April 2011 Seedlings

Before I start this post, I would just like to add that I have added a trial forum to the site, the link is at the top. I have about a 100 visits a day on this site, which to me is quite amazing, as it started as a simple diary for myself.
A big thank you to everyone that has visited, and I really hope that some of you will contribute to the forum. We are all on a big learning curve in life, and especially in growing. There are some guidelines, but no real set rules, what works for one, might not work for another. So let's all share our experiences, I am sure we can all learn from each other.

Steve Mr TK.


As expected, the tomato seedlings took a little while to grow, and with night temperatures of 4 degrees it was no surprise, although the days were about 25 degrees. Sunny days at this time of the year in Brittany mean cold nights. Luckily, the weather has changed in the past week and although some days can be a little overcast, the nights are around 10 degrees. I have just been out to take these pictures and it is over 25 degrees with the door open in the polytunnel. 

Light, light, and more light is what the seedlings really need from now on. As you can see, they are out of the mini tower greenhouse that I had covered to keep them warm. They were taken out during the day as soon  as I saw the first tiny seedling leaves, then put back at night, to keep them slightly warmer. Unless it goes really cold again, they will stay out on the bench day and night, to make the most of any light.

Lack of light is the reason for leggy plants, and it starts even at this stage in their growth. They are better to be slightly colder in the polytunnel than in the house in poor light. High heat and poor light,are the worst conditions.

Your plants will look like this if you get poor light. They have also been left too long and too close together. Plants should be respaced once the leaves are touching each other, as a general rule of thumb.

The Butternut squash seedlings are looking nice and strong. 

Lidl had some grafted fruit trees on special offer. About 3.50 euros each! So I put a few of those in at the weekend. 

A lovely clear sky is what we all need at this time of year. The homemade polytunnel has stood up to two hard winters of wind and snow, so I am very pleased with it so far.

Seeing that I have not mentioned 'Bramble' for a while, I thought that you might like to see feeding time at the zoo. The chickens, cats and Bramble all get on so well together, especially at feeding time. 

The chickens like to be let out in the morning after their breakfast, and they just amble around the property as if they own it. I will have to curtail their little walkabouts, once I have more plants in the veg patch and to be fair, they do have quite a large run anyway. 

Dill and Anna, the horses, are supplying us with plenty of good manure, so they are happy to graze peacefully on their six acres of land.