HELP- Is it TOO LATE to grow Green Veg seeds indoors? (With a 3 month delay!)??

[flamingate]

Hello gardeners


I am going to start growing fruit and veg, starting with indoor sowing seeds
kept indoors. Then after they have grown, move them outside.

This is about Growing in the UK, Midlands. - Growing Outdoors - NOT In a greenhouse, but outdoors in the garden

( I am on about mainly growing green veg cucumbers, cabbage, celery, apples, broccoli etc)

- which ALL are supposed to have been grown between March- April.


It is the first time I am planting ever.


A Delay problem has occurred, so have some questions:

Here goes
Some of these veg have been advised to be grown in MARCH - APRIL 3 months ago)
It is now June, and I haven't started anything yet.

I have the seeds arriving in days, and have trays, so can start.

so basically I am 3 months delayed, and still want to sow/grow then inside in indoor plant trays
and then move them outside in months. - Growing Outdoors - NOT In a greenhouse, but outdoors in the garden.


-The main question is, will this 2-3 month delay cause problems (in 6 months time) to the harvested veg,
which will be harvested in 6+ months, and could the delay affect their quality?
(compared to if they were grown in March - April?


a) Is it too late to plant them indoors 2-3 months later then planned?
(given our uk weather is poor)

b) What are the potential problems that could occur, if they are planted
2-3 months late?
-delays moving them outdoors? - what other problems would this occur?

c) Could this delay (planting in and outdoors) - effect the quality of the crops?

d) Have you done this before - grow something 3 months later than advised?
what problems did you find, or was it fine?

e) Some seeds, have 1000 seeds in the packet. If many are not used this year
and they are kept in the packet, then can they be preserved to be used next year? or they will go bad

f) With this delay of 3 months, will the 3 months of forward weather delay cause any potential problems, to the crops?
-because the weather will be 3months shifted towards autum/winter.

g) If I do plant these veg seeds indoors, 3 months late then what additional advise and guidelines would you advise to make sure they grow efficiently?
(besides get in a time machine and go back 3 months lol)

Can you answer in a) b) c) d) e) f) g) format,

Thank you very much

[Peppermint]

Hello and welcome.

Some very knowledgeable people will be along soon. I just wanted to let you know that we moved to this house in mid June almost 5 years ago with just a few cabbage plants to put in and no beds dug to take veggies.

The cabbages caught up and we had radishes (including winter radishes), beet leaves, Pac choi, miasma, beet leaves, carrots, parsley and much more. Plus kale and broccoli into the winter. The plants were a little smaller but we still had a contribution to our meals.

So, i'm basically saying "experiment" - you'll have plenty of seeds to play with - and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. I start things a little later up here due to the weather so seed packet recommendations are only a suggested guide for me. We do have very long summer days though and that helps.

[Ja9]

Hello,I agree with peppermint as you have nothing to loose by trying.
a. Grow indoors as planned but don't sow too many plants as you can save your seed
b.lettuce ,reddish can be directly sown into the soil but may have difficulty germinating if it is very warm
c.celery might struggle,mine seems to need a long growing season
d.cucumbers etc will crop for a shorter time but still worth a go
e.apples from seed??
f. Net your brassicas or the pigeons / cabbage White butterflys will get them
e.will all depend on how good and long the summer is..growing veg is always unpredictable,a great experiment and fun.I have sown early and late to extend the season.variable success
F.plan for next year,sowing times etc.

[Nicos]

Hi there , and welcome to the Vine.

Perhaps if you give us a full list of what seeds you are buying , then we can tell you which to leave till next year, which will be fine to sow now , and which might be worth taking a risk with.

If we have an Indian Summer, the extra few weeks of sun and heat could mean you'll get a decent late crop.

Who knows though what the weather will do?

[Scarlet]

Hello and welcome to the vine Flamingate.

A - Planting late can cause problems for some varieties it all depends on what varieties you grow. Starting off seed now for outdoor cucumbers for example may be hit and miss. Outdoor cucumbers will be killed off by frosts so you can't harvest in Dec. you've just got a 4month growing window. As celery needs a long growing season I would wait until next year to sow these. Plug plants from your garden centre may be a more reliable method of growing some varieties now.

B- potential problems of growing things late. The weather - frosts will kill tender plants, beans, lettuce, cues etc. Nothing grows much from Oct as the days darken. May not have enough growing time to fruit before the Autumn kicks in.
C - see B
D - I have grown things a few weeks late - never 3 months.
E - some seeds last for years, others eg - parsnips need to be fresh.
F - see B
G - only sow varieties that have a fast "seed to harvest" time. Eg, lettuce, radish, beetroot, or that will stand the frost andor give you a crop next year Eg kale, chard, cabbage, sprouting broccoli.

[marchogaeth]

This has been a very late season for a lot of us so many of us are behind. One thing I would look at is when the crops are mature (days after planting) which if not on the packet you can find on the net. Something that matures in 60 days will be fine, something that grows all the way through to next Spring will probably be fine, too. The things that will struggle are things that need the full "six month Summer" - like sweetcorn.

I realise you feel like you need to get on and do it now but do take time to slow down and look round the forum, you will get lots of ideas. The other thing is - I know you have ordered the seeds - but what about buying plants this year. It is more expensive but will be immediately more rewarding. Lots of the big companies have good special offers on at the moment and they are selling the plants that have been growing since March or April.

[sparrow100]

I'd buy some plants now and leave the seeds in the packets till next year. It's not worth major stress over, and garden centre/DIY store plants are fairly cheap, as well as further developed than your indoor seedlings will be. Brassicas don't like too much heat either so sowing indoors now might get you leggy weak plants. Unless you are as 'fortunate' as me and have a northfacing flat, which is much cooler than outside at nearly every time of year.

[Penellype]

Seed packets that say March-April mean you can sow in April, its only the beginning of June, so you are really only just over 1 month late. Agree with all that is said above. Timings vary depending on what you are growing, so a list would be useful, but a lot depends on the weather.

[Scarlet]

I think seed suppliers are generous with their sowing dates. Often for veg like peppers or celery the sowing dates will be feb, March and April. I wouldn't bother sowing either in April as they both require a long growing season. It will depend on what veg the OP wants to grow.

[maverick451]

One thing to bare in mind is the reason people sow things indoors is because its too early to sow direct.

Now its June id be very tempted just to get things sowing by sowing direct into the soil

A few things that may interest you thats its not too late for

Runner beans = prime time to sow direct
French beans = as above
Lettuce
Beetroot
Carrots
Kale
Peas
Radish

apples - you can buy patio trees from B&Q if you want small trees, usually people bare root trees in the winter though

You can still try some tomatoes if you pick up some plants from a garden centre

[veggiechicken]

Hello and welcome.
I shan't attempt to answer your questions - better gardeners than I have done so already.
One question - do you have space ready to plant out the seedlings if you are going to start them indoors? I'm not sure, reading your post, whether you're keeping them in trays for months before they go out?
This time of year, your seedlings will grow quickly and need plenty of light. They'll need more than a windowsill to keep them growing.
Most veg can be sown in May and we're only just in June. If you want to grow, say, cabbages, there are some which are better suited to sowing later in the year (Spring cabbage) so you still have plenty of time for those.
We can give you all the advice in the world, but my best advice is to try it and see. If you succeed, pat yourself on the back, if it fails, you'll know not to do that again.

[CaptainBurrito]

If you like oriental greens and chinese cabbage then you are right on time and in some cases are still far too early as some are supposed to be sown after the longest day or mid summer! They tend to grow fast and crop in 45-80 days - even faster for baby leaf.

[b0oDy]

Like yourself I'm new to gardening, though my advise might not be based on my own experience but I've done a fair share of searching before I started gardening.

a) Is it too late to plant them indoors 2-3 months later then planned? Yes, there's a wisdom in following the packet instruction and if sowing time indoor has finished than don't do it. If it wasn't for the potential lack of germination and growth or the week plants that are susceptible to disease, it might be because the time it will take for your plant to be ready for placing outside which could be mid or late July and by the time you are about to harvest them they will you struck by frost. Instead for the first year, I would recommend get seedlings ready to plant out and care for them. Over winter plan ahead for an early start next season. Growing from seeds is a skill in itself so don't over crowed yourself and instead master the craft of a single phase of the plant life cycle then move to the next.

b) What are the potential problems that could occur, if they are planted
2-3 months late? Mainly disease and drought as the plant might not be well established for the hot weather in July but also early frost in October by the time they form the fruit.

c) Could this delay (planting in and outdoors) - effect the quality of the crops? If the plant is not well rooted and established through its normal course, don't expect much of it.

d) Have you done this before - grow something 3 months later than advised? I've done it 3 weeks with flowers and I'm yet to see the outcome.

e) Some seeds, have 1000 seeds in the packet. If many are not used this year
and they are kept in the packet, then can they be preserved to be used next year? or they will go bad. The answer is at the back of the packet. See where it's best before and that's the day you (might) not use them. Yet I've seen lots of members in this forum who managed to get good plants out of expired seeds. A wise advice is to keep them sealed and dry and away from a direct sun. Don't forget to label them if they are out of the original packaging.

f) With this delay of 3 months, will the 3 months of forward weather delay cause any potential problems, to the crops? Yup, most veg are not hardy enough and won't tolerate frost so by delaying the planting you might not enjoy enough harvest from the plant - if any - before it dies.

g) If I do plant these veg seeds indoors, 3 months late then what additional advise and guidelines would you advise to make sure they grow efficiently? Can't tell you what to do to be honest, just hope for the best.

That doesn't mean you can't get anything this year, as said if you drop by any nursery around you get plug plants and you will save yourself 1 month of hard work for little or no fruit. Also some winter and hardy plants can be sawn in May - June time for a second crop like late main crop potatoes so you might need tweak your crop plan a bit. Over winter you will have ample time to plan ahead for an early successful start.