6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
My 400 watt HID lamp is over my bottom heating plate, and my newly emerged seedlings need the light but not the heat. My solution is to insert overturned pots under the seedling trays, moving away from the heat and closer to the light. A fan is always running over my seedlings. My unheated greenhouse seldom falls below 45 at night. Al
I've been growing both moonflowers AND morning glory for three years. I've never had any problems with poisoning despite the fact that I foolishly refuse to use garden gloves, and I've had great success with growing them.
Don't pamper moonflower seeds. Thats the problem a lot of people face. YES, they do take 10-20 days to emerge from the soil, yes, keeping them watered regularly is good (don't have them SWIMMING in thier own pot LITTERALLY), but you just need to give them TIME. Yes, they do well in good soil (not clay or gravel soil), but the reason they would rot is...
1. Its humid, hot, wet, moist, and the seeds are all forced to go through this condition...
2. You have maggots in your soil. I dare you to check and not freak out. (be careful when putting your seeds in soil. At least EXAMINE the dirt before you stick the seeds in them.)
Another thing.
Moonflowers, both the vine AND bush, are poisonous. Don't consume, and don't let your animals consume it either. Indoor animals shouldn't have a problem if you wash your hands after working in the garden. But if you have a neighbor's cat who comes to the back door like I have, and litterally has a police cat stake out on your porch, be careful about where and how you do your planting if you're starting seeds in a pot on your porch, or in your garden where the cat often roams.
hope this is useful for those moonflower lovers out there...
but you dont have to take my advice. I'm only 13. ^^
Just bought 3 packs of moonflower vine seeds, and have them soaking, I scraped them with a metal file and the water has hydrogen peroxide in it. There are 7 seeds and I decided to soak all of one package. They are from American Seed Company, I got Morning Glories one time and they came up ok, I even got one purple one to bloom in the house over the winter. A friend is sending me a couple of dozen in the mail so I will have several to try.
Flora--
It's Catalina Island (technically Santa Catalina Island)--off southern coast of California. Kind of high dessert/ semi-tropical. Good for growing things grown in Spain, Italy--like figs, olives, etc. I thought lavender would be perfect here but haven't had much luck keeping them going. May be my fault--or too dry. We only get about 13" of rain a year, if lucky, all in Nov-Feb.
Where are you in SW UK?
Lora
Depends on exactly what you mean by "potting soil". If it actually contains soil then it is definitely to water retentive. Only soil-less potting mixes are recommended for use in containers.
If it is actually a soil-less potting mix, which is a very different thing from potting soil, then it should work fine. But I can't tell what the effects of adding the other ingredients to it will be. You'll have to do some experimenting with your set-up to see.
Seeds, while germinating, and young seedlings need to be kept lightly damp/moist, not soaking wet. Soaking wet or standing in water rots seeds and drowns young roots.
Dave
I grow these every year and line my fenced-in garden with the plants. They deter rodents from tunneling under the fence. It's easy to grow them.
Just put them in seed starting mix, one per 3" cell or pot, about an inch deep, 2 weeks before last frost date in your area. They grow tall very fast, so don't start them too early. Harden off and plant out after last frost.
You can save the seed from year to year. Let the pods turn brown and dry, then crumble them to get seeds out. Wear gloves...pods are very prickly!
Have fun. I like the red variety.
Remove the box for better air circulation, and lower the light fixture or raise the plants so the plants are 1" from the lights. They're too far and will be leggy. Any light is good for germination if you just sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil.
Good luck. Seed starting doesn't have to be complicated unless you're into that sort of thing.
susanzone5, thanks for the tip, but I'm only using the germination station for germinating. As soon as the seeds germinate they'll go under lights before they have a chance to become leggy. The covers on my trays prevent the light from being lowered (see my first pic ) ...... Yeah I know, those are covers for grafts or cuttings, not seedlings......
Yuuup, I'd say my operation is about as simple as it gets.... :)
This post was edited by Handsome54 on Thu, Jan 17, 13 at 19:21
Oh if you are already stratifying them - I thought you hadn't started them yet - then there really isn't anything you can do but to let them be and hope for the best. Or you can go ahead and plant them indoors, in pots, under supplemental lights to keep them from getting leggy, and plan to transplant them up to larger containers a couple of times until they can safely go outside.
Dave
Part of it is the difference between an official "frost" (low temp of 32 at a reporting station) and ground frost.
Here where I am now, the numbers match rather well, being that I am on highish ground not far from the airport where our temps are recorded. Typically, as long as the official temp is over 32, I rarely lose any plants.
However, when I lived in Akron, OH - I ROUTINELY had killing ground frost that would wipe out bean plants, etc in mid to late May when the "official" low was 37 or 38 degrees. It's not that Akron is different per se in that regard (other than colder overall), just that there, I lived in a valley where cold air collected, so I got later spring and earlier fall frosts.
Which is why the "Memorial Day" adage existed there - most old timers never planted annuals until Memorial Day - although the average LFD at Akron-Canton airport is Apr. 29, ground frosts into mid-May are typical.
Limited value I know as I only do a few trees from seeds and they are my fresh harvested ones. So I can't speak to "tree seeds" in general. But I think the method of storage would determine the viability/shelf life. So I'd want to find out the storage methods used by the supplier.
The USDA/Arbor Research org says the life expectancy of most tree seeds is 1-2 years if stored at ambient temps, up to 3 years if refrigerated, and 5 years if stored frozen. But I'm guessing that frozen tree seeds, just like other seeds, would need to be planted immediately upon thawing so if theirs are frozen, how would they ship to keep them from thawing?
I guess the bottom line is to insist on more viability info from the supplier, some sort of 'guarantee'.
Good luck.
Dave
PS: you might also ask over on the Trees forum here to see if others there have had experience with the particular companies and their quality.
Cuttings are done in the early fall right after the bush goes dormant. Depending on where you live - you didn't indicate your zone - and the recent weather it is probably too late for cuttings. IF there still happens to be seeds and IF they haven't frozen then you 'might' be able to get them to germinate. Otherwise you will need to buy nursery stock.
Dave
Problems will depend on your set up and the specific varieties but be realistic and don't expect 100% success.
Too warm an environment and/or too little light will result in long lanky transplants with weak stems that won't survive for long. But it is a good way to learn how to control your temps and supplemental lighting. Likely no blooms unless you have extreme sun exposure or adjust the light spectrum used.
You may also have to do more than the usual 2-3 transplants - pot-ups - to larger containers and more potting mix. They will also require more nutrient supplements, water, and light. It is a good way to learn the symptoms of root-bound plants and to learn how to evaluate nutrient and water needs for the trade off of buying more containers and potting mix.
Eventually some of the plants may get so large that they won't survive hardening off and transplanting to the garden.
So it's a trade-off: learning and experience for loss of some plants and the work involved.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Everything helps DigDirt and thx. I talked to the annual seed grower at the nursery I deal with and he gave me a lot of insight but because they time there annuals for the season early birding wasnt available. He said the biggest challenge will be going indoors to outside and care must be taken.
I have a double window on the southeast and temperatures there range from 65 at night to 80 during the day if I adjust the blinds..Jack
What helps me is having two lists of seeds. One list is an alphabetical listing of seed plants with the weeks before frost date to start the seed (2, 4, 6, 7, 8, etc.)You can find that info online and on seed packets (and later, by your own experience for your area).
The other is a booklet with each page having the seedname and seed starting conditions for each seed, to start that week (Page one has all the seeds/info to start 2 weeks before the last frost, etc.) Then I have the seed packets arranged by week also, in a glass canister. It makes it very easy to start seeds. I even have a container for seeds that need to be started outdoors. You can further separate that into whatever categories you like.
I cover each cell-pak with loose plastic wrap to keep in moisture, and remove it the minute the plants emerge. That's a happy time for me!
Just know that it takes a lot of experience and note-taking to get to the place where you have it all down. That's the fun with overthinking, getting it to the fun and relaxing stage. In the meantime, keep a notepad handy at all times.
I want to add that I fit a lot in my small garden by planting closely in small beds with pathways between. That was known as Square Foot Gardening years ago.
I prefer Pro-mix for starting seeds indoors and also for container plants. I have no problems with it and it holds more water than other mixes I've tried.
This post was edited by susanzone5 on Wed, Jan 23, 13 at 18:04
Ah, list-making. You just won me over!
Thank you for all the suggestions.
I have been looking at sqft gardening recently, since the garden has gone from feeding just me to feeding me and a vegetarian fiance' with a love of peppers. I am thinking of incorporating that this year in the larger space as well as REALLY putting vertical space to use. (We failed miserably at using vertical space last year, but had just moved here, got a little of a late start to the garden, and then had to concentrate on the house more than expected) This year, we have time to plan ahead!
We over-purchased transplants last year and ran out of room; poor, poor planning mixed with over-exuberance taught us a lesson. Although I will admit the winter squash and sweet potato we tossed over the fence did wonderfully and tasted delicious, even if they were cultivated using cruel, Darwinian methods. :)
Live and learn, right?