6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Overcoming Seed Dormancy: Trees and Shrubs Vinegar is safer (but less effective treatment) and can be used for species that do not have an extremely hard seed coat; the technique is the same as with sulfuric acid.
Wonderful news kayjones, Trudi and Albert. Trudi our winters are so mild here it's like spring most of the winter. We have had one cold day so far I guess average around the valley got down to 36 or so. Next day it was in the 70's. This is the time of year I start many seeds in small styrofoam cups so I can easily bring inside incase of really cold weather. Right now I have 13 differant peppers, 8 kinds of basils, amaranthus, blue bonnets, marigolds, etc..that have all been started from seeds. They are all just waiting to go into the garden beds. I also have all sorts of tropical hibiscus and the bouganvillas I am rooting for the first time. The begonias and angel trumpets are all doing fantastic with lots of new growth. I would love to know what everyone is growing.
One problem comes to mind for me and that would be the weight of the sand. It is much heavier than perilite. For some small seeds the sand might just be heavy enough to cause emergence problems. In addition the perilite helps maintain moisture, I'm not sure about the sand. It would be a shame to sow that many flats and there be problems.
I think you could order the perilite online and the weight of it should be a plus in shipping costs.
If it were me I would order some perilite and sow like you have in the past and experiment with a tray or 2 of the sand and see what the difference is. If the sand works that would be great and you could save money in the future. Heaven knows we all want to save money. Be sure to let us know if it works for you!
Good luck.
For germinating tree and shrub seeds I generally use all sand or a combination of sand and Pro-Mix. So far my results have been very good, however I have not tried this with veggies so I'm not sure how well it would work with them.
The sand I use is the unscreened, coarser type of sand and not the very fine "play sand". I simply mix equal amounts of the Pro-Mix with this coarse sand and I have a good seed starting mix. So far the trees and shrubs do very well in it.
HTH.
JZ
Yes, thats the seed, and you're right, it doesn't look like the pod you might expect from that flower type to me either.
They germinate pretty easily after a moist chill of 6 or more weeks. Druse suggests nicking then chilling, but I did not nick (not that it would hurt) and germination was fine, more seedlings than I needed.
As has already been suggested I think the Winter Sowing - GardenWeb people could be very helpful.
I used to start seedlings under lights 5+ years ago, and can't even remember when I would start them. Maybe about 6 weeks before the last frost? Now I start all seedlings outside, winter-sowing perennials and "spring-sowing" the tender plants like basil and tomatoes, usually in the 1st half of April.
The perennials go under the shrubbery on the east side of the house and I don't worry about the snow or frost with them. The tender heat lovers get sown in large cups, the cups are lined up in a large plastic container, and the containers put along the foundation on the south side of the house. This is the warmest spot outside - the foundation holds heat at night and the southern exposure receives maximum sun at that time of year (until the trees get their leaves!). There has been a hard frost in the rest of the yard and the seedlings along the foundation aren't at all frosted, so I don't even usually cover them on cold nights. I water them from the top and bottom by filling the container with a bit of water. This method works really well - no lights, no damping off, no extra elec. charges, and the herbs and tomatoes grow great.
However, if I really wanted earlier yields - I would start a few things under lights to get a jump on the season. (Or you can buy big seedlings someplace, but seeds are so cheap and easy.)
Lol, I am idiot!!! I always confuse hollyhock and hibiscus. Can anyone say, DUH?? lol
Read Carolyn, Read!!
Omit the first paragraph please, lol. The rest still applies even for a hardy or tropical hibiscus, accept for the page location on the web page I posted. :D
Oh, and I looked at your link for the shelf/light units. That ready-made-for-gardening stuff still seems way over-priced to me. I'd go with an inexpensive(but sturdy)shelf unit and separate lights(using regular flo bulbs)that you can attach yourself. I tried to find shop lights at Walmart's site, but none showed up. I know they have them though. Here's a link from a big box store...
Here is a link that might be useful: shop lights
FWIW - you can sprinkle ground cinnamon over the surface of your growing medium to retard the damping off fungus. It won't hurt the seedlings but will neutralize the fungus. I grew things indoors before I discovered winter sowing and even with a fan to circulate the air the damping off fungus developed. The cinnamon really worked. Dollar store brand works just as well as the named ones.
Your hat is on WAY too tight. You have just suggested something so absurd I couldn't even begin to address it.
If I've participated in a thread where you have posted, totally coincidental and no different than I've done hundreds of times. One last time....I responded to Mike. His question piqued an interest. It had nothing at all to do with you. I don't know you, but will suggest you find something real to defend yourself against.
I do apologize to Mike, I see he has his thread marked mail copy to original poster and I'm sure is not happy to be finding this trivia in his emails.
In other words you insult that many that you can't recall the incident I mentioned?? (not looking for an answer I got it in the previous post)
Lol, your not worth it morz!!!
Garden web I sure wished you had the option to ignore a user!!
Almost all tomatoes sold today are hybrids (like we humans are all hybrids). So, unless very special precautions are taken, all the seedlings produced by cross-fertilization will be hybrids. Some will have blue eyes, some brown, some will be tall, others not. The only way gardeners can avoid this variation is by cloning. The natural method is a lot more fun....
Here's a link to a GW thread about growing them from seed.
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing gerbera daisies from seed
Denise, can you add your climate zone or state to your member page, we don't know what kinds of temperatures your daisy has been exposed to.
In general - the gerbers should be brought in a few weeks before first frost. They are winter hardy in the ground in Zones 9 and 10, will sometimes survive with winter protection in Z8. (they'd have been toast in this Z8 already this year, got too cold last week :))
If it has been exposed to frost but had spent flowers still attached, and those flower/seed heads contained ripe seed, you could still harvest that - use the photos supplied by gardenweed above to help you determine if seed is present.
Thanks. I did not try a cold... I stuck the remaining seeds in an envelop in the fridge. I'll try again in January. Hopefully that will be enough time to get the going for spring.
I realize they probably won't bloom this year, and i don't care if what they look like - I am just looking for a cheap way to fill in a large area with something that blooms alot.
"remaining seeds in an envelop in the fridge". Dry?
That's only storage, in order for the chill to be helpful it must be moist. Either sow and refrigerate the pots, or put the seeds in a tsp or so in a tiny zip lock of moist (not soggy) sterile vermiculite or moist sterile sand....later you can sow the seeds, vermiculite and all.
I'm not sure what you mean about the baggie method but once the seeds have spouted to where there is an actually little stalk (not with the seed just cracking with a nub sticking out)you can transplant the seedlings into a tray or pot. Make sure the roots are facing downward and that the area where the seed is is just slightly buried under the soil. Be careful to be very gentle if handling and potting small seedlings as they are very delicate. once they are in a tray in pot you can water lightly to make sure the soil is moist but not soaked.
Humidity is not that important for germination In fact if the plastic is kept on it will permit/promote "damping off" IF you check the moisture content once a day should be fine & since you have a bottom up watering system just just add water if needed.... Keep in mind if the soil is two WET then the seed may rot & you block the needed air spaces & the seed cannot germinate.
If you've got peat pots sitting in water and wicking water up, your soil is too wet.
I've occasionally poured water around the base of peat pots if I am going to be out of town and not there to water. It works OK for a short time, but as soon as I am home I dry the pots back out.
If you start with damp soil (damp, not wet) and have the pots covered with plastic, you should not need to water. Uncover as soon as the plants sprout. Then you must monitor soil moisture. Keep on the drier side, but do not allow to dry out completely.
I am in desert, so I mist the baby plants a couple of times a day. If your air is not dry, you probably don't have to mist.
By the way, I dislike peat pots. You'll need to peel those off when you transplant. If you get into this growing-from-seed thing, you'll be happier if you start collecting something more suitable.