The perils of a west facing window

I've lived in my current home for over ten years now, and every year since I moved here I have grown my own plants from seed.  I have a spare room (although of late it's not been so spare as hubby has turned it into a mini gym) and with it's two ample window sills, it would have been a perfect growing space if it wasn't facing West.  Still I don't let this put me off and I place many a seed tray there with varying success.

Cosmos and pansies don't appear to mind the limited mid day, where as courgettes and lettuce have hated it.

The lettuce had stretched it stems so thin that I decided to give them up as a bad job and start again outside in the green house.

I refused though to give up on the courgettes, I went about hardening them off and potting them out as normal.  True they looked a right tangled mess at first, but with a bit of sun and some blood fish and bone they've sorted themselves out nicely (more pictures hopefully with veg attached soon).

 

Now I know there were things I could have done to stop the lettuces ending up in the compost bin.

I could of turned the plants on a regular basis, ah I could of, if I had been able to reach them.  You see at the time of growing I was decorating the spare room. I found I couldn't reach the little lettuces as hubby's  heavy cross trainer was by the window out the way for painting, but in the way for gardening! I had to strain myself like some sort of ungainly ballerina to water the seedlings! 

 

 I know I should of really moved them before the DIY job, but what with the limited window space in my other rooms, it just seems the lettuces were destined to be doomed, just a shame I don't have a rabbit to feed my failed attempts too!

Onions and Lettuce are big leggy...

A week on from planting my seeds and there is definitely signs of life, unfortunately sun shine has been limited so a few seedlings have been straining themselves to seek out some light.

My lettuce and onion plants have grown very leggy, so I decided to move them on into individual cells.  I have buried them deep in new compost in a bid to help them grow big and strong.

If anyone is wondering about my strange post title, it is a reference to an eighties song 'John Wayne is big leggy' by Haysi Fantayzee.

I don't know that much about them, I was about six or seven when they were on the go.  One thing I do know is that I was probably jumping round my parents living room to 'The Top of the Pops' performance I have posted a link to below. :D 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXu8hd49ZZM&feature=kp