Pushed for time today as there’s lots going on so it’s a quick mental note of the seeds that I need to sow indoors now. Yes, I said they were mostly going to be sown outdoors in situ but I just cant help myself! The sun is out and a space has been cleared and the pots are ready and I need to sow stuff!
So here’s a quick plan to slot in between homeschooling and work tomorrow which also needs to include picking up some additional compost from our nearby garden centre The Slate Yard. Just wondering if we could skateboard it down the hill…
Tomato ‘Noire de Crimée’
Going to plant these into small 10cm pots and put them in my studio as they should be warm enough in there. I won’t be able to stop myself planting the whole packet but these will make lovely gifts so that’s my excuse. When the roots have filled the pots I’ll plant out after the frosts are over, firmly and deeply 60cm (24 inches) apart – for me that will just be in separate 3 litre pots. Then come summer it will be black tomato salad galore with perhaps a few early green ones too!
Lathyrus odoratus ‘Hi-Scent’ / Lathyrus odoratus ‘Matacuna’ sweet pea
I’ll be soaking my sweet pea seeds tonight and planting 2 into each cavity of a root trainer, keeping them warm in my studio/greenhouse. When the roots fill the container, I’ll pot two seedlings into a 1 litre pot and pinch out the tips when there are 4 pairs of leaves. It’s then 2 plants to a vertical support 15cm (6 inches apart in mild weather March-May. Looking forward to growing these up some hazel sticks I got last year with no competition from the beans as not growing these this year due to black fly.
Gaura lindheimeri
I’ve never grown Lindheimer’s beeblossom or ‘whirling butterflies’ before so I’m going to try some starting indoors and some in situ. These need surface sowing onto moist well-drained seed compost and putting in the studio greenhouse as well. When they’ve germinated I need to transfer them into 9cm pots and grow them on before planting out in late spring after risk of frost. Final thinning 90cm (3 foot) as they grow quite bushy and tall (1.2m/4ft) Really want these up my front garden path and for flower arrangements.
Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’
Really want to populate my garden with echinacea also known as purple coneflowers so excited to get these going as another one I haven’t grown from seed indoors and my outdoor sowings didn’t germinate last year. Need to surface sow these seeds, pressing lightly into the soil. The seeds need light to germinate so they will go near the door of my studio/greenhouse where it’s brightest (hmm, do I need to build some shelves/a potting station here I wonder?). As each seedling becomes large enough to handle I need to pot on into 9cm pots to grow on. Plant in spring when seedlings have hardened off. If no germination expose the seeds to a fortnight of cooler conditions to break any dormancy cycle. Apparently one should not give up as the spring temps will also break dormancy!
Rudbeckia ‘Chim Chiminee’
Can’t wait for these golden-petaled, mahogany-centred beauties to create a bright highlight in my front patch. Again have not sown indoors before and outdoor sowings didn’t germinate last year – perhaps sown too late. Need to sow thinly and not cover while keeping the soil moist. Seedlings should emerge within 2 weeks, which is when it’s time to pot on and move to a cooler position. Plant out after the last frosts with a final thinning distance of 23cm.
That’s all for now folks. Might even get the boys to help me do this… more fun than the last week of homeschooling right?