David Lifton

Leggy seedlings can be saved...

In February, we saw the warmest temperatures ever recorded in the UK for that month of the year, but I’m not being hasty with the bulk sowing of my vegetables. This is because the light levels are still only just about reaching the nine hours a day mark. Most plants need a strong and long amount of light to grow healthily, as if they’re grown in the darker months this is what causes them to be leggy.

Leggy plants aren’t just destined for -the compost heap though.. A quick rem edy to any over-stretched plant is to bury its stems in compost right up to the first set of leaves. This will help to anchor your plant down and support the stem, and with plants such as tomatoes and peppers, this also encourages more roots to grow from the covered area, giving you an even more efficient root system.

Replanting leggy seedlings can be a fiddly process, so by waiting until the last half of March to sow the bulk of your seedlings (excluding aubergines, chilli peppers and other very long season crops) you can ensure that they will have stronger stems and bigger leaves.

Many of us will be growing our seeds at home on any available windowsill, which means they are likely to be leggy. Quick remedies to fix this are to invest in a small grow light and angle it into any areas where the light isn’t strong. Another is to take a piece of card and wrap tinfoil around it – this helps reflect the light back on to the plants and should give them a more even spread. The final and most important tip is to turn your plant trays 90 degrees each at the end of the day.

As the seedlings develop, the cells in their stems will adapt to these changes, bulking them up and leaving you with a much sturdier plant.

My polytunnel table is almost full of hopeful batches of seeds.

The radishes are growing strong, although they are a little too patchy for my liking. I will remedy this by sowing successional batches.

T-he biggest moment for me was see ing my seven broccoli plants growing strong so early in the season.

They were started at home but since they were brought up to the polytunnel, they’ve come on a treat.