6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Thanks for everyone's help and I think I will water from the top from how on so I stop drowning them. Thanks again

Since there us a discussion about fertilizing petunias what would be the best way to fertilize when there set up for self watering? Just add diluted fert, to water?

BOY do they spread. Even if you only get a few out of this year, if they're healthy they'll take over whatever area they're in over the years.

Digdirt I put the seeds in 3 inch pots and the mix is just nothing special soil - could of been Miracle Grow. I have a trash can that I keep the soil in for future uses. Not using heat and the pots are wrapped up with plastic. Winter sowing? In Texas. The seeds were harvested from my own crop of coneflower seeds from my yard.

I started my first peppers recently and noticed they close at night, I thought maybe they are sensitive plants that close if they get cool or it gets dark.

I wouldn't worry about the little guy until he get his true leaves.

My experience tells me that if you want germination in under 10 days from peppers a heat mat is a must. Other veggies - Not.

My pepper seeds (which I save from year to year and some are 10 yrs old) germinate in 4-6 days with bottom heat. That is all I use my heat mats for.

BTW I suggested that a heating pad from a pharmacy was cheaper than a mat from a nursery and I was right but the one I just bought for $17.99 has a automatic shut-off after one hour. We rigged a stone with velcro to fool it but if you are worried about such a thing, look and see if it has that shut-off feature.

jduren - dont the bottom of those cups touch the bottom of the tray? And if so, doesnt that defeat the purpose of the wicks?

I have never tried "self watering", so maybe I just dont understand. I like spending an hour or so each day checking and watering my little seedlings.

About a 1/2 from bottom...Jack

Thx Dave. I had to take them from under the lights as I had petunias in the same flat. I just stuck them on a tv tray to continue proper light on other things.

The base stems are around 3mil thick. I assume healthy other than the lack of proper lighting....Jack

Just checked the internode, about 1.5 .

Great to see more winter sowing! I hope your deck is open to the elements. Your containers should be somewhere where they get rained and snowed on.
Good Luck, Jen

Here you go, a direct link in case you have difficulty finding that forum.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing forum

Well, did they grow?

Good news! (Especially for me with seeds)
I nicked, soaked, and planted 20 seeds. 6 of them are doing great! I gave two of the seedlings to my sister in Tampa, and she says those are still doing well, too.
Here's a pic. And thanks again!!

Thanks Dave,

I'll remove the cover. I'm one of those sorts who tends to baby things... God only knows how many orchids have died at my hand... I swear I really do try.

The seedlings didn't seem to damp off, I've done that to so many plants in the past that I feel it looked different. They shriveled up - and these were green ones. A few came back when I watered them. They are currently in seed starting mix. This is the new set up. When I was transplanting I was actually very pleased with the roots I saw in spite of the gnats and my helicopter gardening. They were lush and strong, and longer than the greenery by double (which I read was good, since roots should develop first, and greenery after...? Is that why they seem to grow to slow to me? hmm)

I'm going to do everything in my power to water the transplants only as needed.

Jasmine,

I noticed that the lamp reflector in your picture is round. Can you tell us more about the light you are using? In other words, is that an old-style incandescent? A cfl? Something else? One bulb? Many?

A saying I've seen many places is that "You are not a gardener until you have killed something." Congratulations, you are now a real gardener.

If you want to try something that doesn't require additional light, read up on WinterSowing. There's a forum here, with detailed FAQ's. Wintersown seeds are planted in covered containers outdoors and don't sprout until the weather is consistently warm enough. I start many plants that way, but I grow indoors under lights too. Most wintersown plants in my zone wait until April or even May to sprout. I get desperate to see green well before then. So every year I start seeds for something that needs long months of indoor care, so I have something to nurture / torture through the long winter. ;-)

I second the use of mosquito control products for fungus gnats. I keep a metal tea ball in a watering can. The tea ball holds a few of the mosquito "bits" or a quarter of a "dunk" and keeps the crumbs from clogging the spout. I replace the dunk periodically. I keep the watering can filled and use that to water anything that needs a drink, all winter.

I ask about the light because I suspect you haven't got enough light on your seedlings. I don't think that western window is going to be enough either. I've killed many seedlings thinking that winter sunlight filtered through window glass would be enough. With what you've invested in seeds, potting mix, trays, and time, it makes sense to get proper lights. You'll also want a timer and a power strip. Look for a timer that accepts a three-prong plug. Plug the timer into the wall, the power strip into the timer and the lights into the power strip. Now you can run up to six lights synchronized on one timer.

My preference is for fluorescent tubes. So far the plants are happy as well. Two of the two-bulb shoplights, or a single four-bulb fixture, are necessary to light a standard flat of seedlings. A single shoplight isn't wide enough and the plants at the edges will stretch and lean in. With four of the 4' bulbs side by side you can light two flats. I learned the hard way that if I have room for two flats, to only sow one flat with seeds. Half a flat would be even better. I'm working on my restraint. Once the seedlings in the first flat grow and need to be potted up into larger quarters, that extra space is necessary to keep them all lit.

I use the 4' size because they're easy to find (I got a pair of fixtures free through Freecycle) and the 4' bulbs come in at the lowest price, most options, and most readily available. Fluorescent tubes come in different diameters. T stands for Tube. T12 is the fattest, T5s are the skinny sort found in many "grow lights." I use T12s because I already have the fixtures. If you're light-shopping, T8s are highly recommended on the Growing under Lights forum. "Cool White" bulbs work fine.

Get them very close to your seedlings as digdirt said. You'll need to be able to adjust the height of either the lights or the trays as seedlings grow. If your household includes anyone with waggy tails, poking paws, or grabby fingers then you will want the lights mounted securely and both lights and seed trays out of reach. If that's not an issue, you can carefully prop them on something, but remember you're dealing with thin glass.

Do check the temperature as well, and check it against the preferred ranges for each plant you're growing. Any accurate thermometer with the correct range will do the job.

Good luck!

Edie