On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 02:36:09 -0000, "Graeme"
wrote:

~Hi,
~
~Last year I promised myself I would grow some fruits/vegetables next year
~and true to my word, last weekend I went and purchased some Tomato,
~Sweetcorn, Runner Beans and a few other packets of seeds.
~
~Also some Seed and Cutting compost plus "Peat Pots" - as I liked the idea
~that you sow the seed within the pot, and then when it comes to re-potting
~you plant out the complete pot - as in the past when re-potting young plants
~they always seemed to die on me.

Peat pots are fine, except you need to soak them before initial
planting and make sure they stay wet, or they turn to cardboard... I
found putting them in normal plant pots stopped them drying out too
much. Then you can fish them out and put in the ground.

Some plants prefer not to have the root disturbance, some actually
produce better systems if they are transplanted. Sweetcorn are
disturbance haters, and were what I grew in the peat pots. Things like
brassicas like to be transplanted.

~So I thought I was ready come Feb when the Tomatoes need to be sowed, and
~the rest is around March/April time. But then I started reading about
~propagators. I plan to sow all the seeds inside first, the room I plan on
~using has lots of natural light, but of a night (in the early months of the
~year) the room can be quite cold once all the heating goes off (although I
~doubt it drops to below 19c, but not sure).
~
~So I think a heater propagator would be a good purchase, looking at them in
~my local B&Q all they seem to be is a unit which is heated and contains 2 or
~more seed trays. Do you have to sow all the seeds in the tray, as I would
~be worried when it comes to re-potting, although some come with cells which
~I guess would be easier to use.

As I said in the trip to Woolies thread, I bought the really cheap
one. If you look around in B&Q, they sell Sankey propagators with
trays, lids etc. and capillary matting. They also sell (or did last
year) a small one in a plain box, no pictures, looking like country
cousin. It's identical - except you don't spend XX pounds on trays
which most gardeners have already. This sounds a better bet for you as
all you need is the base unit and a clear domed lid (I think it came
with one) and you put whatever inside. Matting's cheap to buy if you
need it.

I have moved away from peat pots and bought rootrainers instead,
having been recommended to get them by fellow allotment holders, as
the peat pots didn't seem to encourage the deep root runs the beans
and corn liked. I had much better looking plants in the rootrainers,
even after I'd fished them out of the propagator. And because you open
them sideways, the roots aren't damaged when you plant out. And a pack
of the things fits perfectly in my propagator!

~Although B&Q do a propagator which is 57cm by 38cm, so if I took out the
~trays I think I could fit in a number of those "peat pots" I purchased,
~which will make my life even easier (the brand is Growarm).

This is a rather bigger one than I bought! Mine's only a standard tray
in size.

Things germinate reasonably rapidly - and if you leave them in the
heated area, they grow very leggy very quickly, so it's best to whip
them out once the batch have all poked through, and grow them on in
cooler conditions. With a bit of shuffling, you may find you don't
need the bigger one unless you're growing a *lot*. I staggered my
French beans by a week, and had no real differences in harvest times.
Admittedly I do not grow many flowers - if I did, I'd need more room.
(Dad does those - then we swap

~So getting to the point, I am concerned about re-potting my plants, so I am
~looking for the best kind of pots or trays I should use to make things easy
~plus give my plants the best chance.
~

Course the other advantage of rootrainers over peat pots is they are
reusable! So cost less in the long term if you're careful not to crack
them.

Others of course may have different experiences to me, but so far, so
good here.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

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