6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Well, I wouldn't say getting somewhere fast :)
I don't have any information in any of my propagation books for this seed. One would think from the size that nicking and soaking might be beneficial, but an online search doesn't turn up information that indicates that. Very little is available in way of germination suggestions that I find, other than sow @ 2 cm deep, and germination rate is typically somewhat low. I dont know how active the tropicals forum is, have you looked there?
yeah admittedly i probably jumped the gun myself here in virginia...i started tomatoes and peppers on seed warmer in garage yesterday...
this is my first time starting from seed, so i wanted to get an early start in case i mess it up i still have some time to try again. that and i just got real anxious
Mine also seemed to do better when I planted them in the fall but did not sprout until our spring weather kicked in. I have to keep planting just in case they do not come back the following year due to our hot summers. I still have some seeds if you would like a few. Just send me an email.
I have grown them a couple of times from purchased seed. Both the standard purple and the White Swan I didnt soak or cold stratify them. I began them in March, in flats under lights and planted them out in the late spring. They remained fairly small and didnt flower the first year, but came up huge and strong the following year and bloomed like crazy.
Think I've made an error!! I didn't get them under the lights soon enough - so the early sprouters are fragile little stems 2 (3?!?) inches above the sponge before the sprout leaves - forget about true leaves! Shoot!
I think not being covered by soil or anything else meant they were effected by distant lights as soon as they cracked open the shell! the later developing ones seems more reasonable.
This means I'll have to transplant them earlier than expected, and into larger containers than expected so I can bury some of that long stem......harumph....so far, non triumphant, bill and ted!!!
My other user error - I thought - I have lights. BUT - what I have is lights for my warm season seed starting...to give them the light they need, is putting them into warmer tempt than I want them to get used to....
I can't believe it hadn't dawned on me that I need to set a completely separate light set up in a different temperature setting in the house - duh! i says to myself....
They seem to be popping up everywhere these days. I even see them at the dollar stores. Check all the big box hardware stores in your area and Walmart, Kmart, etc. Places like Farm&Fleet too if you have those in your area. Don't forget local nurseries. You may have to wait a few more weeks before most stores are stocking them. Also try online gardening supplies or online sites of the above stores. HTH
Soil heat is used only for germination. Once the seeds germinate the warmed soil can quickly cook the tiny seedlings, especially roots.
For growing-on cooler air temperatures are recommended. 60-65 degrees is recommended.
Dave
optimal temp for tomatoes is 70-75 degrees, with 65-85 being the good range (from jeavons "how to grow more veg")
I wouldn't want to put young plants at 50 degrees, although at the end of the season, old timers can take it, and the soil is probably still warmer than that.
In zone 4, you'll be waiting a long time to put them out. Here in zone 5 april is a no no for tomatoes without protections.
If you can provide a little heat to them in the garage till whatever your plant out date is, that might work if they have enough light. I'd try to keep them at a minimum of 60, but I'd aim for about 65-68, unless you want them to grow a little more, then 70 would likely have them growing at the expected rate, a bit cooler would slow them down.
Thanks digdirt for that link which should answer any questions about heat mats. I did an experiment recently with my pots on a heat mat. With overnight air temperatures dropping into the mid 40 degree range, I took the soil temperature of four inch and one gallon pots to see the soil temperature with the heat mat at 70 degrees. In every test the soil temperature was within 2 or 3 degrees of 70 degrees. Al
I have been using these Burpee kits since they came out with them with very good success.Some of the pellets fail to completely dissolve on occasion. They need a bit of persuasion with a sharp instrument. I use a lobster pick to lift out seedlings. It has a narrow little fork on one end and an elongated narrow spoon of the other. Work slick as a whistle. Find them with the kitchen supplies. The starter cells are very cheaply made and care must be taken in their handling if you wish to use them for more than one year.
I have a different system, but with the super tiny little cells. I use a very small teaspoon to get them out. Also - I've found it better to transplant earlier before too many roots are up. If it's 1/2"x1/2" cells they're not meant to stay long....
Hi John,
I live outside of San Antonio and I plant out a small area of corn around the first or second week of march. They don't transplant well so I just direct sow them. We put out sucessive (2 weeks apart) early bantam corn last year and got 3 harvests before it got too hot.
Hi t-bird,
"...where do you get the clear pots?"
They are available from many Internet sources. I ordered my square clear plastic orchid pots from Amazon, because I purchase from Amazon fairly frequently.
I prefer the 3.25-inch size of orchid pots. I first started to order several of the 10-packs, but each 10-pack had a separate shipping charge which would have run the total shipping cost up well over the cost of the pots themselves. At that time the shipping cost of a 10-pack was the same as the shipping cost of an 80-pack, so shipping-wise, the 80-pack was a better deal, so I ordered an 80-pack of 3.25 Inch Square Clear Plastic Orchid Pots. At that time the 80-pack, the 30-pack, and the 10-pack were all being shipped in the same US Postal shipping box, so the shipping was the same for each. That may still be true. This is a picture of some of the seedless tomatoes I started in my clear pots last year. (Burpee's Seedless tomatoes are my favorites -- I'll be growing more of them this year.)
You can just barely see the roots appearing at the bottom of the pots. As they become more rootbound you can clearly see the roots growing down the sides of the pots. When that happens, I repot to 5-inch black plastic square pots.
If you needed lots more than 80 of the orchid pots, they are available from some Internet sources in case quantities of 500 pots per case, as I recall. On a per pot basis, that is the cheapest way to buy them.
I wash the pots up and reuse them each year. If you forget and leave them outdoors in the Sun for several months (I accidentally did that with a few of mine), the ultraviolet light in the sunlight will make them brittle, even though they are UV-resistant. For use indoors under fluorescent lights, you can get many years of service out of them.
"In watering from the bottom, is there a size plant/container which won't work?"
Any size will work as long as you start your seedlings in smaller pots and re-pot them as they outgrow the pot. That way the plants always have at least some roots in the lower part of your pots. In your case, with the basil seedlings in a 6.5-inch deep pot, you did the right thing in watering from overhead. Overhead watering can be OK in a lot of situations. Greenhouses and nurseries do it all the time.
"Should I always use the seaweed for watering? dilute more to do so? I'm thinking without the dome, and heated indoors, they will need water every day or every other day - use the emulsion 1xweek - more or less? "
I don't use seaweed or Happy Frog potting soil, but the principles are the same. It is much better to feed your plants a very weak solution of fertilizer daily than to use a stronger dose weekly. And if you want to foliar feed your weak solution, that is fine, too. Just make sure that your fertilizer is very diluted. A plant doesn't use very much fertilizer in any given day, so it will be happy if the solution is much weaker than the label says.
"Can you give some guidelines on what is needed size-wise for bottom watering to work?"
As long as the pot and the plant aren't extremely mis-matched, bottom watering can work with any pot. For indoor gardening, it is much more convenient to flood the trays that the pots are in than it is to water the pots individually. I get 18 of the 3.25" square pots in each of my 11" x 22" PermaNest trays. It would be really tedious to water each pot individually.
ZM
(not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)
Jiffy is made by Ferry Morse. If it isn't quality, let them know. They guarantee it. WalMart also has satisfaction guarantee. Best option would be to return to the store.
Ferry Morse website: "If you ever have a problem with Ferry-Morse product, please let us know within one year of purchase. In the case of packet seeds, please return the empty packets and your sales receipt; in all other cases, the merchandise in question will need to be returned to us postage paid. Upon receipt we will replace your product or refund your purchase price."
Sort of a lame guarantee, though, because cost of sending the bag of mix to them may cost more than you paid for the product. Send it back within a year? I suppose you should dump it out of the pots into the bag? I think I would just send about a cup of it in the bag to them.
Let them know your concerns:
Customer service: customerservice@ferry-morse.com
Mailing Address:
Ferry-Morse Seed Company
601 Stephen Beale Drive
Fulton, Kentucky 42041
Call Ferry-Morse at 270-472-3400 or 800-626-3392
The vermiculite content in most all the potting mixes has been sharply reduced because of the asbestos problem. It is getting harder and harder to find as isn't mined nearly as much any more. So many of them have switched to perlite instead.
Dave
Whether they will be more mature or not will all depend on the growing conditions you provide. The 50 mm pellets are intended for use with large plants - tomatoes, peppers, big perennials, etc. All the other problems with the peat pellets aside, small plants don't usually do real well in the 50mm because they are planted so shallow and never root that deeply.
You can cut the 50mm in half if you want and then use them for more shallow rooted plants.
Dave
I think it would depend on how badly they were frozen. Many people get volunteer squash plants in their compost piles. You could always do a germination test if you have plenty of seeds. Put a few between damp paper towels in a baggie, set them in a warm spot(like on the fridge)and see if they sprout. It should only take a few days to find out.
One year I got volunteer MINI pumpkins from the compost. Those cute little 6" guys. It was great! I only ever bought a couple from the store for decoration then composted them when they went bad.