It’s been a chilly and wet January, but I’m glad to report that I’ve managed to get my ‘Burpee’s Super Sauce’ tomato and ‘Raspberry Ripple’ aubergine seeds to germinate on my windowsill.  As the outdoor temperatures were so cold at the start of the month I put my trays in an electric propagator and used an LED grow lamp.  With that combination I’ve managed to get a 100% germination rate with all the seeds putting up shoots.  I didn’t bother with extra heat for my Leek ‘Below Zero’ seed but they have germinated well nevertheless.  My onion ‘Ailsa Craig’ isn’t showing yet, but I often find that onions are slow compared to other vegetables.

This month’s tomato is ‘Micro Cherry’;  a small plant with tiny, sweet tomatoes.  These are ideal for containers as they have a bushy, trailing growth habit and don’t need much support.  They will grow indoors or outside in a sunny, sheltered spot.  As with last month’s tomato I’ve sowing one seed per module and lightly covered them with 0.5cm of compost.  They need a temperature of 15 – 20 degrees to start the germination process, so I’ll put them in my heated propagator with a plastic cover until the seedlings appear