October cutting garden progress

September and October have been busy months in the garden, and I feel like definite progress has been made, despite some set-backs! My first crop of cornflower seedlings failed miserably, but someone on Instagram urged me to sow some more as it wasn't too late! I did, and along with some nigella and some very strong and healthy looking scabiosa seedlings, it's now happily growing away in my little plastic greenhouse. Hooray!

The bad news is that a tiny snail managed to hitch a ride inside my greenhouse and had a good munch on said cornflower seedlings! Apparently, being eaten doesn't inhibit the growing process, and even the munched seedlings are still growing and producing their second set of leaves. My plan with these is to let them grow for longer than last time, so they're bigger and have more developed root systems before I re-pot them into plastic pots. I've decided against using the compostable ones again and have been given some plastic pots to recycle from my mum's husband. My thinking is that perhaps the compostable pots allowed the soil to dry out too much last time, and plastic will retain more moisture.

The scabiosa seedlings are looking strong, and I'm actually starting to wonder if they need to be potted on again into even larger pots. I've been watching for any roots starting to grow through the drainage holes underneath, as apparently that's a clear sign that a larger pot is needed.

Finally, the orlaya seeds (which needed to be covered with a polythene bag, which was a first for me!) didn't seem to be doing too well in the greenhouse, so I brought them inside and put them on the windowsill instead. Obviously, the temperature had dropped too much for them to be in the greenhouse, as they finally germinated indoors. They're rather tall and carried the casing from the seed with them when they grew! I have no idea how I'll know when these need potting on, I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on them and see how they continue to grow.

So, lots to look forward to for next year! If that wasn't enough, my spring bulbs have started to sprout too - I've been assured that as it gets colder they'll stop growing and lay dormant until the weather warms up again. Hope you're finding an equal level of success - I'd love to see what you've been sowing!