#3 Don't start too early in the year
#3 Don't start too early in the year
A Manifesto for Growing Cut Flowers
Manifesto
Don’t start too early in the year .
Do images of flower growers growing in their greenhouses have you panic sowing?
HOLD ON.
You have ticked off #1 & #2 haven’t you? Knowing exactly why you are growing, what you are going and where it is going?
Of course you have.
But if this is the first time you’ve looked at a seed packet, it can be a little daunting if not very confusing.
They all say something different, seemingly missing out vital information and giving vague directions. Then one look across social media and it seems like EVERYONE has got greenhouses full of plants. It can seem like you’ve failed before you even ripped open the foil insert and sieved the compost.
All the directions on my manifesto are important, but I think one gives you permission to take it slow.
I’ll tell you why.
Broadly there are two types of annual seed - those that germinate, grow, flower and set seed in a year. ‘Hardy’ and ‘half hardy’ annuals.
Hardy annuals are those that are ‘hardy’ to the cold. By that we mean, they can take a little frost. (Do remember, they are annuals, so they only have small root systems and few leaves to support themselves so extremes of weather will challenge them, unlike perennials. This winter, I lost the vast majority of the hardy annuals I sowed in the autumn.)
Hardy annuals can be sown in the autumn, in late winter, now and later in the spring. Do several sowings and you’ll have a successful successional planting schedule (#9).
A half hardy is not hardy to the cold. These will not tolerate a frost at all.
The question of when to start really depends on what you are sowing and where they are growing.
If it is hardy, go for it. It is March and by the time they have grown to be planting outside, the days are lengthening and the soil is warm. They won’t mind a little frost on them.
But half hardy’s - these will bristle from Jack’s late spring gatecrashing. Maybe worse. Completely dying way before their time.
Most half hardy annuals are quick to germinate. That still means anything between a few day or weeks. But since they only have a few months to grow, flower and set seed, they grow rapidly once they do.
This is the reason why you don’t want to start too early.
Think about it. If they take about 6-8 odd weeks to get to planting out size (assume you start them off indoors) you can’t plant these out until late May, until you know the last frost date have been and gone. That is unless you can grow and protect these undercover. I’m assuming you can’t.
Count back, and this takes you to late March. At the earliest. I really want to start now, but I know it need to wait to sow half hardy annuals right at the end of March. Even though the seed packet might tell me differently.
Instead, in early March I am germinating hardy annuals. Like snapdragons, poppies, scabious and more sweet peas.
It’s not just about the temperature restrictions. Its also space. I simply do not have enough bench room to start off all my seeds in one go. Long time readers will know how I sow to the biodynamic calendar. You can read more here - more often than not I sow on a flower or leaf day. On the same days, I’ll also prick out, transplant or plant out plants. It keeps a nice rhythm and plants moving. This way, space is freed up along the production line. Those seeds sown now, should be off the heat mat and out of the propagator ready to be pricked out and transplanted by the time I am sowing half hardy seeds.
It is better to create the ideal conditions, and have space ready for plants to be moved to, than to end up with a load of leggy pale seedlings, trying to climb out of their pots waiting for you to attend to them. That will cause attrition, when plants stop developing whilst they resettle from the stress. That will cost you time.
It is far better for your plants to be sown with all this in mind.
Seeds want to grow. They simply need water, warmth and light. You choose the time right and they’ll do the rest.
On Tuesday I’ll share the usual way I start my seeds off.
This is my manifesto for Growing Cut Flowers. I will be exploring this list over the next few weeks - each one helps you grow the flowers you want to. Let’s get growing together.
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I am absolutely loving your Manifesto!
Great advice. I started way too early last year and regretted it.