When would you give up?

[Laney]

Perhaps I'm just impatient, me staring at the pots every ten minutes is probably putting them off growing, they don't do it when anybody's watching, and me willing them to sprout isn't working either!

Hee hee I'm exactly the same...! I've been digging up comfrey roots just to see what's happening lol Yesterday I had a little looksie at some squash seeds, and discovered a lovely white root sticking out! Woo hoo! I was just geeeently popping it back in and felt a little pop :-O I just covered it up, can't bring myself to look. (It's worse than pressies under the tree, I can't help myself just staring at them...wondering...) :-/

[Scarlet]

Ssquash !!!! They will be huge before the weather is warm enough for them to go outside. I don't start of squash until April at the earliest...usually May

[Laney]

Yes but I'm neeeewwww and impatient and they're pretty little yellow patty pan ones, said "early" on the description, and I'm in Cornwall. And I have glass cloches I want to try. Those are my excuses anyhow! Besides, I've only used 7 seeds so have 8 left for when it all goes horribly wrong :-)

I have tomato seed envy now, thanks for the fab advice on this thread for growing thick stems!

[ancee]

I'll stick my oar in too on your next sowing - you may be better sowing in small trays or singularly in trays with small cells. You can then keep these warm, inthe airing cupboard, on top of the fridge etc. when they have sprouted you can move them up to those larger cups and pot them on deeper if they've got a little leggy.

Why's that then Scarlet? Do they not like bigger pots? I've put a few in each tub, oh, and guess what, this morning I have a very small tomato shoot and a tomatillo! Yes! : D

[Kristen]

Do they not like bigger pots?

I hesitate to answer as I suspect I'm answering the wrong question - i.e. one you already know the answer to. Apologies if that is the case

I sow in trays and prick out into small (1" square) modules, and then pot on to 9cm. At that point I plant out usually, but for things like Tomatoes I pot on progressively to 1L, 2L and maybe 3L before planting out (in greenhouse, sometime in May). If I was growing in containers I would probably pot on to 5L and then a final container about 12" diameter. (Growbags and other options available of course)

The principle is that the plant has only the soil around it that it needs. It forms a dense rootball in that soil, and then when potted on successively (increasing about an inch radius each time - although more once bigger pot sizes are reached) the dense rootball extends into the fresh compost. If planted straight into a large pot the roots head straight out to the sides and don't form anything like such a dense rootball mass, thus fewer roots to absorb water and food.

Another issue is that a small plant in a large pot has a lot (relatively) of soil. When watering that soil gets wet and it takes the, small, plant a long time to drink all the water. A high water content in the soil reduces the amount of air / oxygen in the soil, and that can lead to rot. Much harder to get the watering right in that situation - or put another way: very easy to over water.

Final issue, for me at least, is space! Early in the season I have lots of seedlings, and the greenhouse is soon full. Potting on successively allowed me to only devote the space to a plant that it needs and, hopefully!, some things will have moved out of the greenhouse before other small plants need bigger pots and more space.

[ancee]

Well. Patience has paid off. I have sproutlings in many tubs! Yay! I have decided, for now, to leave the none show-ers. I don't need the space they occupy yet. So they have a few more weeks to get their acts together. It must've been a heat problem, or possibly the sun we've been finally having has made them decide to show their faces. I do wish these dogs would stop guffing!