Sowing starts here.
Discover what you can sow and plant now. Or find a vegetable and see how to give it a good start.
What can you sow now?
Ideas for the rest of november still to sow or plant.
Loading sowing tips…
Guide periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, sufficient light and measured soil and air temperatures.What would you like to grow?
Find a vegetable or browse the species. See when you can start and which approach suits your propagation space.
A good start: warmth and light
Warm sowing can be done indoors or in a heated greenhouse. After germination, every seedling needs enough light. A dark attic needs grow lights. An unheated greenhouse can become very cold at night: measure the temperature and check the advice for your crop.
1 of 108 species and crop groups
TomatoStart under cover in warmthLate February–mid-March for a greenhouse; late March–early April for outdoors
Late February–mid-March for a greenhouse; late March–early April for outdoorsStart indoors in warmth and reserve enough bright space for raising plants.
- Germination and temperature
- Germination: about 18 °C. After emergence, plenty of light and protection from cold.
- After emergence
- Give seedlings light immediately after emergence. A dark loft needs suitable grow lights; warmth alone is insufficient. Ventilate and keep the compost moist without saturating it.
- Pricking out and potting on
- Prick out once the first true leaves are manageable. Hold a seedling by a leaf. Pot on when the roots fill the root ball.
- Hardening off and planting out
- Gradually acclimatise indoor-raised plants to sun, wind and outdoor temperatures; shelter them again on cold nights. A heated greenhouse can be earlier; an unheated greenhouse only when frost-free and warm enough. Outdoors after the last frost, often late May or June.
Match the start to the final position. A large plant needing to stay indoors in insufficient light for weeks gets no better start.
Sources and use
RHS · tomaat ↗Britse teeltrichtlijn voor een gematigd klimaat; de genoemde perioden zijn richtlijnen voor Nederland en Vlaanderen.
Feggies · Tomaat Ace 55 VF — rasbeschrijving ↗Nederlandse producent of teeltbron; de rasinstructie blijft leidend.
Feggies · Tomaat Ananori — rasbeschrijving ↗Nederlandse producent of teeltbron; de rasinstructie blijft leidend.
Guideline periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, available light, soil and measured temperatures. Greenhouse heating does not guarantee enough winter light.