6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

kawaiineko: You're on the right track keeping up with the weather & knowing that the plants can be aggravated when they're potted up, but that it helps them. I transplant mine either once or twice, depending upon start date. I start the seeds in whatever container (3 inch square pots this year with Pro Mix Seedling Mix) & keep them in there until they get rootbound (if using pellets or something smaller, transplant them earlier). At that point, in the past, i'd move them from the cell/pellet/etc. into 16-20 oz plastic cups which hopefully last until they go in their final homes. Trick is to only transplant when they get rootbound cuz it's much harder then to distrub them. They may very well still "stall" growth for a week or so after a potting up, but don't worry about this, they are growing where you can't see (roots) at that time. They'll take back off. Anyway, all this usually takes up about 2 months until they just have to go into their final homes. Hence, 2 months from last frost date here, which is the middle of February (ish). Hope this helps. :)

- Steve

You shouldn't be afraid of hurting the seedlings. They're a lot tougher than you think. I plant between five and twenty five seeds in a space about as big around as a golf ball. As soon as they get the first set of true leaves I sort of roll the clump of soil with the seedlings between my fingers and separate all the seedlings and put them into 4 inch pots. I haven't hurt any yet with my stubby little fat fingers.

i will check out your lists and e-mail you

i recently bought some elepant seeds off ebay,,, just punch in elephant head seeds and i am sure something will come up for you,,,I am also new at the plant,,bought a few on craigslist and cant wait tio plant them all over,,,

sue

Hi Newbie,I see your last follow up was a while ago, but I'm wondering, did they germinate? Which method did you end up using. I'm trying to grow some from seed too, as no local nurseries ever carry this around here.

I sowed my Verbena Bonariensis on january the 4th outside via winter sowing and I am not sure on the germination date but it was last week sometime.

I did nothing special prior to wsing, I surfaced sowed, I didn't even press them in the dirt.

This was taken just a few minutes ago.

Um well can you show me a picture of what you're describing because I'm a little confused. I don't understand what you mean just by you telling me. I'd need to see it to understand. Are you talking about just the tray itself?

I mean with the picture does it already come divided into segments on the flat? Or is it the flat and then the thing divided into segments.

I've also heard if you leave the lid on, the plants will be more susceptible to mold and damping off cause of the constant moisture and heat?

Would it hurt the seedlings if I were to grow it with the cover off?

A mini greenhouse usually consists of a tray, cell packs, and a cover/dome. The tray does not have drainage holes, but may have grooves to keep excess moisture away from the cells. The cell pack, which sits inside of the tray can be separated into sections of 4 or 6 cells, the kind you would see at a garden center in the spring containing flowers or veggie seedlings. The cover keeps moisture in and is only used until the seeds germinate, then you take it off or your seedlings will mold or cook. Different companies will have different designs, but they all do basically the same thing. The one you linked to has a heater which can speed germination.
Seed starting mix, such as Jiffy Mix is a loose, light peat-based mix that you would fill the cells with to plant your seeds in.
Peat pellets are compressed plugs of seed starting mix, encased in netting, so they will stand alone once they are moistened. You don't need to use cell packs with them, but some mini greenhouse "kits" include them and have special cells that they will fit in. You can place pellets in any type of container or tray that has drain holes, then place that container on a tray to collect excess water.
I've included a link to a site that shows how to use them.
I hope I'm not confusing you more.

Here is a link that might be useful: peat pellets

"2nd I don't believe gardening is fun if you go thru all the work to plant and grow the stuff, and get no results. If everything dies, or things don't turn out the way you'd like, I don't consider it fun."

We've all had this happen. It's the way we learn what works and what doesn't.
No one can give you an exact date to start your plants. No one knows what the weather is going to do. I'm in a zone a bit colder than yours and I start my toms and peppers in mid-March. I pot them up to 8oz cups, then to 16oz cups before hardening them off about mid-May. As soon as the night temps stay around 50 degrees, I plant them out into their final containers or raised bed. The timing is going to be a little different each year.
Maybe you should use the money you would spend on a "mini greenhouse" and purchase seedlings(at least some of them) from a nursery or garden center your first time around and slowly get into starting from seed. It may take some stress off.
You can also Winter Sow some of your seeds if you don't have a lot of room for potting up. Check out the Winter Sowing forum for more info. We're all trying to help you succeed.

In one of your previous 8 or 9 posts you were admit on telling me that a 48" light was not feasible and that you were getting a 22" light, that is why I wrote about a 22" light�.

I am done helping and giving advice on deaf ears�. Sorry so blunt but you have asked the same questions 10 times looking for an answer you want to hear� I don�t get it and I don�t think I can help anymore.

Have fun and best of luck with your veggies� it will be very rewarding to pick a fresh pepper off a plant you have grown from seed yourself! : )

Keriann~

Use heat cable in seed flat.Last 2 years placed seeded peppers on 4" spacer over floor heat duct in family room.Cover with plastic tray cover. Very good results & cost-0

I'm using 72 cell trays with clear covers and 2-1/4" square peat pots (36 per tray) instead of the plastic flats. With a 2 lamp 4 ft. shop light just above the cover, the inside temp is 80-82 degrees. Cabbage and broccoli germinated in 2 days, tomatoes in 3, peppers in 4-5. Right now I think I may not use heat again. Also haven't had to water again since planting. Today is 6 days and I took the cover off of the cabbage & broccoli. Room temp is about 65-68.

I move my seedlings outside everyday that the temperature is above 50 and bring them in at night and put them under my fluorescent lights. It is a lot of work but results in stocky, sturdy transplants that are fully hardened off.

I am growing purple coneflower, milkweed, annual phlox, zinnias and monarda thanks guys : )

I am growing milkweed this year, as one of my "test plants." I had 3 of the seeds germinate after just a few days (4-5). The others never came up. I only wanted one or two plants though.

Oh okay guys i might just get those rogue seedlings then put then cover up the flat and put it outside and hope for sprouts in spring

I don't think it's practical to start them on the top of the fridge in all honesty. The fact that I can actually start them indoors as transplants is a miracle in and of itself.

I never said I was actually going to buy the hydroponic flat, it's just something I was considering.

If a 2 foot grow light will hold a greenhouse seed kit (such as a biodome) of 30 seedlings (that are ready to be transplanted outdoors and hardened off, will a 4 foot light
be able to hold a hobby greenhouse of 72 seedlings or not?

My goal is to start them early enough indoors that they're old enough to be hardened off, but still small enough
that I don't have to repot them to larger containers. I realize repotting to bigger containers strengthens root systems, however this is my way of trying to save space, which is at a premium for me, and something I have a very limited amount of.

I really need help figuring out the timing as to when to start them so they're not so large they have to be repotted to larger containers. Supposedly according to the weather channel, spring is supposed to come earlier, as is warmer spring weather (basically March as opposed to April).

However is this actually going to happen or is this 'warm weather spell' only temporary?

I live in Northern Michigan in the upper part of the lower peninsula. Normally planting dates are early to mid may, depending on if the weather is cooperating. Cool weather crops can be planted a Month earlier, at the start of April.

I'm just trying to figure out when to actually start my seedling transplants. Is it too early? I'm especially concerned about the timing issue with stuff like tomatoes and bell peppers and eggplants. Again I'd like them to be strong enough and sturdy enough to be hardened off, but not so big that I have to repot them to bigger containers while they're still being grown indoors.

Typically what is a guesstimate of how many weeks indoors bell peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes need to be started as transplants. I've heard eggplant transplants and bell pepper transplants take longer, but how many weeks do they need (8, 12, etc.)

I use a twin sized mattress pad instead of a heating mat to speed up the seed germination. Wal-Mart had them on clearance for $25.
I can get 9 10" x 20" flats on one mat laying flat on my kitchen floor. You can also cut it in half (leaving the heating cord intact) and cover two different shelves.

Thank you both for suggestion.
I will try keriann's method.

one more thing... I put a hole in the side of the 'giant' flat so it could only fill up with 1/4 inch water at any given time. I kept about 1/8-1/4 of water in the tray at all times, otherwise not all the plants had access to water. My 'giant' flat had grooves in it like a 10/20 tray so the water was not over the grooves, just filled the grooves.

keriann~