6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I am not qualified to comment really since I don't know your conditions at all. But there is another reason apart from temperature for starting plants indoors - pests. If you live in slug/snail country they can destroy direct sown lettuce and brassicas the moment they emerge from the soil. So I start both of these inside. But not particularly early - just so that I can set out reasonable sized plants which are less likely to be mown down in a single night. I keep starting lettuce inside all season.
I thought only tomatoes grow roots from the stem?
Not at all. Many plants do including peppers, artichokes, eggplant, potatoes, and corn just to name a few. But all benefit from the additional stem support of transplanting deeper. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, many flowers, etc. can't support even a few leaves on a leggy stem much less support a head or a set of blooms.
Dave
edited to correct spelling
This post was edited by digdirt on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 13:40
You could try Winter Sowing. It is conceptually very easy and I shouldn't think it's too late in your zone. But the people on the WS Forum can certainly tell you.
Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing Hollyhocks
Hollyhocks are a confusing plant, at least to me. It seems if you research them some are annuals, some biennials and some perennials. All of the ones I have ever grown have been biennials, even seed from people that claim they are annuals or perennials (more often). I have ordered some seed that is supposedly supposed to bloom first year and is an annual and some that may bloom the first year and is considered a perennial, so time will tell.
So whether or not you will get flowers this year is unknown, I have never gotten blooms the first year even from seed started indoors. You have a longer growing season so that might help.
I have not found that the seeds need any type of stratification or cold treatment so you could plant them as soon as you can work the soil and let nature do the rest, you could winter sow as suggested or you could start them indoors to give them a jump start. IF you have a so called variety that will bloom the first year starting them 6-8 weeks before last frost will have them bloom earlier.
SCG
CanadianLori, the "T" is the "size" of the bulb. The "K" indicates the peak wavelengh/frequency (color) of light. All fluorescent bulb packaging that I've seen gives some information about color. If there's not a numeric rating, there should at least be something like "Warm/Soft White" (2700K-3500K), "Natural/Cool White" (4100K-5000K), or "Bright White/Daylight" (6500K). Different manufacturers use different terminology, but, if the Kelvin rating is not given, these light color terms will at least give you an idea.
Good advice on places to locate the clay.
I'd suggest making the balls small. Dry them quickly in an area with good air flow. Setting them in front of a fan is good. If you make them larger and set them close together to dry, you may be disappointed. The seeds will stay moist long enough to begin germinating, and when the balls are used later the germinated seeds will be dried out and dead. Don't ask how I know this :)
Doesn't realty matter too much on easy to start plants.
I would caution on the use of the word potting "SOIL" What you want is potting "Mix". The stores sell both. I have gone back to store potting mix for starting seeds and for re-potting them.
If you have the seeds covered, get the cover off as soon as they pop up and give them air.
Not helpful for gardenia. Soak seed overnight, then sow covered by about 1/4", peat moss and sand or peat and perlite at about 75F. Germination in about four-six weeks but could take up to three months for the seeds to germinate, and germination may be erratic (meaning not all seeds will germinate same time)
I sow all my seeds in repurposed mushroom boxes. That way I can keep each variety and or color separate. 8 mushroom boxes fit perfectly in 1 tray but I usually have 3 trays full when I'm starting my seeds. I don't like to crowd the seedlings.
I do use Chamomile tea for damp off but I also use cinnamon which does the same thing.
FYI: Last year I germinated tomato seeds in coffee filters. I was told I'd get a better germination rate doing it this way than using seed starting mix. Well 1st off even though they were 2014 seeds not all germinated which surprised me ( I was a newbie last year) 2nd it took me close to 3 hours to then transplant them into my seed starting mix and I only transplanted about 20 seedlings. Why so long? Well I didn't want to damage the extremely delicate seedlings. Wow yes a lot of time and yes quite a lot of stress. I did learn a lot but this year the seeds are going right into the starting mix.
On sowing Acer palmatum:
-- First soak your seeds for 24 hours.
-- Japanese maple seeds need 2 to 3 months cold before they can germinate.
-- Reasonably fresh seed usually germinates in the first spring after sowing; old, dried out seed may take a year longer (or might not germinate at all).
-- If you have plenty of seed available you can do a 'cut test' to get an idea how high the percentage of fertile seed is.
-- If you live in an area that doesn't have real winter temperatures you can put the seeds with some slightly moist (= not wet) sowing compost in a ziplock bag in the fridge (NEVER the freezer) at around 5 C./41 F. After two months check regular for signs of germination as Japanese maples can germinate (root emergence) in the fridge. When you see a root appear you can sow them in a pot.
This post was edited by GardenPrince on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 3:39
Hi GardenPrince, many thanks for your useful info and posts, it is appreciated. I will try to find some Ericacious seed compost here in Melbourne area, but I know I have seen the Perlite, in a 5 Litre bag for around $9 AUD. The Bunnings DIY stores here have quite a lot of gardening stuff. They DO sell some professional grade Osmocote seed raising compost here:
http://www.bunnings.com.au/osmocote-10l-professional-rose-gardenia-azalea-camellia-potting-mix_p3020060
so if you think that slightly acid (PH of around 6) should be good, mixed with a bit of pearlite, I will give it a go when I get my new batch of seeds arrive any day soon.
I grow wheat grass indoors in winter as a green treat for my cats. :) If that's what you mean, I just use a couple small flats (I have/use plastic flats, but they're the size of peat flats... approx 4" x 6"). Otherwise, I use 4" pots or whatever is available...
I fill the pot with potting mix, tamp down lightly to firm the soil, scatter the seed heavily across the entire surface, cover lightly with additional potting mix, press down to ensure contact, water, and give it plenty of light (in a window or under grow lights). The seeds sprout quickly.... usually in just 2-3 days... then water as needed and the grass is full-grown in just a couple weeks. Cats love it. :)
I have also placed the entire pot in a plastic bag to retain moisture and speed the germination process, but I remove the bag once the grass is up a couple inches.
Lol. A pic would be great. While too early for here I have sowed some to see if I can replicate. Hopefully it is not present on germination as I would hate to have to burn my shop down, again, due to plant diseases....
SCG
The biodome and similar designs are intended to be bottom watered. But if you firm the potting medium into the cells - and that's a potting medium with a lot of peat or coir in it - it shouldn't "wash out" unless you are watering over-vigorously. If you are using a very gently top watering method it isn't going to wash anything out, just soak down gradually. Any more than that and you are over-watering.
There are older seeding methods (may still be used commercially or for specific plants) that involved seeding directly into large flats of fine vermiculite and then "pricking" the seedlings out and repotting as they emerged. I don't know if that is at all common any more but I've never cared for that method myself as the pricking out of the seedlings is to fiddly for me. Commercial growers used to do it (and still may) because it saved space and it saved pots, especially if you are working with a low-germination seed.
Anyway the point is we do not want to use a vermiculite seed starting mix in these types of containers, or anything else that is crumbly when damp.
Start with a moist potting mix. If it will hold its shape, more or less, when you squeeze it into a ball in your hand, that should do.
Tamp it firmly into the plugs (not Magilla-Gorilla firmly but just enough so it is going to hold together and there are no voids in the medium). Water from the top gently if you like, but bottom watering is actually usually easier. Either way, you don't want to leave it sitting in water all day. It should soak up into the medium fairly quickly, otherwise you've over watered. "Fairly quickly" being on the order of an hour or two.
Bio Domes ARE a bit larger than most plug systems. Its more like the ARS system I used years ago (which is still available). Its sort of a cross between actual plugs and regular plant paks. I had ARS system containers up to 4" individual cells and nothing ever washed out of that. Of course it is a bottom watering system as well.
I too used the BioDome and sponges last year and the sponges left a lot to be disired. Would it be wise to cut some cheesecloth or even gauze to line the holes and then fill in with potting mix? It seems that the whole idea behind the sponges is that the soil will never leach into the water below and the sponge ensures the seedlings get watered via absorption..