6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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??
Poppies are a plant that like the cool weather. I am in tennessee and I am already planting out today is a chilly day here. Though I doubt your temps may be cool enough for poppies, heck I may be wrong though.
I direct sow my poppies!! Few do pop up for me, but the few I still enjoy.
Save some of your seeds and maybe try this fall to direct sow some.
LOL!!! Hilarious that brought a huge smile to my face.
Well what it is I have always loved to grow outside and this system simply makes sense. So many are scared to try cause of the frost or cold and many do not know they can and when I hear someone kinda newer talking about the cold I have to toss up a picture.
Down in the winter sowing forum zone 5ers are starting to get sprouts so hopefully it won't be much longer for you in zone 4.
I have maybe 85% germinated right now out of 131 containers, my american beautyberry is the newest sprout I found today.
This weekend I plan on sowing more!!
Glad you were amused - after I posted, I realized that you might be offended - which was not my intention.
Last week we had temps in the 50's for several days but right now it is 9 degrees outside, so its a good thing none of my WS seeds sprouted!
(sorry to steal your thread Dave)
I've read that sunflowers don't like to be transplanted. However, the slugs will mow my sunflower seedlings over in one night if I try to start them direct. So I start them in those jiffy pots--the ones you can plant directly in the soil. That way, I'm giving the seedlings a start before setting them out as slug food, but I'm not disturbing the roots when I try to move them.
Here is a link that might be useful: my blog
Here are some good tips for growing sunflowers from my personal knowlege and from some research:
Try planting them 1-3.5in into the soil if you are using a large container or not using a container at all, however if you are planting them in a small container then I reccomend 1-2cm deep.
Do a soil pH test, the ideal pH for sunflowers is 5.0-7.0, to raise the pH of the soil, use wood ash to lower it use coffee grounds. Here is a link with a chart for plants and recommended pH levels: http://www.eutechinst.com/tips/ph/15_soil_ph.pdf
Good Luck!
~Lindsey:)
Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/sunflower.html
The link might be useful. Do you know which meconopsis you have? Some are easier from seed than others. Is it M betonicifolia? I think that's one of the easier ones, although most are a bit temperamental. They require very different conditions from the true poppies and are happiest in cool wet climates - remember they are from the Himalayas. Good luck.
Here is a link that might be useful: Meconopsis cultivation.
Since you mention it is citrus you are working with, I doubt you will be able to start a cutting. Most citrus WILL come true from seed, but if you are dubious, you can graft or bud your trees onto a citrus rootstock. The other method is a type of layering called "dropping" or "stooling" not easily done with a mature tree. Al
For my subsequent plantings I mixed the remaining hyponex with a bag of peat based seed starting mix. The result has been tolerable, but I won't be buying it again. Lesson learned :)
Loribee: Thanks for the nice comment about my blog. I have checked yours out and it is wonderful. I love pictures too! I used to live in a warmer climate and I miss those early springs. It is an exercise in patience here in Iowa.
Here is a link that might be useful: my zone 5 gardening blog
I bought a bag of Miracle Gro last year that was a lot of wood chips and sticks. I called them and they even told me that they add sticks to their potting soil, I found a few small sticks in the seed starting mix also. I thought it was supposed to be a good brand.
I do have a large bag of peat moss left from planting a tree a few years ago. Can I mix either the Miracle Gro or the peat moss with other things to use as container potting soil for my herbs once they go outside? I hate having that stuff go to waste if I can use it. Is it better to make your own potting soil by mixing products together?
I remove the bottom heat, and any type of cover I may have used to maintain humidity, right at germination, not beyond. Keeping seedlings too warm from below will often lead to stretched out leggy growth.
If yours are outright dying, maybe something else is going on too. Too wet, or too dry? Could you tell us more about your methods so someone could identify a potential problem?
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!
That is the BEST way to learn, through experiements :)
I love them!
keriann~