6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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
That's shocking!
It sounds very unusual and interesting, and I'll have to look into it.
Thank you!
I just found that most users will add one gram of GA per one liter of water, but some just halve the gram. So, I think just treating half of the batch of seeds in a gram per a gallon for a day or two might be safe enough.
Just a thought / I have "Never" tried it but
Strips of news paper & I was going to say honey to stay organic but corn starch sounds better
I'm also thinking that Non-Toxic Water Soluble White Glue would probably work just fine
I've thought about doing it
But figured it wasn't worth the time to sit there & glue seeds to a piece of paper one by one
LOL
Good Luck
& Would love to hear how it works if you give it a try
It's not wet that kills the seedlings in "damping off" syndrome - all seedlings need moisture - but the microfungi that thrive in damp, stagnant conditions. Sterilize the compost before planting. A neat way to do this is bake it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes if you only need a small quantity. Secondly ensure that there is adequate ventilation. If necessary put a fan next to the tray, though you can also get good results sowing out of doors during the summer. Better luck next time!
Aside from the good advice listed here, you may want to also consider electrifying the soil for anything that is having a difficult time surviving. It can help your plant get past any rough spots that you're having.
Soil electrification helps plants repair themselves from various forms of disease or stress, boosts nutrient uptake, and helps activate soil bacteria. Furthermore, particularly for your situation, it helps with the germination rate of seeds.
Well, basil and parsley will require more time to mature than your broccoli, spinach, and lettuce. I'd go ahead and put them out now. I'm not sure about parsley but I know that basil likes the warm weather and plenty of sun.
Broccoli, spinach, and lettuce are cool weather crops. If your weather is still very warm, you might want to wait until it cools off a little before putting those out. Those crops will probably reach full maturity in 30 days or so. If your first killing frost is around the middle of October you could even put them out as late as early September.
Hope this helps,
Art
It is 'possible' that it is natural decline but does not appear so when compared to natural cotyledon decline in the many plants I'm familiar with (never grown this one).
It is also 'possible' that it is leaf scorch from the lights as it has that appearance but usually shows on true leaves, not just cotyledons.
But the most probable IMO is pest damage. Aphids will do this but so will spider mites and fungus gnats.
As to a fungus disease - assuming you are not keeping the soil too wet or the humidity way too high, the odds are quite slim. Especially given it is inside and the true leaves would also show symptoms. Soil fungus develops inside but leaf fungus is rare.
Can't see the true leaves in the pics but if it were my plant and IF the true leaves do not have these symptoms I would removed the cotyledons and dispose of them carefully. They are no longer needed by the plant anyway. Then monitor for pests very carefully and treat accordingly.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Hey Dave, it's been a while. I just wanted to let you know, you were right about the pests. I think I had gnats, but I did away with them, and now my plant is taller than my leg and doing wonderfully. Thank you very much for taking the time to help me out, man.
It is not Thyme. You have a crop of Portulaca oleracea aka purslane. A weed but an edible one. I hope you didn't weed out the thyme seedlings :(
You can use the purslane in salads, or boil it, or saute it. It's very nutritious, and our ancestors ate it. Thomas Jefferson had a recipe for it in his journal.