6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Oddly enough, I sowed some Arugula seeds and they didn't appear to want to sprout. To test them before giving up on them, I sowed 6 (2 to three different cells of a heated seed flat) and in two days 5 out of the 6 sprouted. Two of the seeds from the original flat they were planted in ALSO sprouted in the same time.
Just kinda weird, but cool too.
Hmmm, I also have been having slow progress with my Thyme seeds this year. Last year I didn't plant thyme until the middle of summer, and it did very well, so maybe it's a temperature thing. But perhaps I'm also covering them with too much soil, like someone mentioned above. I think I will try again, with just pressing them into the soil like Mandolls described.
I have given up too early on some seeds. Usually, I plant several different types at once, and when the others have sprouted and I still have a few lifeless pots, that's when I "recycle", I plant in new seeds, or empty the pots and put in fresh soil. I have a habit of reusing my soil too (which I've learned is not a good idea, as the soil might not be sterile and could destroy my plants) -- and this has led to some surprise seedlings from the seeds I "gave up" on.
One example: this past winter I planted some quince seeds that I saved from fruit, but they never grew and I assumed I did something wrong; so I forgot about them, and casually left the pot on the sill. But one day there was a sprout! It was kind of like that thing with water, it won't boil if you watch it. I've learned to be a little more patient, and also to have faith that, even when I mess up in gardening, nature will find it's own way. :)
With most annuals, you are safe sowing after you have reached your date of average last frost in your area.
Perennials are a different story, some will need a period of moist chill before they will germinate while others do not.
You can look them up here, find sowing suggestions:
Here is a link that might be useful: Clothiers database
Some other ideas...need evenly moist but not soggy soil. In pots, fertilize weekly with a diluted fertilizer solution (begin at 1/4 strength and work up to max of 1/2). Also - temperatures should not fall below 65F; if they do get chilled, the plants respond with yellowing of leaves and stems.
Hi Kujen,
I have grown Mimosa pudica, more commonly known by my students and educators as the TickleMe Plant for over 30 years. You won't need to buy Nitrogen fixing bacteria as the Rhizobia live in nodules in the plant's roots and are usually found in the soil. We have grown our TickleMe Plants in peatmoss, potting soil and coir all with excellent results and no leaf fall. Your potting mix will work fine. I agree with morz8 that the key to growing healthy plants is to keep the temperatures high and I suggest an even higher temperature range starting at 70 degrees to 90 degrees.When the plants get older they are more tolerant to lower temperatures. Too much water (never let them sit in water) will also cause yellowing and dropping of the leaves.
If you want to get your plants to flower even in the middle of winter, I highly suggest, for all Mimosa pudica growers, the book called "The Sensitive Plant-Growing the Mimosa-That MOVES When You Tickle It!-The TickleMe Plant Book-Your Complete FUN Guide." It's the authorative source on growing this plant and my students have used the book to conduct over twenty controlled studies on everything from germination rates to using flourescent lights to stimulate flower production. If you have any additional questions about this plant, contact the plantdoctor@ticklemeplant.com as he has helped my students with their questions and to set up science projects. I hope this helps!
Here is a link that might be useful: TickleMe Plant Seeds Products and Videos
It;s been a while since I came back to this site. Just busy doing other stuff. Actually just cane back from a cruise to the Bahamas. Great time except for the first night when the 16 foot seas made it a little uncomfortable to say the least. Besides that the weather was perfect. Anyway, thanx Eagle for the thorough explanation on the best was to plant germinated seeds. Most of the seeds i germinated are doing fine especially the cilantro and parsley. Ther are 2-4 inches already. Oh yea, I was wondering.......do you ever join two small plants together and just let them grow like that? I tried it last year and, for the most part, they seemed to do fine. My feeling is if you try to plant 5-6 plants together that might actually inhibit the growth of the plant. The other plants I germinted were basil and they are doing fine. There are 3 empty cells where the purple basil should be growing but are empty. Not sure why. I have other purple in different trays.
I am glad I never bought the SEEDER for $15. Don't need it. I do what you do and tap the seeds and put them in a very small plastic bowl. I then just grab some strong reading glasses, a good pair of tweezers and I am good to go. I will definitely try your method of "clearing out the casualties" though. I figured it would be better to take out the defective plants root and all. This is my third year of gardening and I have learned to separate the seeds in each cell. I put 3 in each one and separate them. I could just take the roots out ...probably without disturbing the main plant. Not sure though. As for labeling the plants I am using some fluorescent green plastic silverware that was left over from some outdoor barbeque we had last year. Works great. How are you doing in PA with your gardening?
They should germinate when sunlight, moisture and soil temperature combine to trigger germination as long as they haven't been eaten by critters, blown away by wind or washed away by heavy rain. I grow perennials from seed via winter sowing to protect them from predators and bad weather. There is a winter sowing forum here on GardenWeb where you can find out more about the method.
This is my container ghetto:
These are a few of my 2011 sprouts:
I like the fact that you can be as OCD (or not) as is personally gratifying. Last year was the first time I began recording anything. I did it more as a journal/diary than anything else. This year I am growing everything from seed, and am trying to keep an additional more organized chart of sowing date/germination time/ early growth habit/container size. But I am afraid that I am not always good about recording the info and I haven't tried to use excell, its just a word doc with a table.
Every spring as perennials begin to emerge, I am walking around the garden, going hmmmmmmmm....I wonder what that is? I dont always remember from year to year what I have planted where. I really should draw myself a map.
The first year I grew perennials from seed, I lost all of my tags, got everything mixed up and ended up tucking in plants randomly. The following year when the plants grew to normal size and bloomed was full of surprises, some good some alarming.
Yep, I did pull them off the heat. Good point though, I'm sure they'd be even taller then. Yikes. It's driving me nuts! I checked the soil temp - 72F (no heating pad, under lights in a 70F room)
I won't be home until late tonight, hopefully they didn't keep on growing taller.
hmmm, I have the same problem, but with a twist. I started my seeds using the wet paper towel method on heat. As soon as germination occured I planted them and put them under light. Within two days they were hitting the lights. On another occasion I simply planted the seeds directly and put them under light immediately. "Finally" they sprouted and grew at a normal rate. I think the extra heat sends some sort of a message to them to grow quickly. At any rate, simply transplanting them deeply seems to solve the problem in the long run.
I live in a rural area so this may not be available for everyone, but did you know that many dairy farms "make" quick-compost from their cow manure? The stuff gets collected up and it's processed through these high-pressure steam, mixing, sludging, bacteria inducing, super sonic, blasting, turbo-charged flux capasitor machines. Ready-to-use compost comes out the other end and it's fabulous stuff. Already seasoned and airy and full of nutrition (but not so much nitrogen that it burns). The dairy here charges about $65 for a truck-bed load. I mix this stuff with peatmoss and vermiculite and "Bam" ... I have more mix than I have containers to fill. Depending on what I'm using it for depends on the ratio. I use a scooper -- 4 scoops Peat, 4 scoops Verm, 2 scoops compost for seeding. Make it 3 scoops compost for potting up, and 4 scoops compost for houseplants, outdoor containers, or raised beds. Vermiculite (course ground for gardeners) is pricey. About $60 for a 40 lb bag...but the bag goes surprisingly far and lasts several years.
Yeah, regular top soil (fill) can be problematic as it didn't provide my seedlings with enough nutrients. I ended up getting good results from 1/3 germinating mixture, 1/3 top soil (fill), and 1/3 humus/compost mix with a small amount of duck manure. All in all it wasn't too expensive (10$ for a large bag of germinating mix, 3$ for humus/manur, 2$ for 80 lbs of top soil). The mixture is a medium soil where the roots can spread easily. It also doesn't dry out too fast and provides the nutrients for the seedlings.
Just wanted to update you all since you were so helpful with your advice. OK - so I did a few things since two weeks ago. First, I began giving the plants 24 hours of light instead of 14-16. Because the lights only have the ability to move up and down, I was not able to rotate the lights to different locations. I did, however, begin rotating the flats in order to give any plants that were getting leggy (or in general just having trouble growing), so that they were closer to the lights.
Second, I bought some mylar film and stapled it to some wood frames that I built in order to keep as much light in as possible. As you can see in the photo, the Mylar is nearly as reflective as a mirror, so I think it has been helping quite a bit.
I also purchased a 90 watt LED hydroponic grow lamp. It wasn't cheap but after it first blinded me, I think it was well worth it. I began moving some of the higher growing corn over to it because the corn was getting taller than the fluorescent lights and leaning severely toward it. I'm hoping they will correct themselves with the new light directly above them.
I have attached pictures of several levels of my flats and also a picture of the grow lamp that I bought.
As soon as I see the root...but sometimes I forget to check and the leaves start to emerge, so I plant those with the leaves just at the soil line. I make a deep wide hole and carefully cover the root, curving it around if needed in the hole. The roots can go from barely there to an inch long overnight, so once they start to sprout you need to check on them frequently.
OK thanks I will check them soon and probably pot them up or put them in the ground.
Z