im going to sound like a complete moron here but wev just decided to plant our own veg, have put onions and cabbage outside and put seeds of carrots, beetroot, lettuce and corn in small pots in the house until they sprout. just wondering if anyone can give me some advice. the lettuce seeds have sprouted far too much as iv been an idiot and put too many in and looks like cress and everything else hasnt done much at all. the beetroot and corn have started to sprout but iv done the same with all of them and planted them all too close together. also got a chilli and a pepper plant so any tips on helping those do well would be fab! thanks greatly for any advice anyone can give, im a complete novice! :)

you'll need to very carefully tease them apart and separate them. Then take each seedling and very carefully transplant it to it's final growing position - try not to damage the root - tricky when they are so young, but sounds like you have more than enough to accommodate a few accidents. Was that sweetcorn that you planted ? that may be more tricky as apparently their roots don't like being disturbed much - but hopefully with a bit of TLC they will pull through.

You can sow most of the items you've mentioned direct into the soil outside.

Never grown chillis, but tomatoes will need some tomato feed once you see flowers - shake the stems very gently to pollinate them. They will need support - tie the stems to a cane - they will thicken tho, so don't do them too tight.

When I first started growing, I started a lot of things off in trays inside and planted out later, including beetroot, peas, and sweetcorn. Of course I didn't know at the time that they didn't like their roots disturbing too much! However I got on with it and was careful and didn't notice any overall difference. Even though I now know this, I still start some things off inside when I don't have the space outside, or waiting on the weather! Just be careful and you should be fine. I really hate thinning out crops, as it feels like your wasting something, I often try to find a space for the leftovers somewhere, but that's just me :)

ps with the beetroot, you will always get 1 to 3 seedlings per seed, that's because they're a cluster of seeds, so if you wonder where all the beetroot came from, now you know! :hihi: