Getting in early for Spring

I planted Spring seeds as early as the end of July this year – that’s almost the middle of Winter!  I thought I’d have a go at getting a head start as I’m often sowing or planting late.  They also happened to be a bunch of out-of-date packets I had lying around, some as old as 2013, but I had to see if they’d grow rather than throw them out, so into the dirt they all went, to clean out before my new order of seeds arrived.

I used plastic tubs like mini hothouses, as well as a salvaged old rack on wheels.  My partner wrapped the rack in plastic for me with a front flap that opens or pegs shut.

I found the tubs to be much warmer, which is what counts in frosty weather; while there are some things that are happy in the frost, most Spring veg are not so happy, particularly delicate emerging seedlings.

Square or straight sided pots are definitely better suited to fitting into these tubs than the big round ones I used; I just used second-hand pots I had kept and washed.

Kept closed up every night and some days, opened up to air out on sunny days. The tubs were never sealed air tight, lids just loosely sat on top.

I had three pots inside on the kitchen window sill, black cherry tomatoes, and they all germinated much quicker than the ones outside, due to being warmer.  Some things took a good month to start showing (and some are still only just germinating, 6 weeks after sowing) so don’t lose faith if your little seeds don’t appear to be doing anything!

Some of the better performers so far are shown in the gallery below.

Another little zucchini seedling has emerged since taking this photo a few days ago. I wouldn’t have thought anything would happen after about 6 weeks from the date I sowed!

The beetroot also came up pretty quickly, tiny little red leaves to start with.

These guys were among the first to emerge, one of those that doesn’t mind the cold and can be grown almost any time of the year.