I posted a while back about problems getting tomatoes to germinate in normal
compost, and wondering if seed compost would be better.
I was keeping the seed trays in a mini greenhouse (metal frame, plastic
sheet cover) on a south facing sheltered patio.
[Also posted about previously.]
Nearly everything was germinating, but not the tomatoes.

I have managed to germinate more seeds from the same packets in seed compost
on an indoor windowsill so the seeds seem O.K.
I have now just brought in one of the original seed trays which has been
stubbornly refusing to germinate and it is now germinating on the kitchen
west facing windowsill by a radiator.

So the problem was the plastic greenhouse - presumably not enough
temperature, or not a stable temperature.

Cabbage and beet and perpetual spinach and cucumbers and courgettes and
sunflowers all seem to have germinated fine.
The cabbage and beetroot have done far better than those sown directly into
the soil of the allotment.

So the plastic greenhouse has its place, but in these cold, overcast, wet
weeks we have had it is not good for germinating plants such as tomatoes.

I am now wondering if the predicted warmer spell will mean that it is O.K.
to try planting out a few tomato plants as frost seems very unlikely here.
Perhaps they should be grown on some more inside/outside here where it is
more sheltered untill they are a bit bigger and the weather is consistently
warmer.
However I am likely to run out of space quite soon.

Cheers

Dave R
--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

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