Complete Novice - Silly Questions needing answering please

[domart]

Hi everyone i am completely new to all this and have over the autumn and winter made some raised beds and tended a patch furthur down the garden along with buying anyones pots within a 50 miles radius from ebay lol so i have quite a few and i have purchased all my seeds and read lots and lots and even have a number of seed trays on windowsills at home shooting nicely but there are a number of questions if you could help please

1. When do you know when the last frosts have been (i look at the long range forecast for the next 10days and it shows no frost!!

2.In my seed trays i have had success with my radishs cabbages and broad beans but my early tomatos and chillis have been in 2 weeks now with no shoots - does that mean its a failure

3.Sweetcorn - how many cobs per plant would you expect ?

Oh im sure i have many more questions which ill frustrate you all with

Thanks in advance

[SarahStrawberry]

Hi Domart

No silly questions here

I don't know where you are in the country so it's difficult to answer about frosts.

I can only really help with the sweetcorn question. I get 1 or 2 cobs from each plant and I usually grow Incredible as a variety in the polytunnel. If one is really massive then the other one is usually not properly filled but as long as it tastes good that's fine by me.

I'm sure more knowledgeable grapes will be along soon to answer as well.

[domart]

Thanks for your reply - i have now updated my location im in East Yorkshire

[Bren In Pots]

1. When do you know when the last frosts have been (i look at the long range forecast for the next 10days and it shows no frost!!

Hello and welcome to the vine Domart have a look at this website :-

Gardening and weather and set your location to get the first and last frost dates.

[Jeanied]

Have a look at this thread about last frost dates
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ost_26178.html

You need to give your tomatoes and chillies a lot more heat than the other seeds you sowed.

[domart]

Thanks Bren - great link have quite a while yet then lol - i have bout some polytunnel cloches will things be able to go in there a little earlier as they warm the soil up ??

[domart]

Jeanied thanks also so ill keep faith in the toms and chillis and make sure they get in a warmer spot

[Kristen]

1. When do you know when the last frosts have been (i look at the long range forecast for the next 10days and it shows no frost!!

Beware that there may still be frosts after the "last frost date", and even if there aren't it may be cold enough to make tender plants "sulk"

My last frost date is end April, I rarely plant out tender plants until the very end of May (but I have a greenhouse, so I am able to bring them on in pots and then plant out when the soil is warming up, and night temperatures are not dropping to chilly levels)

Even so, we have had frost in June, so I have some fleece handy to cover things if that happens.

2.In my seed trays i have had success with my radishs cabbages and broad beans but my early tomatos and chillis have been in 2 weeks now with no shoots - does that mean its a failure

Tomatoes should be up in a few days, Chillies take quite a bit longer - 2 weeks would not surprise me. Both need reasonable warmth to germinate though, as Jeanied said - I reckon they need 20C

3.Sweetcorn - how many cobs per plant would you expect ?

I grow Swift (which as you might expect!! has a relatively short growing period, so matures well in the short UK Summer) and I rarely get more than one cob. The plants are much shorter than traditional sweet corn, so it doesn't really have much high for more cobs.

[Two_Sheds]

Chillies take quite a bit longer - 2 weeks would not surprise me.

The warmer they are, the quicker they come up. On average mine are up in 11 days in the heated prop, and I've just had some pop up after 35 days on an unheated windowsill (room temp is probably about 16c)

[domart]

Great replies everyone thank you eased my worries!!

[Florence Fennel]

Keep trawling through the threads Domart, you'll find loads of advice and information. There are no daft questions when you're starting out, so never be afraid to ask away. Oh, and welcome to the Vine, Happy Growing.

[Jono]

Hey Domart, welcome to the site.

Have you tried the tomatos and chillis in an airing cupboard? Lots of people put their pots in there until the seeds germinate.

[roadkill]

I wait till the end of may to plant outside i also start planting about April in the greenhouse