Was it a success or failure?
Well, to be perfectly honest, every time a little seedling appears, it’s a success. It always feels like a sense of achievement, especially when a couple of months have passed by, and you can literally see the fruits of your labour.
Back in March and April, I started to sow my seeds for 2023. Some seeds were purchased for particular areas of the patio and garden, some were sown as I received them for free from my Gardeners’ World magazine, and others were seeds which I collected last year from our garden.
Oh yes, and there were a few I just couldn’t resist.
Pinterest?
You win some, you lose some
My conservatory is a greenhouseI know that I sow way too many seeds each year, but it’s a matter of weighing up whether they’ll all be successful or fail to show their tiny heads.
Well, I was lucky on some and not so fortunate on others; however, considering that when I counted the different varieties of seeds that I sowed, there were over 30 different types of plants.
When it came to potting on the nurtured seedlings, I had what appeared to be hundreds of little plants, and I needed to find a home for them in either my cold frame or the conservatory.
During springtime, our conservatory inevitably looks like a greenhouse, which is pleasing in some way. Still, it is nice once we have transferred all the little plants outside.
Yes, I sowed more seeds
It was my mistakeLast year I bought some Black-eyed Susie plants, which were fantastic; they flowered for months and months. So, I thought I would grow them from seed this year, which was a great idea if they all germinated; however, they didn’t. So, I ended up sowing some more.
A similar thing happened with my chillies and tomatoes: I sowed more seeds and ended up with too many. But hey-ho, I gave a couple away, and I now need to look for more recipes which include tomatoes and chillies.
Our chosen tomatoes & chillies
Cherry toms in abundanceYou can never have too many cherry tomatoes; well, that’s the theory I’m working on.
This year I grew four varieties of tomatoes from seed; San Marzano,a plum tomato, Red Cherry, F1 Sweet Million and always a winner is Gardener’s Delight which are all cherry tomatoes.
To be honest, I was only going to sow three varieties as I was trying to keep them to a minimum. However, the tempting packet of ‘Red Cherry’ seeds landed on my doorstep from my Gardeners’ World magazine. I couldn’t resist giving them a go.
So far, so good; my little tomato plants are not so little anymore and have started to bear fruit. Did you catch my post on ‘supporting our tomato plants’? I followed Monty Don’s advice, and they are coming on a treat.
This year I have only grown two types of chillies; in hindsight, I wish I had chosen one more, but there’s always next year. The two varieties that I have are Cayenne and Hungarian Hot Wax.
I’m hoping that the Cayenne chillies are going to pack a bit of a punch when we cook with them; fingers crossed. They are flowering well, although the chillies have not appeared.
A summary of our 2023 seeds
Was it a big thumbs up?Sowing and growing our seeds for 2023 has been a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the little seeds germinated immediately and came on leaps and bounds; others didn’t even want to show their face.
I kept a little record of how my success rate unfolded, and below is how I faired.
Plant Name | Variety | Notes | Success |
---|---|---|---|
Rose Campion | Velvety silver leaves | Cerise flower | Yes |
Achillea | Cerise Queen | Cerise | No |
Achillea | Salmon Beauty | Salmon | Yes |
Lupin | Chandelier | Yellow | Yes |
Lupin | Chatelaine | Pink | No |
Lupin | Gallery Red | Red | No |
Lupin | My Castle | Red & Pink | No |
Cineraria Maritima | Silverdust | Silver bedding plant | Yes |
Nicotiana | Perfume Mix | Mixed | Yes |
Salvia | Blue & white mixed | Blue & white | No |
Salvia | Blaze of Fire | Red | No |
Chilli | Cayenne | Four colours | Yes |
Chilli | Hungarian Hot Wax | Red | Yes |
Tomato | San Marzano | Plum | Yes |
Tomato | Red Cherry | Cherry | Yes |
Tomato | Sweet Million | Cherry | Yes |
Tomato | Gardener's Delight | Cherry | Yes |
Sunflower | Little Dorrit | Yellow | Yes |
Rhodochiton | Purple Bell Vine | Pink/purple | No |
Black-eyed Susie | Thunbergia | Mixed | Yes |
Cosmos | Candyfloss White | White | Yes |
Poppy | Black Swan | Deep red | Yes |
Verbena | Bonariensis | Purple | Yes |
Marigold | Carmen | Orange and red | Yes |
Lobelia | String of Pearls | Mix | Yes |
Greater Quaking Grass | Like lanterns | Papery | Yes |
Honesty | Mix | Purple | Yes |
Antirrhinum | Dark Orange Potomac | Orange | Yes |
Rudbeckia | Cherokee Sunset | Bronze | No |
Cactus | Mix | Spiky | Yes |
Morning Glory | Heavenly Blue | Blue | Yes |
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