6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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
A weed? Slim chance.
I have never grown them but assuming you used a sterile soil-less potting mix the odds are 90% that what is growing is a germinated milkvine seed.
On the other hand IF you have kept it too wet and it's exposed to the air then tiny fungus that appear to be like mushroom can germinate on the soil surface.
Google Images has tons of pics of it in various stages but I couldn't find one of it when just germinated. Sorry.
Dave
it was sterile soil and pots. it isn'tgrowing in any other container so i assume that pot did not get too much water. i can't find any in google either. i will take pictures of this germinated seedmfungus and see where it goes. maybe it is miilkvine. i saved half the seeds to give them to a florida or georgia extension office if it is indeed a rare species. Thanks for replying Dave.
Hi there! Not sure if this post will even be checked because it has been a couple years since the last post but I am curious as to what was used to grow the tomatoes in the pic and what you possibly use at this time. What is the best and cheapest way to go I would LOVE to know. Thanks for any info. Jolene
I planted some of these this year too!
I have started Shasta from seed and gotten a few blooms the first year. The second year was full bloom. The third year I divided them. Did not need to plant more this year.
The Coneflower did not bloom at all the first year. The plants were very small. The second year I had a few blooms. This will be the third year and I hope they will be more prolific. Planted more from seed this year to fill in where the puppy dug them up.
Lupine and Canterbury Bells this year from seed. The Lupine are growing huge. Somewhere I read they could (hope) bloom this year. The Canterbury Bells were planted at the same time and they are tiny. Unless they make a serious sprint here soon, they won't bloom this year for sure.
Holly Hocks are supposed to be biannual but I had a few bloom the first year.
tommyr said "I can't plant my seeds by the moon, it's too far away."
LOL
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.