6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

I have some lettuce seeds in a purchased seed starting mix w/o fertilizer. I'm wondering when to start fertilizing. Mandolls stated above that "The seeds themselves have enough food to get things rolling." My question is how long do the seeds' nutrients last? Thanks.

You don't give a clue where you live and garden. Starting lettuce in a packaged mix makes me think you are planning to grow to harvest in a container. If that is the case I would not fertilize until the shoots were about 2 inches high, and use a dissolved liquid about 9-3-6 which is about what the plant can use. Lettuce needs to grow fast with no check in the growth. You would get more response by starting your own post. Al

Thanks, Art.

I took the advice after see the following posted on a couple of hydroponic sites:

"Do I need to soak my Rapid Rooter plugs?

Answer: For optimal results soak Rapid Rooter plugs in pure water with a light blooming formula (200ppm or 0.4mS), then place back in tray and follow procedure for cuttings or sees. "

And then I used this online concentration calculator:

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccconc.htm

Not sure if i got it right, but thankfully there must be a margin of error because my seedlings are thriving. It's been only four days, and the lettuce is just over a half-inch tall, and I can see the spinach seeds cracking open. One spinach is even showing green.

They may have suggested a "blooming formula" because it would be fairly high in phosphorous (aids in root development). But 200 ppm of phosphorous would probably require a couple of tablespoons per gallon when using a 0-5-4 formula. Also, of course, you'll have to start using some fertilizer that contains nitrogen or you will soon have yellow lettuce :-)

Good luck with your first time germinating seeds Kenny, looks like you're off to a good start. As I've mentioned I only grow flowers, but I love watching the miracle of seed germination.

Art

Mine did well sowed in place in late March or early April. Lasted until late July.

If you are like me. I thought I had the same problems, found out it germinated, but the slugs made it disappear as soon as it came up. I can start it in pots but it is impossible in the garden.

I have grown a number of pineapple from tops in my aquaponic system. From all the research I have done, I have found that pineapples can take at least 20 years to mature and fruit. This can take even longer in colder climates. I am very impressed with how beautiful your plant is growing however! Have you grown any of these plants in the past? Did they fruit well?

Here is a link that might be useful: Here is a really helpful link for pineapples

calistoga, he just wanted to show off! :)

Also, your baby tangerines look like they need a little more light.

And I'm drooling at the apple. I want to try a Prunus specimen now!

Thanks Jeanne. I did get some dried seed pods from a friend last year and started a few but would like to start more. I have seen pictures of the flowers, beautiful! These trees have not only nice, fragrant flowers but nicely shaped and coloured foliage, I'm a foliage person. I've managed to collect about 20 seed pods so hopefully one will be good to use. Marg

I observed some seed will germinate almost immediately when quite fresh. I don't know about norther catalpa but you might find it interesting to take a few seed, nick or scratch them and plant them right now.

Ginny, the following is a quote from http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-germinate-poppy-seeds

"Poppy seeds are relatively sensitive to temperature. Poppy seeds will germinate in temperatures of about 60 to 68 degrees F during the daytime. Nighttime temperatures should average between 38 and 45 degrees. If temperatures are much colder or warmer than this, it will result in poor germination and loss of seeds."

Hope this helps,

Art

I have a greenhouse with a 70 degree heatpad that I use for starting cuttings and seeds that ask for that temperature. For poppy seeds and lots of other native seeds, they start better if I start them outside the greenhouse with only the temperature nature provides. One of the advantages of living in coastal California, is the lack of temperature extremes. Al

Fuyu Persimmon only needs one tree to bear fruit. Mine does. I don't think you need 2 trees for that.

I wonder persimmons need to have male and female plant to bear fruit??? I have only one plant and it has plenty of fruits.

I gave them about over a month, since most sites say germination time is about 10 days.

Doesn't it need sunlight to germinate? Or artificial light will do? The design of my house is done in such a way that no direct sunlight gets through the windows. It is cooler in the house if the air cond is on, but it's not always on.

Sometimes the house is warmer than outside, depending on the weather; it's rather erratic during this time of the year.

Perhaps the problem is the seed that you harvested. Maybe it wasn't ripe, or isn't viable for some other reason. Good seed should germinate quickly.

Susan, a specific seed starting mix isn't the normal product used in winter sowing or sowing outdoors. You may have found a potting mix with a pre emergent included but I've never seen it in any of the brands I've purchased and I don't think it's typical. You make a good point for reading the labels though ;)

Wow! I sure got a lesson in Liatris! Thanks! We have some growing in a patch we let go wild in our front yard. I always wondered why there weren't more of them. We recently went for a drive and saw tons of them growing near the ditches. I guess moisture does play a major factor in their germination. Thanks morz.

Oh great, thank you for pics and info!I can now clearly see the tan colored Echinacea seeds. I had rubbed them off the flower head, together with the black spikes. It will be a job to separate them... or, since there is plenty, should I start all over ? But how do you poke the seeds out from between the spikes without also getting the spikes ? I don't seem to see well enough...
Re: portulaca, how do you know when the seeds are ripe? Yesterday I had collected several of these soft " buds" and left them in an open paper bag to dry. I just looked again, some of these "buds"are still very soft, when I squeeze them they turn into a mushy mess with nothing remotely like a black seed in sight. However, I can also see some tiny black dots sticking to the inside of the paper bag....obviously some of the buds contained them, but which ones? In other words, what am I looking for that will contain ripe seeds? It's pretty cool and rainy now here in Toronto, the portulaca stopped blooming a while back, I am assuming that the seeds should be ripe now, unless they already fell to the ground?

The ripe pods would be open, they would split if they have spilled their seeds. Look for some intact, and while not completely brown and dry looking, look for those at least more yellow green than green. Open one, see if the seeds inside are black and mature to get an idea of which will have the ripe seeds.

If you are finding them unripe, another way to avoid missing the ripe seeds before they are released from the pod and spilled onto the ground, bag the end with the pod (s). Take a square of nylon stocking and a twist tie, that way you can leave it on the plant ripening until the last possible minute and not risk losing the seeds.

I have a lot of unripe monkshood and turtle head pods right now, I'll be bagging this weekend with the weather getting iffy so I don't lose them in a Fall storm where I'm not paying attention.