6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

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.

H betonicifolia! I have been reading up on growing them! not sure I can duplicate the conditions they require her in Utah. I will try, might end up trading these seeds for some I can grow here. Will give it a try!

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 the moment I made a try with seeds. I have tried with a cutting past year with no success. I 'll keep trying with both methods and see if any result will come :-)

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?

So, my moonflowers finally sprouted. I planted 6 that i knicked and soaked for 26 hours and i seperately planted 6 more directly into the peat pots. Interestingly enough i noticed no difference in the time it took for them to sprout. however, the ones i soaked have smaller leaves than the other ones.

I learned some thing today. As a child I remember my father used to soak the seed over night before planting in the field. He soaked Corn and okra seeds, Cotton seed, Fava bean seed (for several days because it is very hard), the green hay seed but he did not soak the wheat seed. I never asked why I just accepted as the rule.

Hi Geof!

That is really odd.... I have never heard of it, but with those results, how coudl it not be?... that makes me nervous with all the seed trading I do, one bad seed could wipe out a lot of hard work : (

On a brighter note, your tubers are getting sent to you today!! A whole box fun!

Keriann~

Thanks Keriann, new dahlia tubers will more than make up for some dead alyssum!

I'll try some cinnamon on the surviving Alyssum and see if it helps stave of the spread.

leggy shoots - means the lights are too far away or just not enough light. they are looking for more light

Yes - unfortunately I realized this too late. I had the seeds tucked away and didn't realize that they had sprouted until too late. I'll do some transplanting and bury them (mostly tomatoes), hopefully not all is lost.

Because you started them indoors you will need to harden them off before you set them outside (do a search on this forum for hardening off, there are a lot of great threads).

Radishs do not like to be transplanted and you should direct sow them. I would pitch the ones growing now and start new when the threat of frost has past. Same with the beans.

You will need shop light to keep the happy inside, just light from a window is not enough. There are lots of other threads on seedling set-ups, all include lights.

I hope that helps

Keriann~

I can help you on the tomatoe. Just take a screwdriver and gently push the roots further down until the leaves are just above the soil. Then set them under lights for a min of 12 hours a day.

I can't help you with the Aerogarden. I have no idea how they work but it certainly looks complicated. However, I've grown an awful lot of peas and those cells look very small unless you are going to transplant them extremely quickly. Also the pea seed needs to be covered about an inch deep.

Are all the seeds peas? It's not quite clear from your post. You actually need a lot of pea plants to make a worthwhile crop. I sow an entire packet of approx 200 seeds per row and do about three rows over a season. That is for 4 people.

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I got 4 pea plants in there and we are not a big pea family. I seem to be the only one who eats them LOL. The other seeds if I can remember are purple cherokee tomatoes, Kellogs tomatoes, Rainbow cherry tomatoes, California wonder pepper, Grand belle pepper, Lemon cukes Zinnias, gallardias, Pink butterfly bush, Maximillion sunflowers , Bellflower, balloon flower,cone flower, wild bergamot, jacko o' lantern pumpkins, and Sugar daddy peas which I only planted 4 of. I plan to transplant them soon after they grow a few inches. The 6 pod aerogarden has 3 marigolds and 3 butterfly weed seeds and they as well as the others are an experiment to see how well this thing can grow seedlings. I got 6 aerogardens total but only 2 have seeds in them. 3 are packed away and the other one has tea herbs growing in it. Today I plan to get some seedling pots and get some peas in them just in case this dont work to well. I also have at least another hundred packets of seeds to grow. I think what I did wrong was I should of drilled a bit deeper in the pods to cover the peas. Will do that later after I let the dogs out.

oh yeah... I thought it was days, not weeks...

I would get them really close under lights and when they have their first set of true leaves I would pot them up deep, to their leaves. This should help and should be fine in the long run.

What kind of light set-up do you have?

Keriann~

My lighting is 1 four foot shop light with 2 cool white bulbs hanging 3" above seedlings. Thanks

The 30s don't really fit well in the 36 holder.
I'll ask again since I may have buried this question-- any downside to just filling up a tray with the pellets basically all touching each other?

It seems the pellets don't work so well for some people-- my experience with them has really been just fine. Can I ask if you used hot water as per the instructions for the initial blow-out? How do you go about placing the seeds in the pellets?

I started having tiny sprouts out of the pellets yesterday. I don't see that it would matter having them in the tray touching. Once mine got wet, they didn't fit in their individual section in the tray anyway. They are sitting on top and touching each other. I think it is more of an issue once roots start growing. i used warm water from a pur filter. I just pulled back the covering, ripped it a little at the top and used a pencil to fluff it up like it said.