Seedling's in modular trays

mattcullen

For those of you who don't have a greenhouse/polytunnell , do any of you put your trays of seedlings outside during the day and bring them back in at night? We have a few trays on the floor on the inside of a south west facing glass patio door. Apart from them just being in the way, the sunlight can be pretty strong there. We have a mix of leeks, lettuce, rocket, perpetual spinach, spring onions, beet root, cornflower, zinnia. I'll keep the more tender stuff like tomatoes and celery indoors but would appreciate any advice on the other stuff. We've a tray of leeks (25 cells of 3 or 4 to a cell) I was thinking of maybe putting in a plastic trough and leavING out in th garden as they won't be planted till after we take up the early spuds. Maybe after this cold spell

CelticRambler

I do. I have clear plastic under-bed storage boxes, into which I put the trays or small pots. I leave them on the heated floor in the utility room to speed up germination, then move them out into the sun once enough of the seedlings have broken through. At first, I leave the lids on the boxes outside, with about 1cm of water in the bottom to keep the humidity levels up, but once the plants look strong enough (usually after the first pair of leaves appear) I take the lid off. The next stage after that is to leave the cover off completely. If the overnight forecast is for very cold weather, I bring the whole box in; if not, I put the cover back on and leave it out.

Are you working with very limited space? I would think that waiting until after you've lifted your early spuds is way too late for beetroot and spring onions.

mattcullen

CelticRambler wrote: »

I do. I have clear plastic under-bed storage boxes, into which I put the trays or small pots. I leave them on the heated floor in the utility room to speed up germination, then move them out into the sun once enough of the seedlings have broken through. At first, I leave the lids on the boxes outside, with about 1cm of water in the bottom to keep the humidity levels up, but once the plants look strong enough (usually after the first pair of leaves appear) I take the lid off. The next stage after that is to leave the cover off completely. If the overnight forecast is for very cold weather, I bring the whole box in; if not, I put the cover back on and leave it out.

Are you working with very limited space? I would think that waiting until after you've lifted your early spuds is way too late for beetroot and spring onions.

That is genius. I may well do that rather than fork out on a cold frame. Thanks for posting.

Nah its just the leeks that are going in after the spuds. We have room to plant out the other stuff once big enough . We have a small allotment plot.

lordgoat

Leeks are fairly hardly to be honest. Another week or two and harden off outdoors and they'll be fine overnight (barring a huge drop in normal temps)

Zardaz

CelticRambler wrote: »

I do. I have clear plastic under-bed storage boxes, into which I put the trays or small pots. I leave them on the heated floor in the utility room to speed up germination, then move them out into the sun once enough of the seedlings have broken through. At first, I leave the lids on the boxes outside, with about 1cm of water in the bottom to keep the humidity levels up, but once the plants look strong enough (usually after the first pair of leaves appear) I take the lid off. The next stage after that is to leave the cover off completely. If the overnight forecast is for very cold weather, I bring the whole box in; if not, I put the cover back on and leave it out.

Are you working with very limited space? I would think that waiting until after you've lifted your early spuds is way too late for beetroot and spring onions.

Clear plastic intended for indoor use is unlikely to be UV stabilised. After a while of exposure to direct sunlight outdoors, they will gradually become brittle and crack.
They will probably last a few months though.

Bill Hook

I cart tender stuff in and out if the weather is nice but anything hardy gets moved to a cold frame as soon as it germinates. This cold spell is a bit annoying: trays of seedlings all over the place and tomato seedlings that need pricking out and potting on but there is just no room yet.

CelticRambler

Zardaz wrote: »

They will probably last a few months though.

That's a bit pessimistic! I treat all plastic as unstable when used out-of-doors, but they're beyond the "few months" limit at this stage. To a certain extent, it's a self-limiting problem - if there's that much UV light (we're hovering around level 5 on the UV index these days) then the seedlings probably don't need to be under cover.

The primary purpose of the boxes is to make it easy to store and move several individual trays and pots at the same time. Their internal height means that, with the lids on, I can stack one on top of another even after the plants inside have started to take off. So far, they've proven to be much more useful - and robust - than the wooden crates I used previously.

mattcullen

Bill Hook wrote: »

I cart tender stuff in and out if the weather is nice but anything hardy gets moved to a cold frame as soon as it germinates. This cold spell is a bit annoying: trays of seedlings all over the place and tomato seedlings that need pricking out and potting on but there is just no room yet.

Yeah you end up with stuff all over the place!

Graces7

mattcullen wrote: »

Yeah you end up with stuff all over the place!

My place is very small and my vegetable plans are very large! Every surface everywhere is crammed full of small trays.. The ones chicken portions ( for my cats) come in. I have three trays of pea well grown and ready for out as soon as this icy breath yields..

But lovely al the same to see the shoots emerging!

mattcullen

Graces7 wrote: »

My place is very small and my vegetable plans are very large! Every surface everywhere is crammed full of small trays.. The ones chicken portions ( for my cats) come in. I have three trays of pea well grown and ready for out as soon as this icy breath yields..

But lovely al the same to see the shoots emerging!

Yeah. And in fairness it is nice to watch them germinating and growing on a bit....just messy! In my case I think the south facing aspect of the glass door is not ideal

RebelButtMunch

2x Empty loo rolls halved and sunk in soil in a pot are great for seedlings.
Easy to lift and replant in the garden.

Graces7

mattcullen wrote: »

Yeah. And in fairness it is nice to watch them germinating and growing on a bit....just messy! In my case I think the south facing aspect of the glass door is not ideal

I sowed 6 giant sunflower seeds in 2 pots last week and they stayed in the kitchen and I see a small greeny yellow shoot pushing up.. Seedtime is sheer magic.

In 2 days it will ease enough to plant out at least three trays of peas..