beetroot, pak choi & lettuce in before i go, along with my potatoes

I may sow a couple of chillis & tomatoes now too, so they have a chance to get growing before i go. our neighbours have offered to tend to our post so i'm sure they won't mind watering a few houseplants & seedlings!

Thanks very much for your offer though - you're very kind. It really is quite heart warming how many lovely, kind people there are on this forum.

[Flummery]

You can get away with not sowing many of those things until after April. Beans and squashes for instance, I don't sow until mid- april for the first sowing - successional sowings can follow. Our neighbour lost all his toms in the flooding in June and sowed again straight away - he got a later but good crop. I'd be tempted to sow a few things to try to keep going but pretend to yourself you are successional sowing (not doing the first sowing) when you get back. You'll get good but not early crops. They will grow a bit quicker overall because the weather will be warmer. Don't panic. Enjoy yourself wherever you're off to!

[momol]

I would sow only some chili now and the rest later as chili grow slowly. Toms do grow pretty fast and some type germinate very fast too ( my Cherry toms germinated in 3 days by the windowsill, without propagator). If your neighbour is willing to water them that it will be safe to germinate some toms too .
Enjoy your holiday .

[Newbie]

Ok, i've been brave and sowed 4 chilli seeds (Hot Mexican) and 3 tomato seeds (Red Robin). At least i now feel like i've made a start on the seasons veg growing and don't feel left out!