6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

I respectfully have to disagree with the info next-generation provided. First because you never want young seedlings to get root bound, second because staged-transplanting is a normal and important part of the growing from seed process (many discussions here about this), and third because seed starting in peat pots is very problematic, especially large peat pots. Again, many discussions here about this.

Your broccoli seedlings may not be salvageable so I would recommend starting more while trying to salvage these. The existing seedlings need to be carefully untangled and transplanted now, individually into another container with a good growing mix, and transplanted deeply. Bury all of the stem and all of the growth upto just below the very top 2 leaves.

Water well - do not feed right now - and set them out of the hot sun in a cool location (60-65 degrees) for several days. When you see new growth they can be moved back under the lights. I hope you are supplying supplemental lighting? Normally takes 2-3 days for new growth to develop.

The same holds for the eggplant and they have a much better chance of recovering than the broccoli does.

Hope this helps and next time - cover off and off the heat and under the lights just as soon as the break the surface of the soil.

Dave

i made the same mistake with my peppers this year and lost all my hot peppers I plan on restarting them tommorrow I thought that I was supposed to leave them on the heat untill the true leaves not when they broke the soil

Your soil temp would be better at 75. We never start tomatoes in seed starting mix, but right in our potting mix, which drains better and has more air spaces. How far are the lights from the foliage? Al

Lights are about 1 - 2 inches. Also I am usuing 3 shoplights thats 6 total Ge 6500k with about 3050 lumens each bulb. Seed trays are side by side not end to end so I can fit 4 under the 3 4' shoplights.

Side note: After picking a bunch of them up out of the seed tray I just notice that a bunch of them had roots coming out the bottoms of the jiffy pots. On 1 of them the roots were 6 inch long out of the pots. Pots are square 2.5 - 3 inch jiffys. I repoted any with roots sticking out of the bottoms. But plants are only 1.5 inches tall with no first set of true leaves yet.

I leave mine slightly askew so they are slightly open to prevent too much moisture from building up. It's always a trade off between enough moisture and enough air circulation. This works for me.

My "dome" is covered air tight and after a week, I open it about one inch for one or two days than I seal it again. I have had 85 percent success with this method.

You can pre-soak all of them if you wish and since it is so late to be starting them it will really help. They are usually started 8-10 weeks prior to your last frost date. Cardinal Climber seed needs to be scarified before planting.

But honestly in your zone they could more easily be direct seeded now. Otherwise by the time they are ready to transplant, 8-10 weeks form now, it will be very hot there.

I would definitely direct seed the hyacinth beans.

As to the investment, is it possible to return any of the things you bought like the coir pots and the fancy seed starter mix? If so then the tray and little cell packs plus some cheap Jiffy mix ($4 a bag) will do fine.

Check out the FAQs here for all the basic info on growing from seed.

Also keep in mind that both Cypress and Cardinal are considered invasive plants so you might prefer to plant them in containers next to the fence instead so you can keep them under control.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs

Thanks for the response Dave, and the link in particular. Not sure how I missed that section the 100 or so times I visited these forums! so Im going to take your advice and direct sow these seeds, this morning I put each seed type in its own bottle of water to soften it up and will sow them tomorrow. I do have a couple more questions though:
1. Scarifying the cardinal climber seed - i tried scratching the outer shell this morning with some nail clippers but wasnt able to really penetrate it at all. Some of the outer black coating of the seed came off though, is that all I need to do?
2. I put down crabgrass and broadleaf pre-emergent in my yard this past week, including the spots where I plan to put the vines, and Im wondering if this will stop the seeds from germinating? My plan was to dig out the spots where I will be sowing the seeds and replacing it with fresh amended soil. Is that a good idea? My thought was the new soil wouldn't have any of the pre-emergent and therefore wouldnt interfere with germination.
3. Amended soil - what should I use?

Don't gauge when to start things based on what I am doing. I'm crazy. I start many things too early and do a lot of pinching back to keep it under control until I can get things outside which isn't until the first couple of weeks in April around here.

This is the set up I have in my basement.

My hubby installed the utility sink for me last year. It makes life a whole lot easier.

Agree, the pods need to turn brown - watch them, or bag them with a length of nylon stocking and twist ties, so they don't crack open and spill the seed before you get to it. Note the suggestion to plant immediately after the pod has ripened.

Orlando Sentinel, Mar 1997: Each cigar-shaped pod is more than a foot long and contains dozens of seeds. Wait until the pods start to crack before picking them. Then gather a few pods, and place them in a bag to open and release the seeds.Tabebuia seeds should be planted immediately in a loose potting mix. Cover them lightly with soil, and follow these tips:Keep the soil moist by watering when the surface starts to dry.Grow the seedlings in the full sun.Feed weekly with a half-strength 20-20-20 fertilizer solution.

Excellent! Thank you both for the direction and info!

Thanks keriann lakegeneva!

I have about 3 jugs that I fill up and then wait to use them the next day. I have never tried using water right out of the tap as my city water is full of chlorine. I leave it out for 8 hours and it doesn't stink like chemicals anymore and it is easy to do!

Come on Spring!

I like your site! Good luck with your seedlings!

oh - I did have a giggle when you described yourself and your roommate as "collage students".....

Trishcuit, I find the convenience unparalleled, and I usually try to minimize transplanting, so their perfect for me to just germinate directly in the cup. I found out last year though that transplanting isn't all that bad... I think they compensate for whatever stunting that happens with the added space for the roots, which allows them to grow a lot faster than they were before transplant.

t-bird, Whoooops :0. Thanks for pointing that one out. It pretty much sums up my collEge experience though... misspellings everywhere! I'm in more of an engineering program, so spelling isn't exactly my forte (although I do like to read and write a lot). Thanks for the encouragement. I just updated the site with some pictures of recent growth. Check it out :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Plants Growing (1)

Agree. Too wet and not enough air circulation. Cutting back on watering and using a small fan to increase air circ solves the problem.

As to using the domes - not a direct cause of the alage, too wet soil under the dome was. But not using them to begin with is a definite plus. If used they MUST be removed as soon as the plants even begin to break the soil surface.

The darn advertisers that show all these pics of plants happily growing under the domes do gardeners a real dis-service.

Dave

I think a large part of the difference between your success and your wife's problems, is related to the fact you are growing seeds that germinate in three days, while hers takes three weeks. Al

The flower on the package almost looks like Fever Few except that turned out to be toxic!

mccommas - feverfew needs to be taken in large quantities to have adverse effects. It is not in the foxglove league.

Here is a link that might be useful: Feverfew discussion