6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Oh, I know you are; but they behave in pretty much the same way. Just the garden peas don't have as pretty of a flower. :) How fun for you with the sunflowers. I wish I had enough sun and space for some at this house. I can't wait to see pics!

oilpainter, in zone 3 you are probably ok even if you grow sweet peas now.

I once started sweet peas (the fragrant lathyforus odorata, not the ones for eating) late, like in May, and they were sort of ok. They produced flowers, but out of 8 plants, I got only ONE pea pod. Well, maybe there were a few more hidden, but without special search, I saw only one.

Hey, ladies and gentlemen =:)

Half way through this post, pinching the suckers turned into pruning the suckers.

I have always pinched or snapped my suckers off. Works like a charm. I've never heard of pruning them. I'd have to be more careful so as not to cut another part of the plant. Plus, I'd have to take time to go get the pruners. Just pinch them, it's much faster =:)

Pinching is what's done, unless you don't see the sucker/get to it in time, and it becomes branch-sized. Of course, you probably run more of a risk of introducing fungus and other bad stuff when you prune off a bigger branch like that, but knock wood, I've never had a problem.

I've found that covering the seeds with bird gravel (or chicken grit if you can get it) rather than the starting mix helps prevent damping off. Also, I know folks recommend bottom watering, but I have found that watering carefully from the top, works best for me. I also "weigh" the containers in my hand to judge if they really need water or not. Just my experience.

Hi there.

I'm just new at this, but unless I was just lucky, cinnamon and garlic water worked for me.

I sprinkled the soil right from the beginning with cinnamon. When I discovered a tiny bit of fungus, I took several cloves of garlic, simmered in about a cup of water, cooled, and watered the plants with it. It smelled to high heaven but I think it worked. I also got myself a small fan.

Yes they will recover. It is only a few leaves and the plant will make new ones. When hardening off the first few days should ALWAYS be in shade until plants get used to UV rays

The quickest way to learn patience - take up gardening.

Did you sterilize the 32 cell tray after your last round of seeds and before this round? If not, the mold/fungus you had before will still be present in the tray and will re-form almost instantly, even in fresh seed starting mix.

I'm wondering about the use of cinnamon when that white/grey fungus or mold is seen on the top of seedling pots. I'm having a hell of a time with disease, dispite changing from seed mix to milled spaghnum moss. I have used a product called Actinovate in a mist to spray the seedlings with, but it doesn't help much. I've lost so many seedlings it's pathetic. I've never had these problems before. The seedlings I'm struggling with are Thunbergia, morning glory, castor beans, melanpodium, vigna, sunflowers and climbing spinach. Please, any advice??

they bloom all summer also. Zinnia is my favorite flower. I plant from seed and the plants produce more than one bloom ...and then some... deadhead and they'll keep producing. I love the large varieties but have had both small and large.

Thanks for the sunflower picture Sew. I grabbed a packet of Mammoth sunflower seeds just to see what happens.

Thanks for the response Nana. Zinnia is looking to be more favorite flower as well. I really like the Dahlia-shaped heads and all the colors. I've gotten a mix of large and small varieties.

Some cheap, blinking neon signs, perhaps? :)

Kim

I have a similar story about my boy friend. We were out doing yard clean up last weekend, and he had the loppers and was trimming branches. I have this rose bush that came with the house, I think it is a sort of climbing rose, but have never seen it bloom yet. The old owners must have cut it down or something before we bought the house. This year it had finally gotten sizable and i thought to myself "I think it may bloom this year"! Well, I turned around for a split second and when I turned back he had the thing chopped back down to the ground! He felt so bad about it, and I felt bad for him, he though it was a weed I guess(I don't know how the substantial amount of thorns didn't give away that it was a rose bush, hahaha) Oh well, I'm sure it will grow back in another couple of years! Men and their tools.

I have to restrain myself. I get really good germination, so I end up with a lot of plants. I really have to figure how many I can use, and how many I can realistically give away. I'm also limited by my indoor space. I have a nice set-up - I can fit 12 standard nursery flats under lights - but some things (like tomatoes and peppers) benefit from being potted up to bigger containers, so I have to plan for that.

Short answer - I leave a lot of seeds unplanted.

I started pelleted wave petunias (tidal wave, shock wave and easy wave) in peat pellets about a month ago. This was my first time ever growing from seed and I'm happy to say that out of 80 pelleted seeds I have had 71 germinate into tiny little petunias. I had them under a fluorescent light in my spare bedroom but they began to get a little mold on top of the soil and didn't seem to be growing. About a week ago I moved them onto the kitchen table, gently scraped the mold off the top and exposed them to natural sunlight through the window with a ceiling fan running 24/7. The mold problem is gone and they seem to be growing really fast now but I just noticed today they seem to be getting a little "pale" looking. Do they need more light? Should I start to fertilize them (which I have not done to this point)? They have their first set of "true leaves" now. Any suggestions would be truly appreciated. I am having a blast caring for them and I want to be successful. My husband calls me "The Crazy Flower Lady" because I talk to them and tell them "grow little babies grow!"..., not to mention that I fill every available space in my yard with flowers... They make me happy!! :)

I usually sale my plants....tomato's geranium's, petunia ect... right around our last frost date.

I have sold at garage sales. Set up tables at my house & friends houses....who have lots of walking traffic.

Depending on the size of plant, I charged $1.50 to 2.50 a plant. I have been doing this for a few years now.I have people stop at my house & ask when I'm going to start my sale :)

Good luck to you!

Thank you for the info, I too dont really need to make a lot of money off of them, i had all the seeds I just bought more cups and potting soil to put them in but that doesnt equal to that much. I guess I will ditch the organic labels I will however still call the heirlooms out cause I can, lol. I was also thinking along the lines of 2 bucks a plant. Your may 2 date seems so early but you have a earlier last frost date i suppose being all the way down there. Im thinking im going to take the largest part of the plants on may 15. I am hoping that that will be a good in between date, a lot of people do mothers day here but that really usually ends up being too early, memorial day is usually the sure bet.