I've never been one for growing plants from seed but I did this year
because we've just got a potting shed. I planted california poppies, pot
marigolds, nicotiana (Fragrant cloud and N. sylvestris), Verbena
bonairensis, basil (sweet and Thai), Hugarian wax peppers, Cerinthe,
Eryngium (unknown variety, from a friend, and something called butterfly
weed (seed bought in Canada). The basil has been an unqualified success and
the flavour is excellent. The chillies are doing well too (although I
discovered when they started to flower that one of the carefully nurtured
seedlings was a cuckoo...it turned out to be a willowherb!) although I've
discovered they grow enormous and I will definitely have to repot them into
large pots. The only thing that failed altogether was the eryngium....but
I've read the seed has to be planted fresh to germinate. The butterfly weed
also bit the dust...although it germinated well, one day I found all the
seedlings had the tips nibbled off: no culprit in sight, and all other
seedlings untouched. Any ideas? The verbena took ages to germinate but is
now doing well.

However, despite doing all the fiddly "pricking out" for the Nicotiana,
calendula and cerinthe that I did, the plants seem to have really weak
stems at the point at which they join the soil, giving really floppy
plants. Is this because I replanted them too close together? I replanted
them further apart than they had germianted, in deeper trays using JI no 2
mixed with the seed compost I germinated them in, as that's all I had
available, and not enough room to put all the seedlings in individual pots.

My california poppies are also a bit of a disaster. I planted them out
about a month ago, since when they appear to have shrunk if anything! They
are in dryish soil, in a part of the garden that is a suntrap when the sun
is on it but doesn't get sun the whole day. What's wrong with this?

I would appreciate advice because although its been fun, its taken a lot
more time than I anticipated, and so far, apart from the basil, there's not
a lot to show for it (I have had flowers from the marigolds but didn't
plant enough of them for a really dramatic effect). Next year, I'll be on
maternity leave with more time to spend on planting seeds.

Thanks
Anita