I am such an Idiot

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I am such an Idiot

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moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 1:45 pm Post subject: I am such an Idiot

Took Ceri out into the garden with me to help plant the seeds and fruit trees I'd bought.

Filled the seed trays with compost and made little holes so her 3 year old fingers could nimbly drop the seeds in for me, covered them over lightly and watered them. A huge success, she loved every minute.

Cleared off a shelf just inside the back door to place them somewhere light but warm, placed them gently on the shelf, then realised!!!!

I'd forgotten to mark the trays!!!

So now I have a tray of carrot seeds, a tray of leeks and a tray of spinach beet and no way of telling which is which.

I'm not doing very well am I?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 1:49 pm Post subject:
You'll soon find out, as far as I'm aware though carrots don't transplant well, the leeks will be fine, the beet probably will be too. You only learn by making mistakes.

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 1:53 pm Post subject:

I admit the carrots were a bit of a mistake, a friend phoned and Ceri was getting a bit impatient so I just tore open a packet and let her stick some in, doesn't matter really, I still have over half a pack left and they were only 39p.

It's just not knowing which was which that was the problem

I couldn't really do any heavy digging with her around, that will have to wait until tomorrow when she is at school.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28239
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 3:20 pm Post subject:
Good labelling is something we are still learning the hard way

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 3:45 pm Post subject:

You should be able to tell fairly easily - the leeks will be single stems (and smell oniony) the carrots will be feathery (and smell carrotty) and the beets will be the ones that are left. I don't know what they look like, as I never grown them (yet!)

I've often thought that one of the gardening magazines should do a photo-feature on what wild flowers look like when they are small. When we first moved here, the garden was full of honesty, snapdragons, foxgloves and poppies which I am sure I have been merrily weeding out ever since (well, I've rumbled the foxgloves)

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 5:30 pm Post subject:

It has taken years of experience (17

) but I can identify most things as seddlings now, at least in the confines of my garden, having a fair knowledge of what I grow and what has been sown there. So time and practice is the answer if your labelling is not quite what it should be!
What is quite useful now is that a lot of seed companies are putting small photos of the emerging seedlings on the back of the packet for you to be able to differentiate them from weeds when they germinate - suually in the top right corner of the back of the packet. Quite useful.

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 05 5:48 pm Post subject:
I'll have a look at my packets then Thank you all for the helpful ideas, at least they are in seed trays so I won't try to weed them out

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 05 10:53 am Post subject:
There's a book by Roger Phillips called 'Garden and Field Weeds' which includes photographs of the seedlings of many weeds and wildflowers. Don't know if it's still in print, but it was published by Elmtree Books, ISBN 0241117550 in 1986.

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 05 2:01 pm Post subject:
Now that would be useful, I always have to put off weeding till the plants are big enough to tell the difference

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