trouble with cucumber and tomato seeds

[divvy]

Is anyone else having trouble with theirs . I have for the last 2 years. I grew some cucumbers in pots on the kitchen windowsill and I put them out into the greenhouse too early and they died . so I planted some more . They are refusing to germinate .They have been like that for 2 weeks. I have had a poke about and they are still sitting there doing nothing . The hanging tomato's I planted 5 came up of which one keeled over . I planted some more seed and again nothing is happening . It is fresh seed this year .It is warm and sunny on the windowsill and I have cling film over them . I keep the soil slightly damp but not wet . can someone tell me where I'm going wrong . I never had this problem before last year . Thank you.

[Flummery]

Well I couldn't really say without knowing temperatures and whether you bring them into the room at night (it can get really cold on a windowsill). My toms are all doing ok but I will suggest you don't keep them too damp. Seed can rot.

I haven't even sown my cukes yet. Maybe you are a bit early with them? Hope you manage to get something through. I think sometimes people expect things to germinate faster than they do. I never worry about anything until 3 weeks have gone past.

Good luck!

[womble]

What compost are you using?

[Demeter]

My tomatoes did hardly anything until I took them off the windowsill - I realised just how cold it gets by the window at night and that was that. In fact, of 2 different lots, only about 3 seeds germinated. They germinated much much more quickly when offered a bit of warmth!

Cukes - mine came up quite quickly but last year they were very slow. How deeply are they planted? Last year my 3yo planted the seed and they were right at the bottom of a standard 3" pot (!!) also they were in a cold greenhouse which even though it was later in spring was not as warm as the ones I sowed a couple of weeks ago in a windowsill (unheated) propagator.

So I vote for not warm enough, or possibly too deeply sown.

[coreopsis]

I'm still waiting for tomatoes to come.Never had a problem with cukes-they poke their heads out after just a few days

[divvy]

I planted them in gen compost in 3 in pots about 1/2 an inch deep . I keep them just damp . The windowsill is warm all the time as they are in the kitchen with the aga and it's about 21 deg all the time. Since my last post one hanging tomato has shown but still no cucumbers. I have cling film over the pots too.

[Flummery]

Half an inch seems a bit deep to me. I just cover therm with compost.

[Demeter]

Have you been in and checked how warm it is on the windowsill late at night? I only ask because I thought my windowsill would be fine but one night I did an inspection and it was much colder than I had assumed it would be.

And when you say the soil is damp, do you mean the soil is damp all the way down (so the pot / tray feels heavy) or are you just looking at whether the surface is still damp?

Sorry if these seem like idiot questions. It's just that, apart from that, I'm stumped! Even if 1/2" is a bit deep for toms the cukes should have come up.

(My best tomato germination this year was when I sprinkled some on top of the compost out of frustration and did not cover them at all - this was about a week ago and they began to germinate and grow within 2 days and now I have some fine healthy-looking seedlings just getting true leaves!)

Oh - final question, how many seeds did you sow? I have never had a cuke fail to germinate yet, but even my best efforts with toms have resulted in no better than about 50% germination, usually less.

[divvy]

When I said 1/2 inch deep I meant the cucs . The tomato are just lightly covered . I planted 6 cuc seeds and got one plant . I did another 6 seeds 2 weeks ago and have got nothing so far . I put the last of the tomato seeds in a pot about 2 weeks ago and yesterday I found 3 seedlings just coming up .yeh .

[miffy]

I don't grow tomatoes so i am sorry can't give you advice re those. However i have grown some outdoor cucumbers this year, i gave mine a head start in a heated propogator with the lid off when they started to show i took them out and put them in a sunny place but not on the window sill as it would have been too cold that seemed to do the trick.
I used a peat less multi purpose compost for them with some sand mixed in so it wasn't too claggy for them.
Hope yours come up soon. Keep us posted.

[mendacious dog]

Oh - final question, how many seeds did you sow? I have never had a cuke fail to germinate yet, but even my best efforts with toms have resulted in no better than about 50% germination, usually less.

I've become quite interested in this over the last few weeks. Last year I grew Gardener's Delight and San Marzano and had a fairly similar germination rate, and I did sew a lot of seeds. This year I somehow (long story) ended up with two F1 types - Suncherry and Ferline if memory serves. Eight seeds in the first packet and nine in the second. However I now have seventeen 3-4" high seedlings - the first time ever I have had a 100% germination rate (and typically of course I dont have room for seventeen triffids! )

So am I just getting better at growing tomatoes, is the improved weather over last year a factor or are these F1s genuinely much more reliable at germination?

Woof

[Two_Sheds]

are these F1s genuinely much more reliable at germination?

they are meant to be, yes. At that price, they ought to be!

[mendacious dog]

they are meant to be, yes. At that price, they ought to be!

Yeah - although part of the long story alluded to above was that I finally got them at a bargain price of 50p per packet. In this particular instance, they cost less than the non-hybrid ones did! If I can swap a single seedling for (lets say) a Mars Bar then I could be in profit...

Woof

[divvy]

UPDATE . I have one cuc growing , out of 6 seeds . It popped it's head up yesterday .I have high hopes for the rest now .

[Demeter]

UPDATE . I have one cuc growing , out of 6 seeds . It popped it's head up yesterday .I have high hopes for the rest now .

Woop!
Good news