So what exactly is everyone sowing at the moment against the advice on the pack?!

[jools]

About the loo rolls....I have been merrily collecting these. Does it matter if they go mouldy?
Jools

[supersprout]

No jools, the mould is frightening but harmless

[Alison]

*eek* Crickey they're expensive. Think I will try and improvise something similare myself. I tend to keep and recycle most of my pots anyway. Cheers for the links thou,

Was lucky enough to get one of these paper pot things for Christmas - not sure how much it cost and not tried to use it yet , it's a task for this weekend I think but the idea is that it'll make me feel I'm making a difference and save me buying more pots.

[JennieAtkinson]

I quite the like the idea of one of these paper pot things, but worried that the paper would just go sogging with the watering. At least the loo rolls hold out a bit longer. Would be interested to hear if anyone has tried the paper pot variety.

[Lesley Jay]

If my memory serves me right Wizer made newspaper pots and posted instructions and photos about making them.

[Morty_007]

OOh, I have just asked DH for a pot maker for my birthday. Think he is rather relieved to have something to go on this year, I normally don't know what I want!

Thanks for reminding me about them

[lyndap]

I've got alfalfa sprouting at the moment,which if we tell my grandson its cress,he will eat on cheese sandwiches!I'm definatley going to try the pea sprouts.They sound delicious.

[Alice]

Thanks for the pea sprout tip Nick. I'm definately for that one.

[rustylady]

why do they grow weak and spindly inside and if thats the case, should you not sow seeds in a heated green house? Or is there a difference?

Warmth (as in inside your house) = fast growth which always to grow towards the light. If there is not sufficient light, which in the winter there ususally isn't indoors, the plants keep growing due to the warmth and get long and spindly. Heat and light should always be balanced, very tricky to get right, and only happens naturally outdoors. This is why commercial growers use artificial lighting as well as heating.

[Sue]

Jennie
You asked about paper pots, I did manage to master the origami method (Wizer's instructions, thanks LJ) but have to admit I wasn't overkeen, as my greehouse is on the allotment and I can't get up there everyday, the pots have to sit on capillary matting, so coir, terracotta and paper don't work very well. Luckily have never had to buy any but have saved every plastic pot I've been given plus was lucky enough to find a stash in a skip as I find plastic the easiest to work with. I also liked those fiberpots which were ideal for leeks, beans and peas.

And that's a tip, if you see new properties going up wait for the landscape gardeners to move in, there will be pots galore in the skip!

Sue

[pigletwillie]

Moving back to sowing things early and not wishing to dampen anybodies enthusiasm, whilst many things will be fine there are a few seeds that I would urge you to give serious consideration to before sowing.

Whilst it may sound appealling to have very early courgettes or pumpkins etc, do you really have the space to keep a fruiting courgette, frost free until the end of May (ish) considering that the plant will be about the size of a dustbin lid, likewise 6' long pumpkins take some storage to prevent botrytis and wilt.

I have the benefit of a heated growlight lit greenhouse and wouldnt entertain sowing such things until April, one because they will not prosper unless you have heat and light, two, I am too tight to waste £2.50 worth of F1 seeds and three, they would get right in the way of my high value crops such as tomatoes, peppers and chilies. I generally knock out around 500 of those so space is at a premium. The April sown courgettes fall just right for availability of space and they crop at about the same time as my first tomatoes.

Carrots, salads onions and a host of other plants may well flourish, but things like leek may well go to seed if planted to early, something that won't become evident until its too late to replant meaning you can lose a big chunk of your crop to impatience.

[Lesley Jay]

That is excellent advice Piglet.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Was lucky enough to get one of these paper pot things for Christmas - not sure how much it cost and not tried to use it yet , it's a task for this weekend I think but the idea is that it'll make me feel I'm making a difference and save me buying more pots.

I lOVE mine - just wish I had it when I started early last year! Spend many a happy hour in front of the TV making paper pots. The cats love playing with them as well! DDL

[Morty_007]

thank you all for your advice. It's really cleared up some of my confusion. It's also stopped me feeling guilty that I haven't actually had time to sow any more seeds than I already had! LOL! The tomatoes seem to be doing really well in the unheated but bright conservatory now along with the marigolds. The onion sets are loving it out there but I have (maybe misguidedly, i'm sure someone will set me straight) brought the onion seeds in for a little warmth while they germinate and I shall send them back out the minute they pop their heads up. I was a little worried that they were staying too wet and didn't want them to go mouldy.

My feeling is, we aren't going to be self sufficient this year and I'm actually just having fun experimenting for a bit, with no major losses if we end up without a particular veg, just a little disappointment. The seeds cost me about 17p a pack at the end of last season in Wilkinsons so not much lost there!

I am going to resow tomatoes at the proper time anyway, juat in case because I just can't live without my home grown toms but everything else is a bonus.

[silverfork]

paper pots

You don't need a gadget for newspaper pots..... Search for paper pots on here and there are some brilliant instructions with pics. I used them last year for lots of stuff. You can make them different sizes (use broadsheets for sweetcorn and other quick growers that don't like root disturbance). You can bang out a load watching telly, store them flat, and the best thing is they're free.