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herb seed failure
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Posted by
marymargaret21 38654 (
My Page) on
Thu, May 20, 10 at 12:39
| I planted herb seed in my good garden soil, part-sun, and almost none of them came up! Any idea why. The soil is very good! I did have lots of birds pecking around in there, surely they couldn't have gotten almost all the seeds?? Baffled! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: herb seed failure
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| Could you be more specific? There are hundreds of herbs that you possibly could have planted. State? Zone? Was this seed you purchased? |
RE: herb seed failure
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| When did you plant them and what did you plant? Did you keep them moist? What zone are you in. Was your soil warm enough? Good soil is only part of the planting process, an important part but only part none-the-less. Some herbs are perennial and take a long time to come up. Some are biennial and some are annual. Some sprout easily and others are harder. All are better sown inside and transplanted to the garden as young plants. If you think birds can't eat a ton of seed you are wrong. |
RE: herb seed failure
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| Zone 7 North MS. The seed was definitely kept moist. It is good soil. I got the seed from Lowes. Please don't tell me they sold bad seed. I doubt it. I am sure if I hadn't been rushed I could have found better - many of the seed were labeled organic. I was told to plant herb seed direct sow, the natural way. almost none came up. The soil temp., not sure, might have been a little cool, but according to the package that shouldn't be a problem for herb seed, or for many of them. My yard is know as the "bird yard." I set my yard up as a bird habitat and I've been working on it for five years. We have an amazing variety of birds for one acre. Anyway, now what do I do. I don't have a green house to start them in. I want an herb garden. Thanks! |
RE: herb seed failure
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| MaryMargaret...again, WHAT herbs did you plant? Some herbs are MUCH easier to grow from seed than others. Some require cold, moist stratification, some require light, some require dark. If you are planting directly in the ground, is it possible that you buried the seed with soil when you watered? |
RE: herb seed failure
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| MaryMargaret: The seed was probably good and your soil was probably good too, but the instructions were wrong. I have been gardening for many years and I have grown perennials annuals, veggies and herbs. Let me tell you about parsley in particular. It's a biennial. It grows one year and the next year it sends up a seed head and drops it's seeds. I have collected those seeds and tried to plant them in the spring in my herb garden. I have never had 1 iota of success, yet when I take the seed and scatter it around in the fall it comes up the next spring. I can also grow it in pots, just not in the garden. My suggestion is to sow your seeds in pots and keep them in a protected area outside where the birds can't get the seed. When you water bottom water so the seed doesn't get washed away or buried in the soil |
RE: herb seed failure
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| since you stated you have a bird yard, you need to protect the seeds from the birds until the plants come up. You can do so by placing some bird net or fine chicken wire over the top of the seeds. As stated previously, some seeds take longer to germinate than other seeds. Some seeds need warmer soil before they germinate and if the birds hadn't eaten all of them, they will likely germinate when it warms up a bit. |
RE: herb seed failure
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| Let me repeat this one more time. What kind of herbs did you plant? No one and I mean no one can tell you what you did or didn't do right until they know the species of seeds you planted. Herbs is too vague. |
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