6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

1.) Yes 2.)I do not use the kits 3.) good price

I wouldn't use the wipes. Why don't you place the seeds in a couple of teaspoons of sterile moist vermiculite or sterile moist sand and put them in a small zip lock in your refrigerator. When ready to bring back to warm, sow the entire contents of the zip lock.

Or if you have time with nights cold enough, chilly days with a further temp reduction at night might give them enough time in 4-6 weeks for the moist chill, sometimes a fluctuating temperature is more helpful. Sow and place the pot outdoors.

This is what I have done for seeds that need to be stratified.
Plant them in a container with damp seed starter mix.
Put the container in a plastic bag and store it in the fridge (back of the bottom shelf)
Label with the date you put it in and when to remove it. I use masking tape on the outside of the bag.
Also, mark your calendar when to remove it.
You can use any container. I like the strawberry containers because they have a lid. I put folded damp paper towel on the bottom and then the damp starter mix. Plant the seed and press them in lightly. Sprinkle a little more mix on top.
When you take it out of the fridge, keep it in a warm place until you see it has germinated. This can take a long time. I remember one time I did this - it wasn't until the middle of July before I saw anything growing.

I don't know anything about white fir tree seed. Maybe someone out there can help you with that.

Best wishes for successful growing!

I can agree there is a big difference between a florescent lamp(of any quality) and a metal halide. I reliable foot candle meter to measure the amount of light ANYWHERE, can be bought for $25 and stop all the guessing about the amount of light on your plants. Considering how lavishly gardeners spend money on plants and lights that don't do the job. I went through two sets of lamps before biting the bullet and buying the HID. A bulb last me about two years and costs $16 to replace. Al

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1061/ANR-1061.pdf

I use tables like that to check the optimum soil temp for my starters and germination. I tend to split the difference and keep the soil around 75 degrees or so.

Chris - The Table you linked to is great for germination temps, but gardengolfer was asking about post germination temps. From everything I have read it can be considerably cooler once they have developed true leaves. Hotter is better, but they should do fine as low as 65 F.

As a first timer last year I had pretty much no extra heat (other than the fluorescent bulbs) for my pepper plants, even for germination. I was growing in a 60-65 degree room. The smaller Anaheim peppers were prolific, the Bells produced fruit, but not many, but I dont think it was due to how I started them.

On the other hand, I just bought one of those reflective "emergency blankets"($1.98) which is basically a big sheet of mylar, and have hung it as a curtain over my shelves. The temps shot up ten degrees, just holding in the heat from the bulbs.

I have saved seeds from wave petunias for several years. Waves are called a F1 hybrid. The following generation is F2 and so on. Generally most of the F2 generation are quite close to the original waves, although there can be some very nice color variations as well as some that will flower stripped. The F3 generation onward seems to loose more and more of the wave characteristics as well as a loss of vigor.

For me, what has worked the best is to always have a planter of true Waves (F1 generation). So I will buy or plant from purchased seeds 6 or so waves each year. Then I collect the seeds from those plants and grow a large number of F2 plants each year that I use to fill in mass planting and the majority of my planters. I really like the variety I get from my F2 plants. Anymore, I don't plant any F3 and up generations.

I had great luck germinating seeds in the plugs (I didn't buy the dome, just the inserts) but the plants pretty much died in an aeroponics system.

OTOH, I have had fantastic success with Horticubes. Oner place that sells them is http://homeharvest.com/seedstartingrootingmedium.htm though I bought 162 cell as well as 102 cell trays. If you have your own nursery tray, http://www.insidesun.com/104fb6f35079bf88aed2ed644df1ef6b.item has them at a lower price.

I sowed a tray of the 102 ones a week ago. Only six seeds have not germinated yet. The key is to keep them wet - you cannot overwater them. I line my nursery trays with plastic, then add a couple of quarts of water every other day or sooner.

If you visit this thread you can see how my plants look after 2.5 weeks.

Mike