6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
hi everyone. my tomato plants have grown really tall 5'-9" to be exact with the help of a nylon line with a counter weight..but i've notice bottom branches wither and turn yellow or stay curled up and plant doesn't get thicker like i've seen in other tomato plants.. ill appreciate any help im a newbie growing tomatoes..thank you all for your time
Hi Tamara,
The National Research Council Canada suggest using beans, peas, radishes, or navy beans for that experiment. See link below.
Art
Here is a link that might be useful: Science Experiment
I've always found that cucumbers sprout fairly quickly on just damp paper towels. Since you're using black paper as "soil," that might help you out. Make sure the seed is on top of the paper instead of under it--they probably won't break the paper.
Don't buy seed in advance farther than a year or two if you decide to do this year after year--the germination rates go down as they get older. Even if you get an awesome deal on a thousand seeds, they probably won't work past four years or so. You'll have trouble getting even little roots to sprout.
That said, it's also a good idea to give each student two or three seeds for his/her bottle, in case one just doesn't for some reason. That happens too. With two or three per kid, you can be sure that everyone's will sprout.
And... are you seriously telling me that my high school is not the only one whose students are several pies short of a potluck? Heh. What do they mean, plants don't move? Sunflowers do. That's why they're called sunflowers--they move their heads to face the sun at all times. And if they base their definition of "alive" on whether or not it moves, then... well, by that logic, zombies are also alive, as is, say, moving machinery. ... Never mind. *shakes head*
--Rebekah, 15, Iowa
Of the common fruits, peaches are a good choice to grow from seed. Peaches fruit in 3 or 4 years, and since they are self fertile, you have a pretty good chance of getting decent fruit from a seedling (unlike apples for example). Several people on the fruit forum have grown peach trees from seed. I had a volunteer that fruited in it's third season at 9 feet tall. The fruit was pretty good, but I cut the tree down because it was a pest magnet....borers in the trunk, Japanese beetles eating the leaves, and moth larvae in the fruit.
I would plant the seeds now where you want the tree to grow. Protect the area with a screen cylinder/cage so no animals dig up the seed or eat the seedling when it emerges in the spring.
Alex
plant must have at least 1 set of "true leaves" But you also need to consider the container size, outside temp, soil moisture, when watering will you dsamage the stem, direct or indirect light. to name a few...
The longer you delay & the larger the plant the chanches for survival increase.
You could start the peppers & tomato now. Do you know that the tomato is a variety that will do well in the fall? I'm in zone 9 and some take too long to start producing and should be planted in the spring. You could also start the sweet peas now since they like cooler weather. Mine bloom throughout the winter and spring. Don't know about the others. Annuals are usually started in the spring, since they have a shorter growing season.
Hi Rainyday,
I live in Missouri and grow datura metel (yellow and purple) from seed every year; they grow like crazy here. As far as starting them from seeds, I've found that a month or so of moist cold stratification (in the refrigerator) makes a world of difference. I never nick datura seeds (scarification), just put them in the frig for a month or so and germinate them using the paper towel method. If you use seeds you saved yourself, they should be pretty fresh and germinate in 3 to 6 weeks, mine usually take less than a month.
I enjoy starting seeds under lights in my basement during the boring winter months, so I don't winter sow anything outside. I would think, however, that datura would do very well when winter sown.
As for your plants not showing much growth, I don't know. I assume they're planted in a well draining area where they get plenty of sun; they love the heat. Other than that, I've never done anything special and they always grow to at least five or six feet high and just as wide (or even more) in one season. They won't make it through the winter here so I grow them as annuals.
Anyway, I hope something here is helpful and I wish you the best of luck with your plants.
Art
And while you are waiting for October you might be interested in lurking around the Allium Forum. I am not familiar with it, just aware of it being here.
Spider Plants, and my other suggestions, are all tender perennials but they survive fine outdoors in the summer. Obviously they have to go back inside in the Autumn, but that was what you asked for. I didn't give a link to the House Plant Forum. The highlighted word 'house'is a pop up advert of the type which plagues these forums. The correct link is below. But I see you have already posted there.
Here is a link that might be useful: Houseplant Forum
Conocarpus. I've found a picture of the seeds online, but nothing in any of my propagation books on germination other than statements similar to - " producing large number of small seeds with low germination and survival rate. " This one sounds much easier from cuttings than sowing...but of course you have nothing to lose by trying :)
Here is a link that might be useful: