Is anyone else ridiculously optimistic?

[snohare]

WHY OH WHY DO I CHECK FOR GERMINATION IN SEEDS THAT HAVE BEEN SOWN LESS THAN 24 HOURS EARLIER?

Hi, my name is snohare, I too am a seedaholic...
It's a real problem, the first thing I do in the morning is draw back the kitchen curtains. I pretend to myself it is so I can see the birds outside, but somehow the first thing I do is look eagerly at where I sowed that tiny sprouting apple seed.
Recently I have taken to going out into the snowdrifts near my house with a tiny little icecream scoop like you get at the cinema, and painstakingly picking up seeds that have been shaken out of the birch trees above onto the snow below. I now check the florists bucket I put them into every time I go in or out of the door ! The other day as I skied along the river bank I spotted a pine seed below a Scots pine; from then on I skied hunched over, hoping to gain a free forest.
It's getting worse. If I see a potato, a carrot, salsify or a parsnip with little green sprouts, even if it is the last one my first thought is not can I eat it, it is, "Hmm, where can I plant that ? What kind of offspring would I get from the seeds ?"
I blame it all on a three-tier seed sprouter I picked up in a thrift shop. Ever since I learned that you can get roots and leaves in three days...
Still, I suppose I must just be thankful. If I worked in a hardware store I am sure by now I would be planting the nuts...

[Comfreyfan]

Surely this is normal behaviour?

[Incy]

I'm surrounded by seedlings and propagators as my office is (usually) the only place safe from kittens. This means that they are monitored constantly

[snohare]

Actually, I think there is a good reason why we all do this. Seriously. It really is a survival skill !
If you can, imagine the multitude of variables that were affecting the environment around stone age man. He could not predict a single thing on the basis of understanding processes; all he could do was observe what happened in minute detail, and try to link cause and effect. Or at the least, try to predict on the basis of things that happen more or less consecutively. Molehills popping up all over the place suddenly ? Songbirds fighting hard over food bushes ? Here comes a spell of hard winter weather...Watch carefully and use your brain to make connections, or die. Primitive ? Yes, but not stupid.
So when he (or more likely I think, she) started to grow plants, watching what conditions affected the seeds or tubers was a vital part of the process. The soil dried out ? Ah, maybe that's why the parsnips never germinated...

[binley100]

P******s Where did they come from .......mine are still in their packets.

[winstonwobble]

I am so glad that there are others my family think im bonkers i even have a phone round to inform everybody when i see those lovely little shoots pushing through

[Snadger]

Surely this is normal behaviour?

If you're a grape!

[Bren In Pots]

This morning my first broad bean popped his head out of the soil, it really made my day.

[gorgeousgrower]

Mine too.... I keep tapping the droplets of the prop lids. Don't know why......

I do this too and when my 4 yr old little girl asks me what I'm doing I really don't know what to say

My OH thinks I'm a bit crazy too - when we finished our special M&S valentine's meal I looked lovingly at the square plastic pot which housed the scrummy pud I'd just devoured - OH said "I s'pose you're gonna grow something in that?" .... "ummmmmm" I said as I popped them both in the dishwasher

[COMPOST CORNER]

Glad it's not just me then.

Mine too.... I keep tapping the droplets of the prop lids. Don't know why......

I thought I did it to keep the soil moist, but now I'm not sure, I may do it because I rememember my Grandad doing it when I was a kid.

[OllieMartin]

Its expectant father syndrome!

I read that as 'Expectant Farmer Syndrome'!

[enrich100]

Would looking looking more than twice a day be classed as excessive?
If so I'm guilty as charged

[ginger ninger]

It never ceases to amaze me how we sow these seeds so lovingly, how we check on them when its cold, we water them when there thirsty, shade them when there too warm and move them around to catch the most light.
We get very excited when they poke there first seed leaves through the compost, phoning or texting peeps to tell them our good news, those of us that grow tomatoes, always touch there leaves and smile with wonder at how the smallest of them smell...well, like a tomato .
As they grow we can't wait to pot them on into bigger pots, looking at there strong roots and there ever expanding new growth.
Then comes the time when we have to plant them into the big wide world (garden or allotment), hoping they don't get nibbled by caterpillars or invaded by greenfly/black fly.
And when every thing goes right we sit at the table with a plate of fruit or veg and hold our head up, smile and say..."I grew that"

[binley100]

It never ceases to amaze me how we sow these seeds so lovingly, how we check on them when its cold, we water them when there thirsty, shade them when there too warm and move them around to catch the most light.
We get very excited when they poke there first seed leaves through the compost, phoning or texting peeps to tell them our good news, those of us that grow tomatoes, always touch there leaves and smile with wonder at how the smallest of them smell...well, like a tomato .
As they grow we can't wait to pot them on into bigger pots, looking at there strong roots and there ever expanding new growth.
Then comes the time when we have to plant them into the big wide world (garden or allotment), hoping they don't get nibbled by caterpillars or invaded by greenfly/black fly.
And when every thing goes right we sit at the table with a plate of fruit or veg and hold our head up, smile and say..."I grew that"

Well said that grape. Hear hear......

[Pumpkin Becki]

I read that as 'Expectant Farmer Syndrome'!

I guess that would work too Boss