marigolds

[kittykat8]

I put marigolds in my propargator late sunday afternoon, they have poped up by a good inch or so Is this normal, the shallots or peppers have not popped through

marion

[supersprout]

I put marigolds in my propargator late sunday afternoon, they have poped up by a good inch or so Is this normal, the shallots or peppers have not popped through

marion

Must have been good seeds kitty!

[roitelet]

Hi Kitty,

It's not at all unusal for marigolds to 'pop' quickly. I take it you are talking about ordinary marigolds? I plant them as insect deterrent and they self seed and unless it is very cold they keep on popping up all over the place.A weed really but a pretty and useful one

[vicki lorraine]

Kitty, I also planted some seeds on saturday and they too are up. I am succession sowing (sowing every 4 weeks) just in case the weather does not warm up in time for planting out. The only down side to the seeds germinating so quickly is that they will require planting out sooner. If you have any seeds left i suggest you sow some more in about 3 weeks time to prevent this being a problem... If the plants from the first sowing are ok and you are able to plant them out (weather permitting) you can always give away any of the extras from the succession sowing.
Have you seen the thread which gives a recepie for calendula cream. Your marigolds would be ideal.

[kittykat8]

marigolds

my aim is to grow marigolds for the polytunnel and outside for carrot fly. Are there problems getting bees into the polytunnel

marion

[vicki lorraine]

dont have a polytunnel of my own but have heard other grapes saying about poor polination in tunnels. Perhaps the marigolds will attract them in. Hopefully other grapes will have more advice.
Do check out the thread for calendula cream it will be an excellent byproduct. You can find it on the forum for the herb garden.

[Alice]

Hello Kittykat, I'm not surprised the marigolds germinated so quickly. Very easy to grow. Sure fire for kids. They are quite hardy and will sometimes get right through the winter BUT not the seedlings. Now you have them you will have to protect them from cold and frost, or, sadly, accept you were too early and scrap them and start again later. What a choice .

[wellie]

Hi Kittykat,
Borage is what you want to grow in your polytunnel to attract the bees in, or Poached Egg Plant (yellow and white annual flower). The bees adore both of these plants.

[Sue]

Wellie
I planted some poached egg plants last year and I've got seedlings everywhere! Don't really mind as it was very pretty and the hover flies loved it but am amazed at its hardiness and ability to travel
Sue

[sewer rat]

Kittykat8
You can buy bumblebee boxes to assist in pollinating the plants in your polytunnel - which is exactly what it sounds like - a box containing bumblebees - actually it is more of a hive / nesting box for them. Cannot remember exactly where I have seen them advertised though

[Alice]

Be careful with poached egg plant. There's no end to its fecundity. It seeds absolutely everywhere and very hard to get rid of in places where you don't want it. Very pretty though.

[wellie]

I agree - Poached Eggs everywhere !! Particularly good though if they're anywhere near your flowering Broad Beans, as it can be difficult to attract bees to a certain spot that early in the year.