Advice for a hopeless gardener

[jansman]

They could be worse! You’ll get there. Your enthusiasm will overcome your setbacks, I am sure.

[jennyjj01]

They could be worse! You’ll get there. Your enthusiasm will overcome your setbacks, I am sure.

Thanks. I guess maybe a fifth of them won't make it. Now it's a matter of seeing if my intensive care will work. Either way, I learned something.
I've placed my seed order to see me busy when the time comes Enough for planting this season, and as much again for the apocalypse seed box.
Having located some of the more sunny spots, I've commissioned some smaller planters.

[jansman]

Any seeds you are storing,keep in a cool ,dry,dark place. I keep mine in a biscuit tin on a shelf in the pantry.

[British Red]

They could be worse! You’ll get there. Your enthusiasm will overcome your setbacks, I am sure.

I've placed my seed order to see me busy when the time comes Enough for planting this season, and as much again for the apocalypse seed box.

Worth bearing in mind that some seeds (parsnips for example) don't store reliably for more than a year or two. They are though super simple to seed save! In the first pandemic we supplied a lot of our neighbours with saved seed so that they could extend their kitchen gardens. Half a dozen parsnips can produce tens of thousands of seeds - which is very handy when you want extra seed

8 foot parsnip by British Red, on Flickr

[GillyBee]

Jenny. If only a few plants make it, remember that It is easy to take one tomato plant and turn it into more once they get going.You just cut off the side shoots (which need removing anyway for cordon type plants) and pop them into water and pot up when you can see roots. This trick can also turn one garden centre seedling into many. The "babies" will be a little later than the main plant but not by as much as you would expect.

[jennyjj01]

Worth bearing in mind that some seeds (parsnips for example) don't store reliably for more than a year or two. They are though super simple to seed save! In the first pandemic we supplied a lot of our neighbours with saved seed so that they could extend their kitchen gardens. Half a dozen parsnips can produce tens of thousands of seeds - which is very handy when you want extra seed

8 foot parsnip by British Red, on Flickr

Thanks. Good point.
BLIMEY 8 foot parsnip! It would be just my luck to have a three inch parsnip at the root.

Jenny. If only a few plants make it, remember that It is easy to take one tomato plant and turn it into more once they get going.You just cut off the side shoots (which need removing anyway for cordon type plants) and pop them into water and pot up when you can see roots. This trick can also turn one garden centre seedling into many. The "babies" will be a little later than the main plant but not by as much as you would expect.

GillyBee,
INSPIRED!. Taking cuttings had never occured to me. If I could do that, I'd feel like a goddess. "Dolly the Tomato". I'll get some rooting powder.

Those F1 Crimson Crush seeds (Blight resistant) cost 20p per seed. I know it sounds mean, but if the S ever HTF, being able to get seeds might be an obstacle and that might be a great solution for at least one season. Seeds from F1 hybrids are not reliable. That's why so expensive.


Again, I'd like to thank All who are answering my child like questions and giving great advice. You make this forum a far more useful resource and I hope others are learning from the answers you lovely folk give.


Meanwhile, I think I found something else inspired....
A sunplanner. Pop your postcode in the top left, zoom right in on your house, Go to satellite view, centre your garden,, set the date, and it will show you how the sun will sweep over your garden.
https://www.suncalc.org/#/53.0926,-2.45 ... /18:23/1/1

(That's not my address, by the way)

[British Red]

Thanks. Good point.
BLIMEY 8 foot parsnip! It would be just my luck to have a three inch parsnip at the root.

Oddly there will be almost no root. Parsnips store energy in the first year (this gives the delicious root). In the second year they produce huge flowers and enormous numbers of seeds using that stored energy. Quite a lot of veg use this two year (biennial) approach

[Arzosah]

That parsnip photo looked like a tree till I scrolled down a bit

GillyBee - rooting the snippings is a great idea too. Dolly plants I like it.

[GillyBee]

You dont need rooting compound to root tomato plants. They root really easily without it.
I mentioned that I have just started a couple of super early tomatoes on my windows sill. I will be using these as "stock" plants for cuttings in a couple of months. Last time I tried the super early tomato game, the plants got a bit too tall for my window. I cut the tops out above the first flowers and let a couple of side shoots grow instead to give a double stem (double cordon) plant.. The tops were then rooted and started to flower themselves really quite quickly. It may not be gardening manual standard but with a vigorous variety it seemed to work very well.

[jennyjj01]

I sowed my first tomato seeds yesterday...

I normally germinate tomatoes and chillies with a propagation tray. I...

Can I canvas opinions on Multisowing ? It's something I stumbled on while researching the making and use of paper or cardboard seedling pots.*

I THINK I've been sowing all wrong!

When I've been sowing to little seedling pots, I've studiously popped seeds into cells individually, Same when sowing direct. But I stumbled on a guy "Charles Dowding" who sows radically differently. He would sow maybe 3 beetroot seeds or even 10 spring onion seeds in each cell of a seed tray. And when he transplants those pods into their final home, they go in as a clump and mature as a clump and get harvested as a clump. No thinning or pricking out!

And the guy sure seems to know how to propagate seeds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k0f4Go ... g&index=28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWUwS9P_GOs

Also, some great ideas on youtube. Pop bottle greenhouse covers

https://youtu.be/JBZVxsNpJqM?t=335

*These were my favourite paper pot designers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjIuho-nsT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV3LGGKMP-o