Propagation revisited...

The bad weather we've had has hindered me somewhat in all the chores I could do over the last week to get ahead with my fruit and veg growing. We've had frosts, snow and what feels like constant rain, making the very thought of going out into the garden and polytunnel a very hopeless one.

However, my propagation techniques needed some care and attention and I've been very keen to see what's working and what's not working. So here's what's happening with my seeds at the moment:

1. The heated propagators

Having visited the polytunnel everyday and checking that the propagators are working, that no pests have found their way to the seeds and that nothing else has essentially gone wrong, I must say that I've been disappointed so far.

There's absolutely nothing stirring yet in any of the cells of either tray. Now, the temperature is constant and the trays are covered, remaining damp but not over watered. No tomatoes, no aubergines, no leeks, nothing. Maybe I'm being a bit too impatient as it can take longer than simply a week for seeds to germinate. I've kept everything as it is and will let you know what it's like next week.

2. Indoor tray (on windowsill)

I've got a fenugreek forest growing on my bedroom windowsill! The peas in the second tray are also peeping out of the soil, giving me great hope for a good gardening year. Once I lifted the lid off, the smell of the fenugreek hit my nostrils, giving me a double whammy of sensory magic - sight and smell of tasty things to come. In fact, I've had to keep the lid off now as the fenugreek is getting too tall and have also had to keep the husband's hands off as he keeps helping himself to a little fenugreek shoot every now and then! Here's what it looks like:

 If you can imagine, ladies and gentlemen, the glorious flavoursome scent of fenugreek.

A peashoot emerging from it's dark birthplace. A photo taken with my microscope tool.

3. The windowsill greenhouse

Sadly, another poor performer as there's no sign of life just yet. Admittedly, there's only lemongrass seeds in this one and I've struggled growing these before, so it may just be my sowing technique on this one or the fact that lemongrass seeds can take a seriously long time to germinate. They say that patience is a virtue. Something I haven't always got but am going to have to have on this one.

4. Hotbed

Well, not exactly ready for any form of propagation yet but I did return to this area today to check the temperature. I couldn't believe it - one degree cooler than last week! Where am I going wrong??? Probably with the amount of manure I used (as in not enough). To see what I did take a look here.

There are a few options I could do with this technique - either add more manure to it to try and warm it up or leave it as it is and be ready to use it for tomatoes and aubergines when they are big enough to transfer to the raised beds for growing on. Either way, it won't have been a waste of time preparing this.

Well, what have I learned from all this? That maybe growing indoors, as in the house on the windowsill, is perhaps my best option. However, to have tested these methods better, I could have tried the same types of seeds in each tray to see what works, creating a better control over this experiment. 

Keep a look out for more things that I'll be sowing over the next few weeks as spring will be creeping up on us and I will need to prepare more and more for the growing year. 

In the meantime, live and breathe your garden!