HELP- Is it TOO LATE to grow Green Veg seeds indoors? (With a 3 month delay!)??

[flamingate]

Hello gardeners


I am going to start growing fruit and veg, starting with indoor sowing seeds
kept indoors. Then after they have grown, move them outside.

This is about Growing in the UK, Midlands. - Growing Outdoors - NOT In a greenhouse, but outdoors in the garden

( I am on about mainly growing green veg cucumbers, cabbage, celery, apples, broccoli etc)

- which ALL are supposed to have been grown between March- April.


It is the first time I am planting ever.


A Delay problem has occurred, so have some questions:

Here goes
Some of these veg have been advised to be grown in MARCH - APRIL 3 months ago)
It is now June, and I haven't started anything yet.

I have the seeds arriving in days, and have trays, so can start.

so basically I am 3 months delayed, and still want to sow/grow then inside in indoor plant trays
and then move them outside in months. - Growing Outdoors - NOT In a greenhouse, but outdoors in the garden.


-The main question is, will this 2-3 month delay cause problems (in 6 months time) to the harvested veg,
which will be harvested in 6+ months, and could the delay affect their quality?
(compared to if they were grown in March - April?


a) Is it too late to plant them indoors 2-3 months later then planned?
(given our uk weather is poor)

b) What are the potential problems that could occur, if they are planted
2-3 months late?
-delays moving them outdoors? - what other problems would this occur?

c) Could this delay (planting in and outdoors) - effect the quality of the crops?

d) Have you done this before - grow something 3 months later than advised?
what problems did you find, or was it fine?

e) Some seeds, have 1000 seeds in the packet. If many are not used this year
and they are kept in the packet, then can they be preserved to be used next year? or they will go bad

f) With this delay of 3 months, will the 3 months of forward weather delay cause any potential problems, to the crops?
-because the weather will be 3months shifted towards autum/winter.

g) If I do plant these veg seeds indoors, 3 months late then what additional advise and guidelines would you advise to make sure they grow efficiently?
(besides get in a time machine and go back 3 months lol)

Can you answer in a) b) c) d) e) f) g) format,

Thank you very much

 

[headfullofbees]

Celery and apples don't look good, but you could get some kind of crop from the rest.
Are you trying to grow apples from seed?
Harvest won't be delayed three months, it doesn't work like that, because different amounts of growth are achieved at different times of year.
Your seeds should keep until next year at least if you store them correctly.
There are no miracles to help you overcome being so late, you'll just have to accept a reduced crop where it happens, and hope for an Indian summer.

 

[flamingate]

h) Also, if I plant them indoors now (june) and transport them outdoors in some months, then what is the worse case scenario that will happen with them ? (besides wasting my time and effort) - the worse case scenario that will happen with the crop?

i) When can celery be planted outdoors directory ? (without being planted indoors atal)


j) Is the common procedure>>
i) Grow seeds indoors first (sow them in small plastic tray holes)
ii) Wait until they get to a certain side of growth, THEN move them outdoors (pull them out of the small indoor trays and plant them outdoors for further growth), and then Harvest and pull them outdoors?

k) Why do seeds have to be planted indoors, and then moved outdoors? or they Dont have to be and it is just an additional step?

or you dont have to move them oudoors for further growth if planting them indoors ??
you can get away with planting them and harvest them outdoors

 

[Beth_B]

Welcome, @flamingate.
b) Only problem I can see is that some plants may not have the chance to mature enough for you to get a good harvest. Not sure when your fall frosts come along, but the seed packets should have a "days to maturity" or some such guide on them that should help.

k) You can plant them directly outside now I imagine. Mainly the reason people start from seed indoors is to get a head start when it's still too cold to plant outside directly. Then by the time frost danger is past you have baby plants already.

 

[Kansas Terri]

Some plants, like broccoli and cucumbers, keep producing for a long time. By starting then inside where it is warm you can get an earlier harvest, and since they keep producing until the plants die of frost or of disease you will have a larger harvest as well.

All plants can be started outdoors, you will just end up with a smaller harvest of some type of vegetables. At this time of year you can start your seeds inside or outside, as you choose.

 

[Greenhorn]

The plants need the appropriate climate (light, warm-cold temperatures, humidity in general), the appropriate soil and the appropriate water (factors). The better these can be delivered upon typically the more successful a plant will be.

Given where you live do the recent historical weather or foretasted weather condition suggest they are within reason as to what the plants need?

On the other hand, unless the are cost considerations, why not try? I see gardening as 1 big experiment anyway.

To answer you questions (well kind of, more like giving you my thoughts)

A.) It's never to late to plant in a controlled environment (indoors), it's where they go from there that matters.

B.) If 3 months late the conditions for growth might not be what's required for 1 or more of the plants.

C.) Yes, an excess or deficiency of any one of the needed factors will cause less than desired effect on the plant(s). The range of affect would be from modest to extreme. A modest affect might not even be noticeably, an extreme affect could be the plants die.

D.) I planted my Sweet Pea flowers (4 varieties) late this year and they did not get the days of cold they needed, only 1 variety grew and that was the more heat tolerant type. I think that your issue might be warm weather plants being impacted by cooler temperature, but it's all the same, cause and effect.

E.) Seeds will keep.

F.) Basically same as questions B,C and D.

G.) Do what you can to replicate the conditions the plants need. If it's going to be excessively cold or wet (based upon plant needs) see if you can cover or shelter the plants. Maybe try a little cold frame or modified basic hoop row where it's just some bowed PVC with plastic on it, you might even make it portable where as during good weather you can have if off and in inclement weather you can cover the plants. The little cold frame or modified basic hoop row can maximize the value of the sun on cold and or cloudy days, and keep excessive weather (rain, cold) from affecting the plant directly, direct contact.

Go ahead and try it even if it's just with some of the plants, maybe the vegetables, things that are annuals. I wouldn't start a apple tree off on the wrong foot, as that could have negative short term and or long term affects, but annuals what the heck, go for it . Do it smartly as possible and it will be fun and you will learn a lot.

 

[headfullofbees]

Don't plant apples from seed, would be my advice.

 

[ChanellG]

I'm not in the UK, but from my conversations with @zigs, I know that it hasn't been all that warm let alone all that sunny. Those two things effect what you can or can not grow as well as the amount of humidity present in your climate. If I were you I would keep things simple. Since you're late getting started you should focus on crops that have a short seed to harvest time and start planning ahead for the next growing season. As I understand it, your summers are pretty short.

 

[ChanellG]

After posting, I had another glance and realized this is your FIRST TIME planting so that means you have no idea what you're getting into, lol. Seed starting is VERY make or break. Not all seeds will germinate just because you plant them; some take longer than others, require certain conditions... some can't/shouldn't be started indoors...

You need to start small. Begin with three plants only and work your way up from there. If potato growing is in season where you are, you could start with that. They don't seem to take much effort to sprout.

The next thing you might want to try is radish. Supposedly easy to start from seed - direct sown in the ground or a container, and it only takes three weeks to harvest. Arugula and pea shoots are also good choices. Anything with fruit takes longer and will only frustrate you.

Get your first plants going, do some research, and gradually expand your growing. If you take on too many things at once, your garden with ultimately fail - just like the rest of life.

 

[Beth_B]

Don't plant apples from seed, would be my advice.

Yeah, could take a long long time before harvesting! My neighbor bought two apple saplings three years ago; about 4-5 feet tall when he planted them. Some early variety that you're supposed to be able to harvest in three years and sure enough there are blossoms and baby apples coming in now.