First seedlings

All tomatoes and the patty pan squashes germinated nicely, although the seeds were a couple of years old at least. They are growing way too fast in the propagator so today I potted them on and they will be living in my mini-greenhouse from now on. It's going to be warm enough in there and much better light than on my windowsill. One of the cucumber seeds which is still in the propagator is already peeking through but potting them up will have to wait until next weekend.


I'm almost tempted to start sowing the carrots, rocket, beetroot, etc directly outside but previous years have taught me that I am a bit too overenthusiastic and they like it a touch warmer than I think it is. Even though we've had smashing spring weather recently, it still drops quite low overnight. (Just spotted a soil/compost thermometer on sale at Amazon for £2.85... may have to invest in that). The pelargoniums which overwintered inside have now moved outside for the summer (still have to watch for frost but they should be ok).

In preparation for the tomatoes this summer, I also investigated better canes. The tall bamboo canes are ok as a tripod for beans and cucumbers but they don't really work that well for holding up tomatoes. I saw some spirally metal ones in Germany some years ago but never spotted them here, until two weeks ago through Amazon. I ordered different sizes, two 1.8m ones, and four 1.2m. The beauty is that you can wind the tomatoes around as they grow and you shouldn't need any twine (in theory). Also, they are galvanised steel so should be able to prop up even a plant fully-laden with fruit (a major drawback of the bamboo which regularly bent over and snapped). And I think they look pretty, in a modern-industrial way :)