6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Confused??? Are you actually having cold weather in zone 10 in August?
Like yioges said worm castings will not help with germination. A seed needs only constant moisture--not wet, moist,and the right temperature to germinate. Which is why I would never try to do them in trays outside. It's too hard to retain the moisture or temperature. In the ground is another matter. The ground helps retain the heat and moisture.
A hard seed needs extra moisture to soften that hard coat so the seed inside can come through. Hence nicking or soaking or keeping them in a plastic bag with a wet coffee filter until they sprout.
yiorges - thank you for the tips. I'm going to better adapt the environment according to their needs.
oilpainter - sorry for the confusion and I'll try to explain better. To be honest I'm not sure I'm even in the correct zone for a start! It may be more like Zone 9b or something. I'm in South Africa and this particular area which is down south is about 50-60km from the sea, we're quite high up in the mountains (1000m+). We get mild frost only occasionally (15 days in a mild year - 35(ish) in a heavy year). It is also the tail end of winter over here at the moment (southern hemisphere).
So you think I'd be better off bringing these seeds indoors where I can provide the warmth easier and make sure the temperature stays stable?
My worm bin is located outside (its one of those homemade converted bath types) and it is currently bursting with germinating seeds) even the old carrot tops have started to sprout and grow! Seeing all that germination going on in the total darkness of my worm bin is remarkable and is why I wanted to add some castings to my seed trays to see if they made any difference whatsoever.
I have been soaking some 'Ekebergia capensis' seeds overnight in warm water to soften the bits of fruit still covering parts of the seeds. I read it helps when cleaning the seed before sowing.
Cheers again for the tips.
PK
The first picture. It may just be that it was too wet.Have you had a lot of rain? Or it may have been too dry. I don't think it's much to worry about.
The second picture. I think I see a seed sprouting just beyond that brown seed. They sprout from the top like that then turn and plant that sprout in the ground. It looks like that brown seed has swollen too. Wait a while and see if they come up
Thanks folks. I did not get your answers in time and planted the seeds. I will report back as to how they grow. I did a little poking around on that web thing and some of what I read said that with worm castings, some have noticed a marked improvement in germination rates. I will let everyone know what I find out. By the way, they are my own castings so I know what went into them.
rich
Yep, just ignore them and they will do wonderfully. As stated above they may wilt in the hot mid-day sun, but that is natural as they wilt to conserve moisture.
Be careful what you wish for, I planted MG's 5 years ago and I gave never planted them again, but I do pull out 30-100 seedlings every year to keep it 'neat'.
Happy Gardening!
Keriann~
Morning Glories do best in full sun, especially morning sun. Do you have too much shade? Also, I have grown morning glories that bloomed like crazy in Texas clay, but living in a place with cooler nights and sandy soil resulted in stunted growth and sparse bloom. Not sure if it was the temperature or soil type which caused the difference.
I've never heard of a caffeine soak.
But have heard that a weak tea solution helps soften the outside of the seed for quicker germination.. and if sprinkled on the ground, helps keep the soil from getting a hard crust, which happens alot here.
I think it was in my Jerry Baker books, but mom has them at the moment, so can't go look..
JoJo
I Looked up a research article from Cambridge University that says that caffeine actually inhibits germination of seeds and at very low dilutions shows no effect at all. So I would say be suspicious of any miracle treatments for seeds unless the idea can be independantly confirmed.
I bought the chrome wire shelves that are four feet wide and two feet deep. (I have them on locking casters if I need to move them, but they are not going anywhere.) I can fit 4 standard nursery flats on each shelf. I have 5 shelves, though the bottom one is used for supply storage. I hang two shop lights for each growing level (4 bulbs total per level) from the bottom of the upper shelf (height adjusted by chains), so, three growing levels (12 flats). (The shelves go just about to the ceiling.) I put in a long 15 outlet power strip with surge protector vertically on the wall so that I could easily connect and disconnect all the plugs for lights and mats and fans. I think it works really well as a self-contained area for propagation, and it looks pretty good too.
There's a photo and description here:
Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly Bush seed harvest
It would seem this one does not set viable seed. If it did set seed, as a hybrid plant is it unlikely the seeds would produce seedlings that would be true to the plant from which you gathered them. Division in Fall or Spring is the recommended propagation method of Karl Foerster. If the number you want is beyond your budget, possibly look for the larger sizes as Fall sales begin, divide before planting.
susan2010:
I've heard this before on this site and I just want to know why someone would pinch out 2 plants to leave one. It seems to me a big waste of seeds. With some seeds you only get about a dozen seeds per package. Much better to do like rhizo1 and I do. Sow in flats and transplant into individual containers.
Interesting topic. I'm fairly new at this and I'd like to make a soil that encourages growth for woody plants such as pine, spruce and fir seedlings. Zone 5 here.
I have lots of different things in the garage to work with, such as turface, pine bark, granite, silica sand, haydite, peat, sand (several grades),etc.
Any thoughts on a good soil mix for first year conifer seedlings?
Thanks!