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I've planted a lot of seeds in John Innes Seed Compost this year. I though i'd try and give them a head start.

Every time i water, half the compost gets washed away, and i#m sure its taken a load of chilli seeds with it.

How do i stop this? I'm not buying the stupid compost again.

I water with a watering can with a rose on it.

Would using a hose and sticking my thumb over the end be better?

They're in the greenhouse, in trays, so i don't really have anywhere to stand them to suck up water from the bottom. My shelves in teh greenhouse are plastic with holes in so that i water from above and it drips through to the lower shelves.

Arg. Stupid compost. i'm sticking to the general purpose stuff next year.

Sometimes I use coarser soil then make a trench and fill it with finer soil to plant into. The soil might get washed around in the trench a bit but it is fairly easy to keep it from getting washed out.

You might also want to ensure a slower, less heavy and damaging, stream of water. In the past I've used "mini shower head" adapters that fit onto plastic drinks bottles; I can't find them this year so have been using a (well-washed) washing up liquid bottle. That lets me put the water exactly where I need it in a stream that isn't too fearsome. Once the plants need more water, they will be able to cope with a normal watering can.

Wulf

Thankyou. What are these mini-shower head thingies of which you speak? Do they have a manufacturer's name?

I usually plant seeds into general purpose compost which is then watered exactly the same way, but doesn't run off. I've planted things into modules in the greenhouse to give the poor things a chance of building some roots before they go into the heavy clay soil (its well-organicked, but its still really heavy), and it seems a shame that a load of the seeds are washing away because of some stupid compost that's supposed to be good for them!

Oh well...maybe i'll start finding random chilli plants growing on the floor of the greenhouse instead.

Hi
Wulf is referring to bottle top sprinklers (or whatever name the various companies call them). There is an example on here:

http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/Harr ... cessories/

Zoe

Yes - those ones. They are a really good idea but I found that, after a while, the little filter cap would pop out making the sprinkler no good any more. That's why I'm using a washing up liquid bottle this year - I figure that it is the gentle, controllable amount of water that matters, not whether it comes in a fine shower or gentle stream.

Wulf

I must admit that I've got some too but don't use them. You have to squeeze the bottle really hard to get the water out. Also they clog up with limescale really quickly around here.

I soak the compost really well before putting the seeds in and then pop the whole seed tray in a dreaded carrier bag until the seeds sprout. I usually find that keeps enough water in until the seedlings are big enough to handle being watered from a rose.

Zoe

If you are planting seeds in punnets, you can place them on a capillary bed ie a container like a pet litter tray with coarse sand in it. You then keep the sand moist and it acts as a water reservior for the punnets and you don't need to water the punnets directly, just water the sand!

Nev

the.fee.fairy wrote:I've planted a lot of seeds in John Innes Seed Compost this year. I though i'd try and give them a head start.

Every time i water, half the compost gets washed away, and i#m sure its taken a load of chilli seeds with it.

How do i stop this? I'm not buying the stupid compost again.

I water with a watering can with a rose on it.

Would using a hose and sticking my thumb over the end be better?

They're in the greenhouse, in trays, so i don't really have anywhere to stand them to suck up water from the bottom. My shelves in teh greenhouse are plastic with holes in so that i water from above and it drips through to the lower shelves.

Arg. Stupid compost. i'm sticking to the general purpose stuff next year.

You need to keep your compost constantly moist otherwise it will dry out on top, become light and wash away. You could also use a finer rose on your watering can. Finally dont fill your seed trays all the wat to the top

i've replanted a lot of them, so they're a bit more hardy now.

Doesn't leaving a gap at the top encourage damping off?

Yup!