6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

That would be awesome! My list isn't updated right now but I will get it updated as soon as I have seeds to list! Thanks Eileen!

Okay Randy--yours is the first name on my 2011-12 seed trades spreadsheet. I put you down for pink and red lupine seeds. Do you want white too if I have enough?

Prunus persica (Peach tree) is only hardy to about zone 7, so not much chance outside in Ohio. I don't know about this species, but most Prunus require several months cold stratification, and often several months warm stratification first.

Your best bet is to sow now and leave the pot outside to expect germination in spring. Before you sow, clean the seed thoroughly, then soak overnight in fresh water to remove all traces of the pulp.

I live in central Texas and I have some fruit that I have eaten and saved the seed. I would like to know when to plant them. I have a peach,purple plum and a large apricot.
Thanks,
Kaye

Hi, I have a greenhouse and cold frames. The greenhouse is made of polycarbon material. It gets hot in the greenhouse in early spring during the day but, it gets too cold at night to get a good germinaion rate and sometimes I loose entire plug trays because of one cold night.
My cold frames are made of two by twelves and are 4' X6'. I lined each cold frame with weed mat then filled them with mulch then cow manure then topsoil. I used large old windows to cover the frames and hinged them on one side. The temperature in the frames is much warmer. The sides are tightly closed with only a small gap for ventilation. During the day the temperature goes above 120 degrees so I open the windows using a 2 x 4 to prop it open just enough to ge the temperature I want. I only open them completly when it is above 80 degrees because I grow watermelons in them and I live in a cool northern state; zone 3-4

That sounds like a nice setup, lunnarbelle. What keeps the cold frames warm at night -- is it the rotting cow manure? Do you have a picture of the frames?

mandolls, thanks for the references to Dan Staley (dan_staley here on GardenWeb). Looks like he's got some good setups. Some are similar to the one Al suggests.

Trudi, I was hoping to sow in place, but winter sowing in vented containers might be a good bet.

how do you get iron for plants, can you buy it in plant stores, how do you test the soil for yellow leaves on petunias?

Hi,
Yellow leaves usually means they need acid, also, petunias love heat. A cool envionment will cause rot and wilting. Acid will give them a dark green strong leaf.

Yes! Winter Sow. It works.

T

Hi, I have an enormous perennial garden. It is about twenty feet wide by forty feet long. At first I just thew in a few packages of perennial seed mix in the extra large package from the local department store. The first few years the garden was spectacular. The soil in my yard is very alkaline becuase I have a pond and I live near a lake. I have planted many perennials over the past six years and have had some die off because of the soil. I am now tryng to amend the soil with aluminum sulfate and other fertilizers that prevent weed growth and encourage my chosen perennial growth. It's a science. Since fertilizing and testing the soil, I have had better luck maintaining the already existing plants in my garden. Seed sowing in the spring before weed emergence is key, I think. You are in a great zone for perennials and can choose from many varieties. Large clumping varieties do best in perennial gardens. The help to control weed growth. I have many clumping varieties such as delphiniums, foxglove, lupine,veronica, bee balm, just to name a few. I have lots of peonies in my perennial garden, they fair better than roses in my zone and die back to the ground every year.Perennials are old friends that always come back each year no matter what!

I agree that for the most part I feel that they are all the same. I have owned a few of these and I have really not seen any difference. Some have lasted more than one season and some have not. If you take good care of them then they will last.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sprouter

I have only made my own heat mats. The first two I used cables from Park seed which contain their own thermostat. The one I am using now was made from cables and thermostats from Charlies green house, because of its size. Parks has several cables you can buy and make your mat the size you want. Their cables with thermostats never gave me any trouble. The temperatures are set at 70 degrees, and are not adjustable. Al

Most of the commercial/grocery store fruit we buy comes from trees propagated by means other than seeds to ensure specific characteristics - they are produced from cuttings, grafting to produce exact duplicates of the 'mother' plants. Reproduction by seed can be widely variable, and while the offspring might be similar to one or both parents, some or even all of the desirable characteristics may be lost. Most commercially propagated apple trees are grafted onto dwarf rootstocks that are disease and cold tolerant. Seedling offspring of these nursery-grown trees will not have those same advantages.

Then take into consideration cross pollination - and commercial orchards will often use crab apple planted as pollinators and you've thrown even more variety into the mix. You may have an apple tree that bears apples, but there is a strong chance they will be small fruit, and may or may not taste good.

Ok I understand. Thank you both for your help. Even if I cant get a desirable apple to grow, I think it would be fun for all of us (especially the kids) to see something grow from a seed. I have a few seeds that have started to sprout in a moist papertowel. I am going to plant them in plastic cups to start with and see where it goes from there.

Depth would depend on how far along they are, but generally, plant them the same depth as you would if you were planting the seeds directly in the soil. Regular potting mix will be fine.

Remember to put the little "tail" down. That is the root. I use a tweezers to plant the seeds.

Yes, mandolls, the peat pellets are exactly what I used and I never potted them up since they could go directly into the garden relatively early. Never pinched off either. Most of my indoor growing has been with zinnias and cosmos (which don't even need it!), so I'm not on the ball here.

So would your advice on the cleomes be just to let them go to seed and let them come up on their own next year? I still have some seed left from the originals, so I should just spread them out in the fall?

And the columbines will survive and be stronger and bloom appropriately next year?

Thanks for the help :D

Yes, on the Columbine. My experience is they dont ever look like more than seedlings the first year, but will be bigger and healthy and full of blooms next year. However, many columbine only live for 2-3 years, I'd recommend starting a few more seedlings every year to keep them coming. They self seed for many people, but not me.

My Cleome did not self-seed either, but I am in zone 4, and just dont get a lot of self seeding happening in my garden.