Pricking out seedlings

Yesterday was warm and dry for a few hours so I worked in the greenhouse pricking out plants and planting up into bigger pots.I planted out some of the winter cos lettuce into a tub but covered them with plastic in case of frost.
Looking into greenhouse, snapdragons on the stand and broad beans on the top
I pricked out over 220 antirrhinums (snap dragons)I had the seeds left over from last year and they are tiny so I sowed the lot of them never thinking they would all germinate!They came down from the bedroom windowsill yesterday and after pricking them out into trays I thought they would need some extra protection as the forecast for last night was more cold and frost. I wrapped the stand in bubble wrap inside the greenhouse and after checking them today they are all looking perky none has toppled over due to the cold so far.I am sure there will be lots of takers for any extras!

The shelves on the left side have cauliflower,leeks calabrese,marigolds and on the bottom shelf Spinach and brussel sprouts

Right hand side,Lettuce,purplette onions,spring onions and on the bottom brussel sprouts,mange tout and snowball onions which are way ahead of any I planted directly into the ground on the plot
The antirrhinums pricked out into trays all 220 of them.


This is the tray the seeds were planted in and I only pricked out just over half the tray!I don't know how commercial growers prick out hundreds of seedlings they must have a trade secret!
The tiny seedlings pricked into a tray, I soaked them with water and it makes it easier to prick them out. It was fiddly to hold one tiny leaf, don't hold by the stem as the plant can grow more leaves but a damaged stem does not regrow

Calabrese came down from the window sill also, I had just planted a few, more than enough if they all survive, they were pricked out into a tray to grow on a little
the greyhound cabbage plants had been in trays but the stem was getting thin and long so they were potted on into deeper pots.I mixed the compost first ,adding a handfull of lime to the mix and dampening it before putting in the plants. Any of the other brassicas which had a stem rising over the compost had more compost added around it to support the stem and help them grow stronger roots. The brussel sprouts in particular need a good strong root as it grows so tall and needs to withstand the winter winds. without rocking too much

The cabbage in their new pots, I covered them up to the bottom set of leaves and I do this each time I pot them on

To finish on something completely different. I saw these birds for the first time yesterday, there were three but by the time I had gotten the camera one had flown. They stayed on the bush for ages and came right onto the windowsill where I had put out crumbs for the smaller birds.I think they are thrushes but I'm no bird expert so cannot be sure.
I have just had a quick look at my blog list and I see there are lots of new posts, I will have lots of catching up to do later on tonight when I have time to read through them all.