First set-back...

[Bermejo]

Hi guys,

I moved into my new house last Autumn and for the first time I have a little garden of my own so wanted to have a vegetable plot.

I had planted some Cayenne and Padr�n in trays on my kitchen counter on the 14th Feb, lovingly taking care of them for ages. They had just started sprouting their 2nd true leaves, so I put them in my conservatory thinking now they are going to need more light than my kitchen can take.

Went into my conservatory this afternoon and it was like leaving a pizza in the oven too long, it was 41 degrees! I was like ... how did this happen??? it's been cloudy all week.

Anyway, they are roasted to a crisp, nothing but stalks and crunchy leaves. I'm devastated lol pathetic I know but it's taken a month to just ... destroy all that work in a day.

My questions are: will they pull back do you think or is it a lost cause?

And how do you guys do your seedlings? How do you get enough light and not ... roast stuff in your conservatories and stuff ? :'(

Also, is it too late to plant more? Someone said peppers had to be done early (which is why I did it in Feb...) ... is there any point?

Also, a couple of days ago I planted a bunch of 3" pots with toms and sweet peppers, and a couple of 5" pots with cues and melons...

Basically, how do I avoid making the same mistake? Should I leave the windows open in the day, but if I leave them open over night I might get frost...

Cover the damn things so they get more ambient light than in my kitchen but no direct sunlight????

I am so lost -.- I don't want to give up, but I'm definitely not "green-fingered".

[muddled]

one down.....several thousand to go!
We ALL make mistakes like that...not just at the beginning but (certainly in my case) every year....although, you probably won't make that particular error again for a while.

So, I think that those seedlings sound pretty doomed....you could give them a week or so to see if they pick up, but prepare yourself for disappointment just in case

Meanwhile....if you have them, sow some more.
My chillis haven't germinated yet so you won't be alone and if we have a long, late summer you and I will be be inundated with peppers.
Even if the summer isn't great, we'll have the chance to overwinter a couple of plants to get a headstart on next season

In future, yes, traipse your seedlings out to the greenhouse in the morning, opening window and door.....and bring them back indoors at night. Its all a bit of a faff which is why mine are sown later (and I fully expect them to catch up).

Onwards and upwards Bermejo....the seasons just beginning and by the October this setback will just be a distant memory.....I promise!

[WendyC]

So disappointing isn't it. My kittens ate my cucumber seedlings once when I'd left them unattended for less than a minute. I've cooked seedlings too. Still lesson learnt. I am a a bit concerned that you have sown your cucumbers and melons a tad early. They grow quickly but can't go outside to late May or June.

[MarkPelican]

Sow some more, you've plenty of time yet. I have just sown my greenhouse tomatoes. When they germinate, I will traipse them in and out of the greenhouse day and night until they've a couple of good leaves when they'll go into plug trays and stay outside covered over at night.

Its a little risky as (in general) plants like to be above 10C at all times so if you've smaller numbers, bring them in and out.

I've found the best pots to use are square ones, you can get 15 7cm square pots into a seedtray so it significantly reduces the number of trips you have to make. (I get 54 plugs to a tray so when I want to bring them inside that reduces the number of trips).

One thing, in my opinion, you should always sow seeds in small pots (3inch/7cm) and pot them up when they are large enough. If you sow into larger pots the compost can go off before the plant gets its roots into the compost. Also you reduce the amount of compost you use (and waste on those that don't germinate).

[Gillykat]

Good advice from everyone above I did exactly the same thing last year which was my first year of growing vegetables - managed to fry some melons to a crisp (never realised the greenhouse would get so hot!) and drown my peppers and cucumbers by over-watering

No doubt this year I'll make MANY different mistakes It IS frustrating when you've nurtured these babies for a few weeks and then one hot day nukes them to oblivion but don't give up (((HUGS))) Say a few choice words then sow some more seeds

[Potstubsdustbins]

And Welcome to the madhouse........................

[Bermejo]

Thanks guys.

Great advice, glad to know it happens.

Will try again.

On cucumbers, I thought they were meant to go out first week of May, so only 6-7 weeks? Oh dear.

[Nicos]

Hi there....and welcome to the Vine
Out of interest, where abouts are you located( roughly)?
I'm thinking about your approx last frost dates etc.

Oh...and if it's any consolation, you're not the only person who isn't naturally green fingered , but you'll soon pick up useful tricks of the trade

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine

As said already don't panic mistakes happen it is a case of try, try and try again I don't remember ever cooking any plants but most years I either sow to early, drown some and there is usually something that gets sacrificed to frost (ever the optimist that the frost has been)

Stick around the vine. I have done various bits of gardening for a few years but the vine really has helped me and also challenged me to do so much more. It is a bit soppy but it is great to be a part of the vine

[lolie]

I did exactly the same thing last weekend to my carefully nurtured seedlings.

It can be really discouraging.

I have a thermometer in my mini-greenhouse and I noticed the other day that the temperature inside it jumped 20C in just over an hour as the sun moved position. No wonder my some of my seedlings fried last weekend when I was out for only a couple of hours.

It might be a good idea to put a cheap thermometer in your conservatory so that you know what temperatures are under different conditions - how cool is it getting when closed of a night and how hot is it with the windows open compared to the windows closed?

It will change as the season progresses and be different on sunny days compared to cloudy days but you'll get a feel for the difference between outside temperature and the temperature in your conservatory and when it's going to be too hot or too cold for the seedlings to be in there.

[DannyK]

That's the trouble with most conservatories. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter.

Beware direct sun on enclosed spaces. My propagator went to over 40 deg due to sun. Moved it to shadier place.

Yesterday it was 10 outside and 27 in green house.

Trouble is you can't leave windows open when you are out.

I rigged a crude air con by hanging a wet towel over a chair with one end in bowl of water and then aiming fan at it.

[Lisasbolt]

Helcome to the vine, i must admit i have done that on more than one occasion. There will so many mistakes and things that are out of your control. I was going to have a mad chilli year but i had a major problem with aphids which have taken most of the plants, i have re done some seeds and they are just popping through now.
If you do some more, soak them over night it might help you gain a couple of days.
My grandma used to say do not plant out till May is out.

Good luck.

[Kirk]

Go and sow some more. Half of mine have germinated and half have not, half expected it as some of the seed was a bit old, so I have just ordered a few additional varieties. Now I know to just throw the previous lot out.

I know it is sort of tempting to move them to somewhere "better" but I have the approach that they are doing fine where they are so leave them to get a bit substantial.

Concerning cucumbers having to go out at some given time - that "rule" was written by a human who sits in a centrally heated house looking out through a window at their garden, it was not written by a cucumber (well I doubt it was). So don't take it overly seriously. If this year is anything like last year then just about everytime of the year will be wrong.

[lolie]

Concerning cucumbers having to go out at some given time - that "rule" was written by a human who sits in a centrally heated house looking out through a window at their garden, it was not written by a cucumber (well I doubt it was). So don't take it overly seriously. If this year is anything like last year then just about everytime of the year will be wrong.

Yep, and even if you ignore times and try to plant by conditions instead there are going to be some years where you never get the right conditions (summer was like that here last year and winter this year looks like being the same - so 12 months straight of conditions being wrong for most vegies).

[Bermejo]

Thanks for the advice.

By the way, can I ask something else. Do you have any rules of thumb for moisture in pots? Sometimes I water and it feels too wet, then I leave it and the top dries out. I leave the pots in 1/2" of water in the propagator in the hope it will soak through.

By the way, I'm in Sevenoaks, Kent.