6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I would just leave them alone. Cut back on the water and watch them carefully. The planting tip was just for future reference. This lot, I think, need some peace ;-) When you start with seeds it's like the first baby. You fret over every sniffle. With subsequent kids you toughen up and they just have to get by on benign neglect. They usually manage OK.
Oh dear, Jerry Baker strikes again. I had hoped he'd crawled back into the woodpile where he belongs since we hadn't heard anything about him for several years.
Lesuko - you need to start your own post here with all those questions so we don't get way off track on this one. Basically Jiffy mix needs to be well wet in a bucket first (soaked in warm water overnight) then wrung out in your hand, fill the cells, plant the seeds, cover until they germinate and break the surface and then uncover.
Dave
When I'm going to plant a flat of seeds, I fill the cells with dry germination mix (it's easier to fill them dry) and then water well with boiling water. After an hour I empty any left in the bottom of the flat. I then leave the flat, unseeded, overnight. That way I know the water is well absorbed and distributed through the mix before I plant my seeds.
ricjo22: I will have to open up a pot when I go to transplant to see if that's the case. If so I may not use this method next year. Thanks for the tip.
Dave: My plants are doing well, they have grown quite a bit and appear to be happy. Mold has greatly reduced, I can see a few spots here and there where the pots are touching, but otherwise looking good. Thanks a million for the advice! One question, the flats I have are 11"x22"- how much water would you generally start with when you bottom water? I have never used this method, and don't want to end up over watering again. Thanks :)
Aime
Agree. No domes and do not leave them sitting in any water either - no moisture tray. Temperature in cold frames can get very hot if not properly monitored and it is easy to boil/kill seeds and even seedlings in soil that is too wet and too hot.
Dave
I read about it in this years farmer's almanac. I thought I'd give it try and forgot about it. I have already planted lots of stuff. And, I was able to retrace my sowings on a few of my plantings and I did notice better than expected results twice. No way to tell if it means anything, but I am curious to try to keep track in what I do in the future. Hey, if it looks like it helps, I'll do it. I am just afraid it is too limiting. I fight the weather as it is, much less trying to plant with the moon too.
The sweetness levels can vary greatly in plants grown from seed, often those you see for sale are cutting grown from proven stock. But don't give up, just wait until the plants are more mature and see what develops for taste later - " Time harvest for as late in the year as possible without exposing to killing frost - Fall temperatures and shorter days tend to intensify the sweetness of the plants"
Strawberries from seed are not totally straight forward. They have low germination and take a long time to get to fruiting - not ideal for a 3 year old attention span. However, it can be done. You can either get Alpine strawberry seeds or there are some varieties of large fruited strawberries available. Just Google 'strawberries from seed' to find varieties available in the US. The two links show how to sow the seed and how to plant the plants you have grown from seed. Meanwhile, the plants you planted last year should still be alive and growing.
Planting out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8FOVJlDfdw&feature=related
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing strawberries from seed
I grew wave Petunias from purchased seed last year. I pinched them back regularly while they were still in plastic cups. partly because they were getting big, partly because I wanted to plant the cuttings. I popped the pinched off bits in pearlite, and almost everyone of them rooted. I ended up with lots of petunias! I am doing the same this year.
Making some blocks for the first time tonight using the micro 20. I'm using Eliot Colemans recipe with Azomite instead of glacial rock dust. The ingredients are tough to find. I have not seen any info on planting depth for the micro 20. I am planting spinach in the micro 20 dimple which usually go 1/4 inch deep. Should be interesting.
If you're in a frost free area of CA, planting lettuce and other greens in containers outdoors in partial shade might be easier. Or try both and compare the results as a personal science experiment. Onions, carrots and garlic should be planted in the place where you want them to grow, they do better without transplanting in my experience. Especially carrots.
As for watering, most here water from the bottom (discard any standing water in the trays that is not absorbed in a reasonable time). I water from the top and have no problems with damping off, but some do. As for when and how much to water, I use the weight of the container to judge if it needs water. It takes a little practice, but once you can judge the weight of a container with sufficient water vs. the lesser weight of one that needs water, you won't be fooled into over watering based on how things appear on the surface.
Check out this discussion about them from over on the Plant Propagation forum. Buying 1 or 2 and then rooting cuttings from it is the easiest method for the home gardener.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow Dracaena
Strictly speaking this is not a cold frame as you use a heater. With both a heater and a fan you should not have any problems, but make sure you don't overdo it, the combination could dry the seedlings out very rapidly, especially if the area is small.In Arizona you will only need to use them on the coldest nights. During the day I would leave it open. - Ian
So the sun will not be too strong for the seedlings when they first emerge since I started them in the cold frame?
There really isn't anyway for us to know for sure since we don't know what your sun exposure is in your cold frame. Usually, no but you will have to watch them closely at first and any sign of sun scald or fast wilting etc. then you'll need to move or cover them with shade.
Right now, here, it is in the 80s in the day time so any seedlings in a cold frame in the direct sun here would quickly die. Even the greenhouse already has its 80% shadecloth on to reduce the temps and prevent sun scald. I'd suspect that your cold frame would have to be wide open all day right now.
Dave
replace your water probably.
de-clorinate the water before putting the seed pit, by letting the water stand for 24 hours. I was told chlorine will evaporate. Or if you are in a rush, use the dechlorinator for aquarium water.
good luck.
my avocado pits has not done any magic yet.
i have few of them in water too.
Angie
That is very helpful, thank you. One of the reasons I am interested in growing my own food starting from seed is for survival technique. If there were ever a large disaster, being able to start seeds indoors through grow lights would not be an option, unless you have some sort of off the grid electricity system to provide enough power.
I did include the components used in my potting soil in my first post.
If there were ever a large disaster, being able to start seeds indoors through grow lights would not be an option
You are absolutely right. In that situation we'd have to substantially increase our sun exposure to the max by any methods necessary and do much more direct seeding.
I did include the components used in my potting soil in my first post.
Sorry but what I was getting at was what is the brand name if this is a bagged mix or is this a made-up mix of your own? There are potential issues associated with each of those ingredients when it comes to both germination and growing on - depending on the amounts of each.
Dave