6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Thanks! I was thinking about what to put underneath it, too. I save all those sheets of Styrofoam that come with a shipped box, I was thinking about using those.
Is there is list somewhere that says what temperature various seeds like to be at? It's been a long time since I've started from seed. I'd like to start caladium bulbs to get a head start, and mostly flower seeds. 80-90 degrees would be great for caladiums.
When I was about four years old my grandmother got me hooked on growing from seed by taking a mason jar with some soil and slipping some beans and corn down between the soil and the glass. I could see the seed swell and sprout and become a seedling. There was a lesson about 'monocotyledons' and 'dicotyledons' there too but since my grandmother never learned how to spell her name she probably didn't use those words when showing me what happened.
Some years ago myself and someone else on one of these forums suggested schoolteachers should do like the cooking shows do and start the finished product ahead of time so that when the preparation and sprouting and growing was running into time constraints the finished product could be taken out and displayed. We would appear to have failed but there is no way of knowing I suppose.
When you take the cover off the plants start transpiring away the moisture in their foliage and they wilt. When the cover is on the humidity is 100% and they don't transpire. The moisture to keep the plant and foliage turgid is provided by the roots. The problem can be soil that is too dry or even too wet. Correct the soil moisture and open the cover gradually as art suggested. Al
You should have started indoor tomatoes in Feb for zone 6, I would wait and buy plants late April ,early May. Peas, including ornamental sweet peas now. Dill now, any flowering seeds that need stratification now(cleome, morning glories, etc). Onion sets, carrots, radishes now and potatoes anytime soon. Good luck...suggestion:buy a gardening book, or check one out at your local library for zone 6. I research like crazy,,then experiment. I live in zone 6, but sometimes can get away with zone 5 plants.
Keriann, you were right, last night I could see some of the peppers starting to break through. Also the 2nd batch of lettuce I planted 2 days before had mostly all sprouted. The first batch that I posted pictures of are starting to show a tiny bit of something growing in between the 2 cotyledons.
Well, the reason I keep the lights on them 24/7 is cuz I really have too many for the one light that I'm using - one of the 3 rows is always in the dark. Therefore, I reposition the lights throughout the day so all the plants will get their share of light. Then, on nice sunny days I put them outside for a while as well.
Thanks for all the advice on the chamomile tea - I'll be getting it today & hopefully that'll get rid of the mold!
I am in Zone 5B and I sow carrots, peas, spinach, radishes, and potatoes the first week of May, I pushed it a few years ago and planted them mid April, and didnt gain any extra benefit.
I start onion seeds inside though.
Where did you read yoru info on when to plant out for zone 5? I have always read/used May 10th. But every year is different, I watch the weather and teh temp of the soil... there is no real golden answer.
You could cover what you have with a frost cloth, but you would need to remove it during the day.. problem is... this week we are never going to get above freezing, so it is too chilly with or without a frost blanket. Frost is much different than a hard freeze.
Keriann~
The local nursery's catalogue has a planting calendar. It said to start what I planted in Mid-March. I was told by other people that in Kansas City, St. Patty's day is the best time to plant potatoes. I talked to a woman in person and she told me not to worry cuz she always planted potatoes and frost didn't kill them, but mine are in pots for stacking higher.
Also, my seed packets said for peas, bok choy, and spinach to plant as soon as the ground can be worked, and I have read that spinach needs to be planted several weeks before the last frost. The last frost in Kansas City is around mid-April. True, the temperatures are just going to dip to about 28-29 degrees at night, so not a real freeze.
hey goblugal, i wasn't being sarcastic!!! was saying THANKS, lots of info. i saved the link for further use. guess u could take it the wrong way. i never say ugly things here. all help is useful, even if they just say they don't know. at least i know i am not the only 1 not knowing. so THANKS everyone.gotta find some bigger toenail clippers.lol. joyce
Rotating is always a good practice. The ends of the bulbs generally don't put out as much light as the centers, so that will help keep them as close to even growth as possible.
Light intensity drops off with distance rather drastically (Intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance), so the cool bulb's light isn't really getting to the side under the warm bulb side as much and vice versa. I don't think you need to rotate them daily, but at least weekly would be a benefit (or certainly won't hurt anything). I normally rotate mine every 3 or 4 days.
On a positive note, you do learn best from your own experience! People can tell you what they think or do, but you can only really understand by trying it out yourself. Some of your stuff will do fine if you give it some TLC, you'll be surprised what a plant can take. If you can get a shop light or two it may help them and do them better than a floor lamp, and they are fairly inexpensive and the lights will last you a good while...a solid investment if you plan to start your seeds year to year! Don't give up:)
And just to comment on a above post, not ALL herbs need to be direct sown. Some of the woodier types like rosemary, thyme, sage it is beneficial to give them a head start indoors...but then again it is only my opinion!
Happy Growing!
I bought a box of 120 plastic pots about 4 inches each. I use over and over and over. I gather all old pots from trees I buy. It is handy to cover my little vegetable plants from the nasty storms. Also I use some as a holder for my cantaloupe where the vine climbs on the fence and I have to support teh fruit or I will lose them. I alsways looking for old pots.
Yeah I know that problem all to well. A trick I do is I actually pour the water in my hand then trickle it on the seedlings, you may still have to adjust the seedlings but this method for me sure works better than dumping water on them.
After you get that first initial watering then you should be able to bottom water successfully. Another trick since you haven't replanted all of your seedlings try to water the soil you are going to transfer them to first. Then add your seedlings. Taking a wild guess here the reason the bottom watering isn't working is because mix straight out of the package contains air. That first watering elements the air, therefore allowing bottom watering to work.
Make sense??
I love your planter lol.
Read on the Internet, fill a bucket (or container)full of fallen Osage Oranges, and some water, and leave them set out all winter (Ohio). In the spring they'll be brown and squashy. Mix them up into a slurry, dig a furrow about 1-1 1/2 deep, and pour in the slurry, cover with about a 1/2" of dirt. Tried this last year 2009-2010 and had plenty of germination. Furrow was about 8' long and probably had 100 seedlings, and this is in hard clay.