6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I just grow a mango I bought from the store. When I crack opened the husk the seed inside was already rooted. Buried it half in its edge ,hump side up in a loose soil pot, keep it moist , full sun. It sprouted within 5-7 days. Now I have 3-4 tiny leaves ,red purple color. Good luck.
Adam,
Like Shawna, I purchased a mango and a coconut to try. The mango, was very ripe and the seed had already started to grow when I was removing it from the husk. Within a few days I had a plant sprouting and is doing well. My coconut was another story, dud and I suspect your seed was too.
I've killed alot of things lately, certainly not a green thumb by no means.....maybe if you purchased a ripe one from a local market you'd have better luck.
The only thing I can think of is maybe you're planting it too deep?
I've included what my seed looked like when I cracked open the husk, hope this helps. Couldn't find a recent photo of my plants but after a month it probably has 10 leaves if my memory serves me right.
Darren
I like to collect seeds and plant where I want them. That being said, you can toss broken up/crushed seed pods into an area and let nature to its thing! Hollyhock, black eyed susans and purple coneflower are very successful this way. As seeds dry naturally, rain pelts them out of the pod and hopefully into the dirt. Sometimes it is better to help nature along! Hope this helps!
i would separate the seeds from their seed heads or else you'll end up with globs of plants in a one inch spot competing for space, light, nutrients, and you'll have to separate them. look up which plants in your area respond to scattering right after harvest and which ones need to be started in a later season. with the right knowledge and methods, this is a very gratifying pasttime.
i dry my seeds on paper plates for a day or two and then store them in baggies or scatter them right away. they grow where they are happiest. i learn a lot about my plants' needs this way. it's a wonderful connection to the earth.
Soak some of the marigold seeds for 3 hours. Plant.
Test germination on soak seeds.
Then take some remaining seeds and put them in a damp paper towel and store them in a frig for two days. Plant them all (germinated and not germinated).
I studied germination rates on marigolds last year and noticed that moisture helps alot.
Make sure you fertilize with a very diluted water soluble fertilizer everyday for the first 6 days after the first true leaves appear. If transplanted, fertilize with a granular 7 days after transplanting.
Good Luck
old marigold seed has very poor germination in my experience. maybe your seed was sitting around too long or got too much humidity moisture in the packet. try putting the seed trays in a warmer place, like on top of the lighting fixture, till germination. 60 degrees is a bit cool for some marigolds.
i have begun to put one type of plant in its own container the last few years, especially large plants like coleus and elephant ears. this way they don't overpower other plants and you can move the pots around to suit them in an everchanging arrangement.
They will need good light the moment they pierce the soil or growing medium. They have green leaves, however small, and are photosynthesising right from the start. But direct hot sun would be too much for them.
I can't answer the question about the porch since I don't know what temperatures your plants can take nor what temperature the porch reaches.
keep in mind that beach peas grow in full sun outdoors. if grown in a screen porch, they will not be happy. i have a screen porch and sun loving plants hate it there, even in sunshine. if they don't get full sun when they sprout, they will get leggy trying to reach strong light. a sunny windowsill is better.
I would also plant the seeds in those six packs you get with annuals. They tend to rot out really easy if sown too close together. Also keep a good amount of air flow where you sow them. If in a green house use a small fan on the lowest setting. Do not over water them, that also will contribute to them rotting. They usually have the hardest time with rot when they first start to germinate. When they get their first leaves. After they get to be about 2-3 inches and they have their true leaves they seem to be ok. They do not like to be transplanted so try to keep them in the six packs as long as you can until they need to go outside. I hope all this helps. Oh, when you water them, if your using a sprayer, try to water the soil only. Wetting the plant itself also contributes to the rot.
Jello is gelatin. It is commonly used for bacterial cultures. I wouldn't use that. Water Gel that is used for cut flowers are polymers that have been shown to hold on to water pretty tightly. I would think agar is the way to go. You would basically be starting seeds in what amounts to tissue culture. Yes, it will work. People start hard to germinate seeds in vitro all the time. You will want to make sure to sterilize your seeds before putting them on the agar.
here are a couple of good places to start.
home tissue culture site
Well there were going to be a couple of links, but yahoo groups are blocked, so you'll have to find your way to the yahoo tissue culture page yourself. It contains quite a bit of very valuable information.
I didn't know what species 'Bottle Gentian' was, so I Googled. Instructions for propagation are at the link. If your winters are 40 degrees or less for 3 months this sounds like a prime subject for winter sowing. There's a Forum here on GW for that technique.
Here is a link that might be useful: Gentiana andrewsii
I realize my answer only applies to crawling insects; in the spring my seedlings can get wiped out by crawling insects. This last spring I placed each flat on a brick that had duct tape dangling all the way around the 4 edges. The bugs got trapped in the sticky tape and never made it to the seedlings. Of course the sticky part is facing towards the ground.
If available stack two bricks under the flat to raise the tape high off the ground. I just planted 4 flats and will do the brick/tape trick tomorrow.
For a lot of flats there are a lot of ways to raise the flats as a group (I use plastic grids/grills) then only put the bricks with tape under the entire system at 4 or 6 points.
That doesn't address your flying insect issue. I started spraying this year for the first time for the ones that fly. I mainly do flowers.
Bob
When the seeds start germinating, if you do not remove the plastic, your seedlings will suffer from fungus at the soil level, causing them to collapse. More seedlings are lost from too much moisture, than from too little. Move your lights closer and install a fan to move the air around. Al
Iris pseudacorus seeds float naturally because they are distributed by water.
Is that the species you mean by 'flag type'?
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing yellow flag seeds.
Yes I think that is what I meant. I looked it up on yahoo and that is what I call the flag type.
The seeds were misidenfied in an ebay auction as Bearded Iris. I can't complain though. I bought 50 for two dollars or soemthing and she sent me 500!