6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

The seedlings have taken a turn for the worse (healthy true leaves dying, and one seedling dead), but I've also learned some things:

Rapid Rooter are hydroponic plug growing media with a dense, spongy texture. I bought these without knowing a darn thing about hydroponics. While the plugs contain nice-sounding ingredients ("beneficial microbes" "composted materials"), they lack the fertilizer I've taken for granted in my seedling mixes.

So, I've transplanted all into seedling mix (the plugs have to be transplanted intact) and fertilized very lightly with fish emulsion.

Thanks, Gary and Loewenzahn.

I think eventually you'll save most of these. I would fill in the gaps with a very porous mixture and keep them damp but not waterlogged.

Good luck.
Gary

Try some tree peonies. One year to form a root, another to sprout.

Can you wintersow tree peony seeds? I have some that I bought on eBay last year.

Steve - no, no, no, and no, DON'T bring your seed out into 80 degrees from being in the fridge, DO NOT put kitty litter on anything, DO NOT FERTILIZE young seedlings, especially if stretched out! The reason they are weak is because they aren't being given enough light, or the soil is being kept too moist or the temperatures that you are growing them on is too warm - or a combination of these things - your seedlings are not stretching from lack of fertilizer. And no, somehow it is a misconception to put innoculant in with seeds to aid germination!!!!!!! That is best used for peas or beans that are planted out in the field. It is used for the root systems of legumes to enhance colonizing bacteria that produce nitrogen (which they are able to do on their own, to me it isn't something that is required.) Again, DO NOT DO ANYTHING UNUSUAL TO YOUR SEEDS! Don't try to force the germination and growing to fit your schedule - nature always wins in the end.
As Martha said above since you appear to be so new to this, it would be best - I am sure of this - to simply sow ALL of your seeds outdoors in a ground bed and let mother nature take care of getting your seeds to grow and mature. I have read a few of your older posts, and you are so caught up with the technicalities of growing plants that it is interfering with you using sound techniques that actually work - again good luck!

This post was edited by jebfarm on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 10:48

1. I will DEFINITELY sow the seeds outdoors now that you guys let me know all of this. BUT... is it too late? After refrigerator stratifying my cold-stratification requiring seeds (while I'm completing my seed frame.. just need soil to be available from homedepot/lowes), I then learned that some of the seeds are rated for 30 days of stratification, and others for 60 days. My concern is that since I started them on December 23, the ones requiring 30 days and many of the ones requiring 60 days will sprout well before April. I only intended to start the germination process in the refrigerator, with the greater intention of soon sowing them outdoors on a warmer winter day upcoming -- maybe in a week or two. So, since they will be in serious winter conditions, I doubt that the ones rated for 30 or 60 will sprout early. I guess its 30 days in a refrigerator, which is not really freezing, but all winter long if sown outdoors. I just wish that I only started the 90-day requiring ones in doors, and left the 30s/60s for when I finished the seed beds (in a week or so, when soil becomes available... need 24 two-cubit foot bags of composted soil.)

2. Early on in the stratification process, I removed the seeds from the refrigerator (maybe 34 F) and left the bags out in room temperature (maybe 80 F)... then put them back in the refrigerator. Did I destroy the embryos? I would think I would if it was the freezer to room temperature. In the past... last year, I moved seeds from a refrigerator (maybe 36 F) to room temperature (maybe 78 F) and many species did fine.

These seeds are going outside as soon as I get enough soil to cover the area they will be caste upon... and stepped over, not buried in most situations.

Thank you very much in advance..

Steve, Zone 7a

just realized this is an old link, but was just gathering my ROS seeds today and stumbled across the forum. We have a 50 year old ROS "tree" in front of our house. We've pruned it to have a fairly thick trunk and it's like a gorgeous bouquet in the early fall. Last year is the first I ever gathered seeds, we've always spent much time plucking starts out of the yard. I've found, the key to harvesting ROS seeds is to pick the seed pods when they've just dried out and snap off easily. if you wait too long they will have opened too much and spilled all the seed into the ground. we have two "trees" out front and get random starts all over the yard from the yearly re-seeding, so Mother Nature handles the seeds really well and apparently they overwinter without any help from us and germinate quite readily. they are hearty here.

A friend gave me a green Rose Of Sharon seed pod, how do I plant this and when? I live in central Florida

I don't use the paper towel method for germination, nor an exacto knife either - I use my fingernails to get the coating off, then wash the seeds with soap, rinse.

The cleaned finished seed is brown - at least with magnolia wilsonii - I'm assuming the others are similar.

My conjecture is that GalaVines' "actually seed"
(genesis of the confusion)
is your and everybody's "finished seed";
and that, in GalaVines' recommendation, the brown,
which is the coat,
is not scraped off the seed.

Remaining is the uncertainty about apparent lack of stratification.

Posted by lazygardens PhxAZ%3A Sunset 13 (My Page) on ...
"If I were in AZ I would have no problem"

We're easily confused.

I'm starting them in an unheated workshop in New Mexico - Sunset Zone 10. (I don't know why GW hasn't made the zone change I did in my profile)

It doesn't freeze in there, but it's definitely not tomato or pepper starting temps.

We want an early start on the peppers, will put them in a temporary greenhouse for growing them out.

I'm planning on low tunnels and plastic for the seedling leafy greens.

Hi

1st Thanx for the proper ID
You guys are 100% right Snapdragon
Some one sent me some pics 'cause they know I like "Odd" things but they said they were Columbine seed pods

2nd Bummer
'Cause I ordered a bunch of Columbine seeds
LOL

Thanx again for pointing me in the right direction

I'm just wondering, if you've only ever seen a picture of these seed pods if you are aware of the true scale of them? They are not very big. Maybe 1/2 to 1 inch long. Will that be big enough for use in your craft work?

Here is a link that might be useful:

WELL! Am I surprised! And I was so darned nice to that mouse, too, letting it have all the sunflower seeds it wanted! Such a sap - but I learn quickly. Thanks for your help.

I just lost every single coleus sprout I had to mice in my basement. I went down to check my beautiful, expensive, diverse collection of sprouts, and they were all decapitated. And sitting happily under the warm lights was the furry culprit, staring back at me. I think the mouse was frozen with fear, since it sat perfectly still. When I came back with mouse traps, it was gone. I did trap three over night, and I plan to keep the traps up for the winter. Now I just need to decide whether to buy more coleus seeds or not. I've certainly got enough time. I just don't want to lose another batch to the rodents. Maybe I could rig up a screen covering to keep the mice out. Any suggestions?

Martha

I started my seed in sept and got a great root growing from it. it is now dec and it still has not split open but the roots are real good. is this a bad seed by chance?

I ate a lots of Avocado, buried the pits back to the garden, growing well,
but damaged by hard freeze.