I’ve now potted up all my tomato seedlings into 9cm diameter pots with peat free multipurpose compost.  They are off my windowsill and in my unheated greenhouse, where they get a lot more light.  The seedlings I started off in January for Tomato ‘Burpees’ Super Sauce’ have struggled with low light levels on my windowsill and have gone a bit leggy.  But the later Tomatoes; ‘Micro Cherry’ and ‘Artisan Tiger Stripe Mix’ have both developed good sturdy, stems and compact seedlings.  This is a lesson to me in future; that January is a bit too early for starting these seeds in my house.  Even my ‘best’ windowsill only gets a couple of hours of sun that month and, unfortunately, daylight lamps haven’t made up for it.

My January sown Aubergine ‘Raspberry Ripple’ have fared better and grown into healthy seedlings.  After a few weeks of no activity my Squash ‘Baked Potato’ is sprouting in my unheated greenhouse – I’ve got six of these and so will be giving some away as they need plenty of space.  This is a good month to watch out for plant swap days at your local allotments or community gardens, where you can share you germination successes with other growers.

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