Early sowings without a greenhouse

[Laura Hillier]

Hi Everyone,

Looking ahead (as we do) we have been thinking about early sowings for next season.

Greenhouses are obviously a huge help when it comes to starting off those early-season crops, but those of you who don't have one at your disposal, how do you get ahead? Where do you grow these first crops?

Answers may be edited and published in the February issue of Grow Your Own.

Laura

[rustylady]

Each and every windowsill of the house

Although I do have an unheated greenhouse, I usually start stuff off early in the season in the house. I have an electric heated propagator (seed tray size) that lives on the kitchen windowsill and is used to germinate things like tomatoes, chillies and anything that needs a bit of extra warmth. As soon as they have germinated they are transferred to the windowsill itself.

[binley100]

I am lucky to have a huge airing cupboard to germinate seeds in , then they get moved to windowsill or conservatory before they are strong enough for the (unheated) gh.

[Bren In Pots]

I try not to start things of to early because most plants can't go into my unheated GH until after the frosts have finished.

[Dorothy rouse]

I don't have a greenhouse, but I have a plastic zipped 'mini greenhouse', on my balcony, and sow my seeds in pots/trays/ modules, transferring them up to allotment when they are big enough.

[Bill HH]

I have come to learn that I am very impatient when it comes to planting seeds. Last year I started some things off that actualy were beaten hands down by the same type of seeds planted much later. When I do need some gentle warmth to get things started we are lucky in haveing a seperate laundry room that also houses the boiler. Currently it is surrounded by Hyacinth bulbs in pots. Some times my wife needs a machete just to do the ironing.

[bearded bloke]

I have an otherwise unused "box room" & a VERY understanding wife

[Bigmallly]

I start my seeds off in a heated prop & last year for the first time tried my hand at home made grow lights..........have to say they did make a difference in stopping seedlings going leggy. Not that I have anything against legs you understand........

[Potstubsdustbins]

For me its an unused bedroom combined with a Grow Light Garden which I have for two years.

I have found however like others with some plants unless you have a large set up early sowings can be a disaster.

When you start early you must always have in mind where the growing plants are going to reside until such times as you can plant them out. I think a lot of new gardens would be surprised at how quickly and just how large plants can get.

Potty

[Margit]

I start mine in the basement under a grow light then move them to a sunny window sill. I have to keep the cat from walking through them

[Mikey]

Last year was the first time I made a homemade propagator to get a head start, some got a bit gangly and needed to be started again.

I have my best success outdoors. covering the earth with black polythene to warm it, then planting in my raised beds and covering with wire and long thin plastic mini tunnels. I have a plastic packaging supplier nearby who gives me ends of rolls free of charge, and I cut wire to make hoops to keep it in place.

This starts seedlings off in the ground about 4-8 weeks ahead of when they would naturally be ready. I was picking carrots within a couple of weeks of the last frost in 2013, and 1'm still picking them now.

[alldigging]

I've got some cloches that I'm going to try outside this year.
I have a couple of cold frames too - homemade ones they help keep the wind and rain off and gives things a better start.

[Penellype]

I start things off in an unheated propagator in my (fairly cool) utility room then move them to the grow light garden, also in the utility room, when they germinate. Tomatoes and peppers are germinated in the warmer box room, but are also moved to the grow light garden and don't seem to suffer for it. When they get too tall for that they are moved to the kitchen and dining room windowsills (for tomatoes and peppers) and to the unheated cold frame for peas, cabbages, lettuces etc. The only things I plant outside early are carrots, spinach, onions and turnips. I plant things out in their final places, often pots, once they are big enough, and I have various hoops, fleeces, polythene, bubble wrap and plastic greenhouse covers to keep them warm with.

One thing I did find extremely good this spring to help with the tomatoes was a growhouse cover. I've had the blowaway greenhouses before and found they do just that, often breaking the plants as they go. However this time I dispensed with the frame and hammered some 6ft stakes into the ground at appropriate intervals, then draped the covers over these, weighted them down with bricks and planted Sungold tomato plants inside. These were sown in the house at the beginning of April, potted up into 1 litre pots at the end of April and planted out at the end of May. I was eating ripe fruit from them by the end of July, having removed the covers in late June.

[planetologist]

For me, sowing broad beans indoors around 21 December and then growing them in an unheated room until ~the end of February has tended to give much better results than sowing outdoors in October or November.
And:

Each and every windowsill of the house

[jotley73]

Kitchen windowsill and for hard to germinate seeds on top of the freezer using the heat coming off the back.