Friday, 20 January 2012

OWN SEEDS HAVE GERMINATED

On the 11-1-12  there was 15 ailsae seeds sown from a bulb which i put to seed in 2009 and on the 17-1-12 they had all germinated. I was very pleased with the result of germination because they were only put on a window sill. Mind you they did have plenty of light and also the sunshine when we did have it. I have decided not to grow any more onions as i do have enough now for this season coming and that includes the showmaster plants coming from marshalls. I did say in one of my previous bloggs that i will be posting photos but because i am still not to sure how to do it my grand daughter is coming to help me.Now that i have a little heat in my potting green house i have started to get my mixtures ready for the carrots and parsnips. I do think i mght do well this year with long carrots based on the info i was given from smithyveg re to the strain of  carrot seed. At this very moment i am still not to sure which parsnips to grow for lenght but i do have a few more weeks to decide or to be given some info on which type to get. Now that all the veg is sorted out i will start to sow some flower seed that do need to be sown about now especially the very small seed such as begonia, petunia, lobelia. I have had the  flower seeds in the fridge now for about 3 weeks so in a weeks time when the propagator is partly free i will start to sow. I have already took cuttings from my xanth stools and they seem to be ok, i cant see any that looks a bit down so lets keep our fingers crossed. What we really need now is some mild weather so the temperature can go up a bit which will do wonders for growing.  

8 comments:

  1. hi geoff.
    i have been growing ailsae under lights, the have been growing well and are about a foot long but at least 1 tip from each plant have started to turn yellow/brown and shriveling up.
    any ideas on whats happening?
    cheers, dan

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  2. Hi dan, it seems to me your onion plants have got the old air born disease which causes botrytis leaf blight which eventualy goes right down the leaf. Unless you catch it early by spraying mancozeb fungi or dithane you will have to get rid of it as it will affect all your plants. I myself also found that if your plants get to wet with humidity caused by to much heat that come from being under lights that again does not help. I think that once your plants are six inches tall there is no need for over head lighting which will again reduce the risk of leaf blight. I hope this info will help. spray all onion plants. All the best geoff.

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  3. thahks geoff,
    just checked onions this morning and found white insects in the soil of 1 plant.dont think they are maggots because they jumped when i tried to catch one to inspect it. any idea what they are and would those sprays kill it off?
    also i have kept them under lights as i am growing them indoors and dont know wher else to put them at this stage. is it too cold to put them in the green house yet?
    thanks for your advice,
    dan

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  4. Hi dan, it seems to me you have got fungus nats and it is caused by your soil being to rich.It mainly goes for anything in pots and plays hell with the rooting system. they could also affect your plants in the ground of your polytunnel ware you grow your plants.The thing to get is called GNATROL which you can get on line.hope this helps and please let me know.

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  5. hi geoff,
    thanks for your reply.. had a look at pics of the knats but does'nt seem to be them. they look a bit more like young thrips but what i have read they should be more orange and live on the leaf. these are white and live in the soil.... no idea. however, they are only on 1 plant (fingers crossed) which i have took out. not too fussed about that plant tho because it was'nt keeping up with the rest. hopefully there will be some pics attachet with this post just for you to let me know if you think they are looking as they should, seeds were sown in november and all plants have 3 shoots, read today that i should have 4 by now. anyway let me know what you think.. and thanks for your advice, its really appreceated.
    all the best
    dan

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  6. p.s i used john innes number 2 compost to grow in, i read this was the best. and also i nipped the tops off all the browning tips and this seems to have stopped the shoots dieing back. photos wouldnt load up. do you have an email address i could send you some photos?
    cheers
    dan

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    Replies
    1. Cheers dan for the reply and info. my email adress is
      geoffreyd48@googlemail.com like winstone churchill said we will fight the little buggers to the end.

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    2. hi geoff, think you were rite about the gnats. they suckin the life out of my plants, any idea where to get this gnatol?? need it fast and cant find anywhere in uk to buy it. thaks 4 email address, will send you some pics later in the week..
      dan

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