Pricking 'ell!

Finally... finally got the compost and the vermiculite needed for pricking out the seedlings and transferring as many as I could into their own pots. 

I bounced about B&Q again much to Nathan's dismay. Bought some ties, the above vermici-wotsit and grabbed some night-scenting flower seeds. Next project. Also chose a new shower hose and rose for our pants bathroom. Why the previous owners never got a new one while they were there I don't know. I managed only 3 months with the highly inappropriate-for-use shower head. One way to experience a multi-spray shower I guess. Managed to wash down the rest of my bathroom whilst showering. Lots of fun. Terribly frugal.

Got in at about 10pm then decided it'd be a great idea to repot on my lap on the sofa in front of Desperate Housewives.

I wouldn't recommend it.

I don't think I have enough patience for pricking out :/

It's very delicate work and fiddly. 

Soil gets everywhere.

As does vermiculite.

I started by mixing up the compost and vermiculite in a bowl. Well I say started, initially I tried to do this in a small 7cm pot and realised what fool idea that was straight away. So I did a Hansel and Gretal routine to the kitchen and back for a bowl, leaving a trail of compost for no-one in particular. I then filled all the pots, that I had grabbed from the £1 shop, halfway up with this mixture then tried to work out how to get the seedlings out of each pot.

You've got to understand that by this point the sunflowers were about 5 inches tall and lolling all over the place.

I had both my gardening bibles with me however they both only gave tips on how to transfer seedlings to a pot rather than how to get them out of their present pot. I eventually squeezed them out and separated them that way. Many a leaf broke despite the advice being to hold the leaves. I did as many as I could then showed my attentions to the tomatoes. 

These were shockingly delicate and I'm wondering if I've made a huge mistake here. I guess time will tell. My method for getting them out of the pot didn't work so well this time. I squeezed and the whole thing fell out in a soggy wet lump. I didn't use all of these and the rest I've randomly threw in the garden just to see if any of them have a huge will to survive. I'm quite cruel I agree. I felt like I was pushing my children out into the woods at the age of 3 and seeing if they return grown up and unscathed. Perhaps I'm too harsh on myself... and perhaps just a little bit twisted.

I added sticks to the sunflower pots and tried a number of ways to hold those suckers up. I don't remember it being so involved last time I grew sunflowers as a kid. I'm sure we just stuck it in a pot and watched it grow.

I highly recommend not doing what I did. I recommend doing this or this but not this:

and certainly do not do this kind of thing at gone 10pm on your lap in front of the telly.

I'll make the mistakes so you don't have to.