6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Oh, yes, they have some bizarre beliefs. Today, in fact, I heard my mother in law rant about fertilizing. After which she switched to another belief of hers: if a dog has a good pedigree, it is therefore stupid, because the only way it could have stayed full blooded is through inbreeding. That's her usual conversation topic when she sees my German Shepherd who has three generations before it AKC registered & DNA tested as proof. To have another idea of how strange their ways are, three years ago they bought a $80,000 double wide trailer & refuse to live in it. It has never has power or water hooked up to it. It has been sitting on their property this whole time. Totally empty. The reason? They claim their 30 yr old trailer they are in now is better built than the new one. The floors are caving in on it.
Kill fungus gnats by killing the eggs and larvae in the soil not the gnats themselves. Those flies you see only hatch out of the soil to mate and lay eggs in the soil and die. Killing them won't get rid of them because there will always be more hatching out. The larvae hatch from eggs in the soil and live in the soil eating plant roots and debris in the soil.
Getting them is nothing you did. The eggs were probably in the soil when you bought it.
Anyway they are very easy to get rid of. Mix about 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap or insecticidal soap in a quart of water and water the soil of the plants with it. The soap won't harm the plants but it will kill the eggs and larvae. As these are seedlings I'd wait until they are a bit dry so you don't over water. You can put some in a spray bottle if you want to spray and kill the flies if you get them to sit still long enough
Fungus gnats are nothing but a nusance. They won't harm food plants except for the larvae feeding on the roots
That's going to be difficult I think. It will depend on the varieties used.
Most "wildflowers" are perennials which means they won't bloom until the second year, especially in your shorter growing season. So I would look to find a "wildflower mix" that is labeled as all annuals or a mix of annuals and perennials and get them started ASAP. See link below for an example and Google pulls up several other sources.
Good luck.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: All Annuals Wildflower mixes
Averages are just that -- averages. When I winter-sow in milk jugs I just throw the seeds in and water. Then they are sealed and put outdoors to freeze/thaw/be covered with snow. I just figure that when seeds self sow, they usually are not covered except by falling leaves and animals digging them in.
My success with winter sowing is excellent. They just plain don't need to be covered since they don't need protection from birds or other varmints. But - when I start plants indoors I cover with a bit of soil just to keep the seeds from drying out before germination.
I plant seeds outside in 18 cell flats; bring flats into garage when I expect a freeze. I may plant up to 4 cycles a year.
I use a personal rule that works for me:
Soak most seeds (except ultra tiny) before planting. Plant in loose soil so roots can penetrate.
Barely cover and keep reasonably moist till germination.
Spacing? Plant far enough apart that I can lift them out of the cell with minimal disruption.
Right or wrong, it works for most of my seeds.
Certainly don't expect anyone else to follow what I do.
This post was edited by bugbite on Sun, Mar 3, 13 at 9:52
Here is another link that is less geared for the professional grower
Here is a link that might be useful: Lisianthus
Sounds good Mandolls. I have grown them a couple of times and I too am far from an expert. They take a LONG time.
They take awhile to germinate and take forever to get any size. Watching how you water is of utmost importance...DO NOT overwater, very easy to do because of their size.
You might be too late in starting seed this season, I am not sure of your zone. I started mine a few weeks ago and will need the time to get any size on them before they go in the ground in late May.
Good luck!
Old server console racks are perfect for hanging shop lights. I didn't do anything fancy. These are T8 fluorescent shop lights I bought at Home Depot 6 or so years ago for about $8.99 each. I am using Phillips tubes (economy 20-pack). I'm not certain why anyone would spend $80+ on a shop light fixture when the cheapies from the big box stores get the job done.
I got a giant piece of Mylar sheeting when I did the Tough Mudder It was so cold the day of the event that reflective Mylar 'sheets' were all over the course. I used one on the back side of my rack to help contain all the light.
Your setup looks pretty good. As far as the expensive grow lamps are concerned they really are very nice lamps. High output T5s put out lots of lumens. When I bought one I was a bit hesitant due to the price. They are designed with the indoor grower in mind as opposed to generic shop lights that are made for garages or office space.
I have a variety of fixtures T12, T8 and the one T5. I can say with certainty that in my situation the T5HO is by far the best lamp.
Hi and welcome to GardenWeb!
Just wanted to mention that when you have that greenhouse outside, make sure it is well secured to something. I've read post in the past where the wind has blown them over and dumped the plants all over the patio! That plastic cover will catch a lot of wind.
Art
I started my first batch of seeds yesterday: broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, and salad burnet. It's the first time I've started seed inside in several years here in MD. Not sure about southern MD, but I think here around Baltimore, it's the time to start the seeds that need 6-8 weeks.
No it works fine as long as there were no symptoms of contamination - molds, fungi, etc. in the previous use.
Some advocate dousing it with boiling water before re-use. I just make sure to use seeds of something very different so it will be easy to tell which seeds germinated. Don't want to have to worry if it is Tomato A or Tomato B.
Dave
Here is just one opinion: Leave them. Don't "transplant shock" them twice in such a short period of time. I left my fall-planted winter seedlings (petunias, snaps, and rose seedlings) in trays a long time this winter and just planted them in the ground 2 weeks ago.
Go to the post "when to fertilize". Go straight to the link Art provided. You will see the fertilize requirements for seedlings at different ages. Correct the fertilizer to what is stated in his link. That will control the growth rate a bit while in the trays.
A quick way to get a real close PPM for 1 tablespoon of your water soluble fertilize in one gallon of water is a simple calculation with the number by 3750.
Example: If your fertilizer is 20-10-10 and you want to know the PPM per tablespoon of Nitrogen (20).
DO: 20% x 3750 = 750 ppm per tablespoon per gallon of water.
Calculate the desired PPM from there.
Good Luck,
Bob
This post was edited by bugbite on Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 15:20
for increased % germination need to store seed at 70F for 3 months then at 40F for 3 months.... THEN lightly cover the seed soil temp for germination 65-75F