Seedlings and horse manure compost: a question

[policywonk]

OK, vegetable virgin here. I had a bunch of healthy-looking courgette seedlings (about 5-6 ins each) which I had grown from seed in seed compost, keeping them in my conservatory. They were happy, I was happy. A couple of days ago I replanted them into larger pots, using well-rotted horse manure compost - but nothing else. Since then, they seem to have committed a sort of mass hari-kiri.

Should I have dug the horse manure compost into other compost before planting them in it? It (the compost) does seem rather fibrous. If so, should I re-pot them straight away?

If it's OK to use horse manure on its own for seedlings, should I just keep them indoors for a while? I put them outside overnight on Saturday, so it's possible that the wilting was cold-related?

[policywonk]

Pretty please

[Mung]

It must be way too strong for them. I dug just a bit into my patch just before planting courgettes and they were a total failure.

I have just been told on another thread that they are very sensitive to frost and should be protected until May. You could construct little cloches out of plastic bottles around them to protect them a little more for the moment.

I would try putting them in a mix of soil and a bit of manure and then protect them...they may survive.

I am still learning though, so I could be totally wrong.

[policywonk]

Thanks Mung, I suspect that you are right.

Any other advice?

[BigBadMouse]

No need to use manure for seedlings at all. They come with their own little store of food in the seed!

Manure compost is not as strong as full on manure but it is still not a good idea to use it as a sole planting medium. It is designed to be used to enrich existing soil.

If they are dead, you can't resuscitate them. Manure burns young growth and only strong plants will recover from that.

You still have plenty of time to plant new seeds if you have any left over. I would recommend a mix of John Innes seed compost and some normal potting compost. They are pretty tough seeds.

Do protect from frost and harden them off gradually before planting them outside. Dig any remaining horsey compost into the soil where you intend to plant them. There should be instructions on the pack for how much to use.

[policywonk]

Ah thank you BBM. Is it worth trying to repot those that have survived thus far?

You're right, they are easy to grow - I had to work pretty hard to kill them! - will try again with a new pack of seeds.

[BigBadMouse]

Don't see why you can't repot the ones you haven't killed yet .

DD was climbing all over me when I first read your OP so I missed a few important points you mentioned. It is no way near warm enough for them to go outside (even covered up) yet. They need to be kept indoors or in a heated greenhouse. They are pretty big now so I hope you have some space for them! They can go outside from Mid May but you need to harden them off gradually by putting them out during the warmer part of the day for a few days then leaving outside but undercover at night for a few days before braving the night air.

Might be best to sow some more anyway just in case these get caught out in a late frost or get too big to keep indoors. Its a common mistake to sow too early by the way - I always do it

btw, courgette fried in garlic until it is slightly crispy is really nice IMO

[snorkle]

much much too early for courgettes outside yet. Last year I sewed mine inside on 15th April, hardened them off (that's putting them outside in the daytime and bringing inside at night) in mid May and planted them outside on 28th May - Then we had a late frost - even protected with a tent made from 2 sheets of glass (They were too big by then for my usual trick of a sawn-off drinks bottle over them) one suffered quite badly and never really recovered. The other didn't produce well either, but not sure if that was related.

RHS courgette info here they recomend planting indoors mid-late April and moving outside in early June.

[policywonk]

Thank you very much BBM and snorkle. Will try to salvage the ones that have somehow managed to survive, but will try again with a new pack of seeds in a month or so.

Doing all this in my conservatory (also doing red peppers, aubergines, tomatoes and... erm... sweet peas ), so it's gradually becoming a glorified greenhouse!

[snorkle]

Should add that courgettes count anything a weather forcast gives as 5C or lower to be a frost. You can get a ground frost when the air temp is 5C or less.