How many weeks does it take for my seedlings to appear?

Posted on 28. Apr, 2010 by Tracey in Veg Plot

After we’ve sowed our seeds, we all want to know when are they going to appear above the soil? Its a waiting game and I’m always popping out to check if they have emerged and its all part of the fun. But wouldn’t it be great if you knew roughly when to expect the arrival of a certain vegetable seedling.

This year I have carried out a little experiment by sowing all my seeds that I wanted to sow in April at the same time to find out exactly that – How many weeks does it take for my seedlings to appear?

Please see the chart below for my results.

No of Weeks Seedlings Chart

Summary

Fast Growing Vegetables – Seedlings in 1-2 Weeks are:

Beetroot,
Cabbage (Summer),
Perpetual Spinach or Leaf Beat,
Radish.

Slow Growing Vegetables – Seedlings in 3 or more weeks are:

Perpetual Spinach Seedlings

Cabbage (Winter Savoy),
Chard,
Mange Tout,
Spinach,
Spring Onions,
Tomatoes,
Pepper – Seedlings not appeared yet,
Carrot – Seedlings not appeared yet.

Please note my experiment is a guide only as germination times may vary depending on day/night temperatures, frequency of watering, location of plot, micro-climate, month sowed and other factors.

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Tags: allotment growing, growing vegetables from seed, growing vegetables in a raised bed, how many weeks for seedlings to appear?, how many weeks from seed to seedling?, no of weeks seeds, seed to seedling no of weeks, sowing vegetable seeds, time from seed to seedling

3 Responses to “How many weeks does it take for my seedlings to appear?”

Sylvana

29. Apr, 2010

I love this chart. I love garden geek tools!

I found a much better way to watch the process though – I pre-sprout my seeds. Then all I have to do it lift a piece of damp tissue to see how it’s coming along. And they germinate faster! I have Chinese cabbage that germinated in three days. When I tried planting it directly in the ground, I got nothing
As you may have guessed, this is fairly impossible to manage with carrots. We will just have to wait that out.
Tracey

29. Apr, 2010

Hi Sylvana,

I have heard of pre-sprouting but you are right its definitely the way to see your seeds germinate up close. I think I might try it with some of my seeds this year to see what the results are. The problem will be putting them in soil once they have sprouted, I can imagine it is a delicate operation.

Thanks
Tracey
Mal

29. Apr, 2010

Great chart Tracey, but I’m really worried about your carrots (and mine)!

I”ve decided to go for carrots this year and sown 3 lots under my newly aquired nets. This weekend I go to see if any (!) have germinated. You haven’t filled me with hope.

Also I’m experimenting with bean germination. Sown last Saturday (24th April). A week to ten days/2 weeks unser ideal conditions, the books say. I’m biting my nails…

I’ve reluctantly experimented with “chitting/pre sprouting” parsnip seeds, and they sprouted very quickly indoors but I found it hard to deal with them once they has sprouted (ended up rough handling them into a furrow in the rain last Sunday) and also fear that they will fork as a result of their early life experiences. Time (and the camera) will tell.