6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Agree with flora, needs more light. You could move outside during the day and bring it at night. Needs real first leaves before doing anything with them. If you are going to move them to the garden, just leave them in the jiffy pots and transplant directly into the garden.
spynn001 - be aware that many Japanese cherries do not produce fruit because the flowers are double. This means the reproductive parts are missing, replaced by more petals. Also most named flowering cherries are reproduced by grafting, not seed. So if you find a tree with cherries and get them to grow you are still not guaranteed a clone of the parent tree. But the experiment would be interesting if you are patient enough.
The last photo does look like over-watering to me. The yellow edged ones I wouldn't worry about until the first true leaves emerge. The cotyledons(seed leaves)provide the first nutrients to the plant(which is why you don't fertilize new seedlings)and will yellow, wither, dry up, etc., as they are used up by the plant. And, they can be damaged trying to emerge from the seed coat, as in your other post. If the true leaves show signs of yellowing or rotting, then you should be concerned.
It is called "damp-off" a fungus disease caused by soil that is too wet and inadequate air circulation. I linked the FAQ about it below. It should answer all your questions but if not let me know.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Damp-Off FAQ
Thank you Digdirt.
I knew I heard of something in particular doing this before but couldn't recall what the culprit was! It's strange to me that it's happened well after the plants have moved outdoors, but we did have some mild weather over the weekend which may have had something to do with it. I also found two more that had been affected. They are getting a good dose of sunshine to insure the soil is dry on top!
Depends on how long before you can plant them out. Within the next week days they will be fine. Longer than that they will quickly become rootbound in a 6 pack and need to be transplanted to a larger container - like say a coffee cup or such. They can be transplanted at any time after they germinate.
Dave
Failure of the cotyledons to shed the seed coat is usually caused by one of 2 issues - overly shallow planting (real common with mechanical or other methods of bulk seeding seeding) or using old seed. Insufficient soil moisture levels while germinating can also play a lesser role. With first, portions of the cotyledons will be exposed. In the second the entire head of the plant may remain contained with only the stem showing.
That said there is no reason for the issue to kill the plant and in most cases they are easy to remove IF any of the cotyledons are exposed. Some recommend the use of misting and tweezers or sniping them off with scissors. But the most effective method is to just dab a bit of your saliva on the seed coat. The enzymes in saliva dissolve the seed coat.
Dave
Kabocha is a vining squash and while the central part of the plant will be approx. 3' in diameter, the vines will get 5 to 6' long (or longer depending on the soil fertility and growing conditions) so it needs plenty of room.
Squash is normally planted in a small hill of soil with a shallow trench around the base to hold water and lots of space around it with 2-3 plants per hill. Make the hill 6-8" tall, flatten and smooth the top, plant 4 spaced seeds in the top and then save the best 2 plants after they sprout. Water and feed the plants well and monitor closely for squash bugs.
How many squash (sausages???) you will get all depends on how fertile your soil is and how well the blooms are pollinated. Many of us hand pollinate regularly to insure good production. There is a FAQ here about how to do that.
Check out all the pics linked below of the plants and be sure to check out the discussions on the Pumpkins & Squash forum here too.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Kabocha squash pics
Heat from the lights isn't normally an issue. But it all depends on the bulbs you are using. T5s put out more heat than T8 or T12 so but it wouldn't be that spotty.
If the soil is a potting soil then then it is the most likely cause - compaction and water retention issues. Seen any fungus gnats?
Dave
There have always been some fungus gnats flying around since the seeds were first planted. I have since cut back watering and the top soil layer is not wet and there are no fallen leaves on the soil.
From what you've said and what I've read it seems to be the fact that the potting soil does not allow water to flow or the plants for that matter. The soil is too compact. For starters I've used a toothpick to loosen the soil and I will repot them into a more appropriate mixture once I visit the local home depot.
Thanks for your help with pointing me in the right direction!
Joseph
I don't see anything on your list that requires darkness to germinate. I'd surface sow all, or very lightly cover...placing just a bit of the sowing medium or some grit on top to insure good soil contact.
I've sown somniferum and nudicale plenty of times direct sowing anywhere from earliest winter to earliest spring (Z 8b)- direct sowing: literally tossing the seeds into beds where I would like to see the plants grow. I haven't attempted to cover seeds at all.
The p. rupifragum might benefit from a brief moist chill of 2 weeks or so (40ish F) - does not always need it but you might experience more complete germination with a moist chill.
Thank you. I'm not sure why my list has darkness down for some... Will have to fix that.
Do you have any troubles with birds eating the seeds? Every time I try to direct sow, the seeds go missing in a few days. It makes things a bit complicated when trying to start plants that resent transplanting.
I didn't see this mentioned by anyone else, but if you go over to the seed exchange forum, often times people will offer to send seeds if you send them a bubble envelope and postage. Also, if you check people's trade lists, often times they will have a disclaimer stating that they are willing to do trades for bubble envelopes and postage for things on their trade lists.
Good luck!
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Exchange Forum
I've also been experiencing this problem with both my tomato and pepper seedlings. My room temp is approx 75/76F but my soil temps are much lower in the mid 60's most likely due to the fact that evaporation cools the soil. As much as I would like to leave it be, I feel as though I should be doing something about it. I've read that warmer soil temps would rectify the problem and allow for more P absorption. My bhut jolokia plant is about 1.5 months old and although it's starting on it it's 3rd set of true leaves it's only 1.5inches high. The stem is deep purple and the older leaves are a bit purple with the new ones showing purple veins. I feel as though I'm stunting it and I'd like to do something. Any suggestions would be great.
Currently have it under two-54w 6400K fluorescents on a 16/8 schedule. Distance from bulbs is approx 4-5 inches. I turn on a fan every once in a while to get some circulation.
No Lights :\ Just a window directly behind the dryer.
I took some of the sprouted seedlings out of the trayes and put them directly by the windowsill (pics below)
Do you think these tomato seedlings are leggy? What else should I do to these at this point?
Yes, unfortunately they are leggy. They always will be with only window light as there simply is no way it can provide either the intensity or the hours of light they need. The only way to prevent leggy seedings is with supplemental lighting. There is a FAQ here and lots of discussions about it.
If you can't provide it then you will need to transplant the seedlings frequestly, deeper each time to bury all the stem, until they are ready to go into the garden.
As to bottom heat, if they are on a source that only runs intermittently then remove them when the fryer is running. If they are on a heat mat then they need to come off it as soon as the first few germinate.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ - Growing from Seed