6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Glad to be of help Kevin. I had to edit my first post because I found out that Onalee is a she not a he :-)

This post was edited by art33 on Fri, Feb 8, 13 at 19:01

I've never heard of propagating a Datura from cuttings. I have always been told it was seeds, but I could have always been told wrong. I haven't looked for a proof positive answer, because, though I see quite a few of these absolutely beautiful plants growing in people's yards, I do not know them, therefore, I just can't walked up to them & start asking questions. I purchased seeds online of two trumpet plants. I tried sowing them last year without any luck. This year was off too a bad start as well. Unlike the first try, these did not even germinate. The seeds rotted in the soil. Damping off killed my first set. I am currently in my third attempt. It has been about two weeks since they have sprouted, & things seem to be looking brighter.

Potting up is one of my least favorite things to do but it is sometimes the best thing to do in my opinion. If you start in too large of a container then seedlings may grow slowly and have a tendency towards root rot. If you leave them too long in small containers then keeping them in those containers can lead to a challenge keeping them from drying out. Tapping them out of their containers and looking to see how root bound they are getting can be a decent baseline for potting up.

Yep...............you are going to quickly realize that there are many different ways to go about getting your garden started. I am the one who suggested the potting up in the different size plastic cups - it works well for me, but this time of year I like to fuss with my seedlings. My experience (little though it may be) is that leaving them in containers that are to small for them is much worse than the slight trauma of re-potting. I tend to start things to early, and need to move them to larger containers, but I have a short growing season. I am harvesting pretty much everything a good two weeks before my neighbor who buys his transplants in 6 packs or direct seeds.

When the broccoli and cauliflower is repotted from the 3 oz. cup to the 9-12 oz. cup how many sets of true leaves should it have?

How many sets of true leaves should the pepper, tomato and eggplant seedlings have when repotted from the 3 oz. cup to the 9 oz. cup? When repotted from the 9 oz. cup to the 16 oz. cup how many sets of true leaves should the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant have?

I plan to do asian greens (asian cabbage mostly) and swiss chard as seedling transplants too. I know they don't like having their roots disturbed when transplanting and are more finicky with transplanting in general. I will use cow pots for them, but since they don't like to be transplanted, they won't be repotted while being grown as transplants indoors. So what size cow pot should I use for them? They will be about 2-4 weeks old when transplanted outdoors.

Swiss chard grows well direct seeded.

To test when to transplant container seedlings, gently knock plant up and out. If roots take up all of soil, then transplant. If you transplant too soon, the plant spends time growing roots to fill container.

If plant needs constant watering, transplant to bigger container. Or just time growth to plant directly outdoors from the first container and avoid all that transplanting work.

After you've been at it for a few years, you will learn a lot from your notes. Keep a pad handy with notes like "start __ later" or "use bigger container for ___."

I sure wouldn't use it. You have no way of controling the heat you get. My heat mat feels barely warm when I put my hand on top of it. Too much heat and you'll kill the seeds not to mention start a fire. Before I got my heat mat I didn't use anything and I still don't for many seeds. Only those that require bottom heat for better germination. Even without the mat I had pretty good germination with those seeds.

If you really want a heat source try a regular light bulb. Rig some kind of open structure like a frame made with scrap lumber with a cookie sheet on top and put the light bulb under it. The heat from the bulb will transfer to the cookie sheet. You only want to keep the bottom of your pots warm not hot

If you have read through the previous discussions here about using water bed heaters then you know that it is the attached thermometer probe, the enclosure around the seed starting space, and the elevated spacing created between the pad heater and the bottom of the trays/pots that lets it work.

Not that I am advocating using one, there are many alternatives. But it can work and work safely with an enclosure, a 1-2" elevated platform over the pad, and a container of wet soil sitting on the platform with the thermometer buried in it to trigger the mat off and on. You are heating the air in the enclosure so only indirectly heating the flats of seeds.

Dave

I was doing some looking around on amazon and saw this heat mat and was wondering what some of you think of it.I like the idea of being able to get it in a length and width that I choose instead of having to get several different ones. Do you think that it will have adequate power to cover say a 6' length?

Here is a link that might be useful: heat mat

Not enough specs are given to make a guess. No wattages mentioned for any of the sizes. No thermostat control, only claiming to raise the temperature over some unknown temperature. I would not risk my money for as little as is known. It would have been better to start your own thread, as this has no relation to the original post. Al

Is the clay coating (or inert materials) generally ok to be considered "organic". What coating would not meet this requirement (to be organic.)

Is the clay coating (or inert materials) generally ok to be considered "organic". What coating would not meet this requirement (to be organic.)

If you are a certified organic grower - the only instance where it would matter - then you'd have to contact your local certification agent to double check. But in most states yes, pelleted seed are approved for organic certification.

While there are some fungicide-treated/coated seeds that are not approved for certified organic growers to use, that is quite different from pelleted seeds. I can't think of any pelletized seed coating that wouldn't be considered "organic". The issue is not the coating but if your particular state approves their use for certified growers.

Dave

Agree with Al above that 57 is a little low especially as an average meaning it will spend lots of time lower than 57. A consistent air temp of 60-65 is considered the ideal post germination.

But the light provided is far more important at the seedling stage so the plants will tolerate lower air temps in order to get extra light.

So focus on the best way to provide them with lots of light once they germinate. EX: If you set up your shelves in the basement and hang several lights on them and then enclose the shelf set-up in a plastic tent of some sort - create a small enclosed area of sorts - the trapped heat from the lights (even fluorescent) will keep the area inside the tent much warmer than the rest of the basement. Include a thermometer within the tent so you can monitor the temps inside. You'll find you'll have to vent the tent from time to time as it may get TOO warm.

Dave

Thanks, I was thinking that 57 would be too cold. I will fit the shelf into my kitchen, it's probably the easiest way, it may be an inconvenience for a couple months, but I can live with it.

Hi everyone,I have been starting plants from seed for 45+ years.If there is an inexpensive way to do something I do it.Dave touched on something important. Use small found containers that food comes in.I can start my main crop of tomatoes in a short cottage cheese container.Cream cheese or dip containers are great for pelleted petunias.I put my regular growing on soil in & cover with a thin layer of the starter.Dampen well with turkey baster & sow seeds like tomatoes carefully with dampened toothpick.Same for pellets.Seedlings do not languish with this method like they do in a soiless mix. This method is covered in Peter Thompson's book CREATIVE PROPAGATION.I have done this before I got his book.If one isn't careful you can spend more on supplies than it would cost to buy the plants.
As has been pointed out,here,there are many ways to do all this.Many different mediums,etc. I use a lot of Miracle Grow because I laid in a supply on sale.
Good luck
rose AKA Doris zone 5

Thank you everyone for the awesome comments! I'll try them all out. I've been using water and milk jugs that I saved for winter sowing but never got cold enough here. All of my seeds are outside and doing great so far,almost time to tranplant my tomatoes into bigger pots. I've only had to bring them in once. Good luck this season and may you all have bountiful gardens this year!

Dave certainly gave good information, even guessing they may be in containers. Container mixes should be considered without nutrients unless specified. Most plants use nutrients in a ratio of 3-1-2, and if fed excessive amounts of phosphorus in an attempt to force blooming it is not used by the plant and is a waste. A soil test of my garden soil indicated both P and K at four times the recommended amount. When I questioned the lab, I was told such was not at all unusual for my area. For most plants to bloom well, especially poppies, the amount of sun they receive is more important than the amount of fertilizer. Al

Hello,

Thanks for the information. I had no idea that soils generally have more than the needed P and K. To be sure, I have being very conservative with fertilizer and thinking that a little bit is better than a lot. Thanks!

Z