While our line of work doesn’t typically extend to growing plants from seed, being a part of the team at 4AllSeasons has inspired me to do this in my own time and I thought I’d share some of the results with you. After a couple of months of using a propagator I received as a gift for Christmas, I can now safely say that I definitely recommend them for anyone with an interest in gardening and growing things from scratch.
I didn’t have any experience with growing plants from seedlings, so I settled on a few to plant in the trays and I was amazed by the results. I went for tomatoes, marigolds, chilli’s, and herbs. I was astounded how quickly the seeds germinated in the propagator, most sprouted within a couple of days and within a week or two they were ready to be taken out and placed into pots. The only plants that took a while were the herbs. Initially nothing seemed to be happening for several weeks, but eventually some very small seedlings appeared. They’re still in there growing now and soon they’ll be big enough to take out and plant them in pots.
I’ve had mixed success with keeping some of the plants alive. All but one of my chilli plants sadly died off, and I think it’s possible I moved them out too soon. I’ve got three tomato plants left but I’ve by far had the most success with marigolds — I have over twenty in individual pots and not only are they all thriving but they’re about to flower as well!
I’ve added new seeds to the trays over the past few weeks and I recently moved sunflower seedlings into individual pots (they grew very quickly!) and I now have forget-me-nots coming through. The number of plants I’ve been able to grow in such a small space of time has really pleasantly surprised me.
When it comes to using the propagator itself, it’s very simple. I plugged it in close to my window sill and it keeps the bottom of the trays consistently warm at all times. This also helps with the humidity and constantly keeps the soil damp, which of course encourages germination and growth.
If there are any downsides to propagators, I’m not seeing them. I think they’re great for both novice and expert gardeners and they’re a brilliant way of introducing planting to younger people as well. It’s been very satisfying to sit back and watch all of these seeds become life. I would definitely recommend getting one and trying it out for yourself if you haven’t already.
I hope some of you have been inspired or intrigued by this latest blog post! Please feel free to check out some images below of how the plants are currently looking as of today. Enjoy!
