6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

I concur with Keriann; that kind of problem among multiple flats has got to mean that either you had a fungus in your flats or starting mix to begin with OR that you've somehow gone from sucessful seed-starter to causing damping off conditions since last year. Since you said you'd started seeds successfully before, it seems unlikely that you'd suddenly start over-watering or using techniques likely to cause damping off, unless you've changed your setup or location somehow. So if everything else is the same as years past, you gotta have had unsterile mix or containers. And sorry to say, no amount of No Damp or anything else is going to fix a systemic problem like that. I'm afraid your only alternative (as I see it) is dumping everything, sterilizing everything and starting again. Might get fresh mix too, just to be safe.

PS I would start your sunflowers, morning glories and castor beans outside when the last frost has past.

Keriann~

Keep your head up, this is half the fun of gardening.. learning and growing.. no pun intended : )

Here is a good start on reading about leggy seedlings for you.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Leggy seedlings discussions

I see on your other post on the Tomato forum that we are talking about tomatoes. They are quite leggy per your pic posted there. Tomatoes benefit from deep transplanting ASAP. Bury them right up to just below the leaves and then provide more, closer light or they will just get leggy again.

Dave

I don't run a fan, no. We get the wind sweeping down the plain here, but my yard is pretty dang sheltered, with houses and big trees and fences all around, so I've never had a problem (knock on wood). It was whipping around pretty good last night/this morning with a thunderstorm, and everything still looks good, with the exception of some calendula that I started too early and it got a bit leggy before I planted it out. But even that is just kind of laying over, it's not broken or anything. So I think the only things you'd have to worry about would be real tall, leggy seedlings, which I guess should be avoided anyway. In an ideal world. :)

Queenofthemountain, your hardening off plan sounds good to me. I'd protect tomatoes from 45* and lower, unless you wintersowed them. I'm wintersowing mine this year, so the seeds are outside now, waiting to sprout. My forecast is for the thirties tonight and 30* F tomorrow night. My peppers are indoors though, and won't go outside until May.

I run a fan, but not all day. I run it at least 15 minutes each day though. I'm thinking about putting the fan on a timer. Air movement helps prevent damping off and other nasties. It also encourages the seedlings to build stronger, shorter stems. If your tomatoes are leggy just plant them deeper when you transplant. You can plant them deeper vertically, or trench them so the stems go in the soil diagonally. Doesn't work with other veggies that I know of, though it might work on other nightshades. Best to grow them short and strong to begin with. One of the tricks I've learned with tomatoes is to brush my hand across the tops of the seedlings. Follow the link for more info. I enjoy the smell of tomato foliage so I like petting my pet tomatoes. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Brooklyn Botanic Garden - Sheperd Ogden article

Some had partially germinated, others had not. I'm in Long Beach, California. If you think direct sowing would be a better approach, I'll try that instead. This is my first season starting from seed, and boy has it been frustrating! Hopefully by next year I'll have worked out all the kinks.

~Mike

I gotcha. No worries, trial and error are the name of the game. :) In case you haven't, do check out the FAQ on the front page of this forum. Most folks start seeds early indoors and grow under lights until it's time to plant outside. I'd direct sow everything except possibly the peppers and tomatoes; hopefully someone else will chime in here with opinions. Those two germinate a bit better at higher temperatures, so if you could sprout them indoors on a warm surface, you'd probably get faster germination. My experience is with starting seeds indoors under lights, so I'm not sure about the logistics of sprouting them indoors and then transitioning immediately to sunshine/outdoors, so I don't know if that's do-able. It might be easier to get yourself a couple of cheap shop lights for those. You might also try the vegetable forum and tomclothier.net for best germination temps/techniques for your various veggies. Hope that helps. Don't get discouraged, once you get the basics down, you'll do great! :)

That's funny Dave (about the pic size)
Ten years ago before everything went digital or High Speed Satellite,Cable etc etc..I used to get so mad at people posting pics that would take me actual minutes to download... AAAARRRGGHH.. But Now... I don't even consider it,you can post the largest pic known to man, and the technology to download is so fast....It is incredible.... but since you are bringing it up now,maybe it WOULD STILL behoove us to see if many (or any) forumites,are still having those issues that I thought were absolutely gone for good. We should take a poll and see who is still stuck in analog or some other slow beast and if it is a significant number of people,be more considerate to them.. I just know when I am researching anything (like I just did with a "garden centipede" ,I don't want some small pic to look at ,I want full clarity,the bigger the better....

BTW... Do you have to turn a crank on your computer,to fire it up ;-) Just Kiddin'.. Love Ya Man ;-)

BTW... Do you have to turn a crank on your computer,to fire it up ;-)

Nah I'm high speed satellite. But I do know lots of folks out in the country who are stuck with dial-up service as it is still all that is available in many rural areas if they can't hoof the bill for satellite. Life in the country is very different than for you urbanopolis dwellers. ;)

Dave

One more question...I think the squash and zucchini might need to be thinned out now. the roots are growing like mad out the bottom and some are falling over (ones with 3 in a "spot", one is falling over)

DO I just cut the stem at the soil line?

I like to cut slightly above soil line & try not to soak the cut area during watering (if possible) to minimize the chance of rot traveling down the roots, but I may be overcautious. Newspaper should be as good or better as long as it's a good, firm grass block.

Nah, it's just one of the signs you've become a true seed junkie; you stop seeing things for their actual, everyday purpose, and instead view everything as a potential tool for your seed starting habit. :)

Yup, holes are good. Be they in cups or doughnuts. Especially in doughnuts! :-)

Dave

I have grown tangerines [both honey, satsuma, and working on dancy] from seed.

I have not tried the towel method ; but I have tried these two methods. Some seeds were directly planted after being washed; and some were washed and then let dry. Granted these are not lemons but all related in the citrus family. You may want to try both to see what works for you.

The important thing is not to give up cause they do take 2-3 weeks to germiniate.

Woohoo, so today I have 3 little lemon seedlings! Such an accomplishment. I planted there little roots into a pot and am going to see which one takes the best and thin the others. I can only hope they survive now! Thanks for your help everyone, I'll try to keep updated on their progress.

-Christine

I've collected seed from my plants several times and have never been able to get any to germinate. I don't even know if they are viable as they are so tiny but the cuttings root very easily.

Thanks everyone! I will see how it goes first. I do recall something that I read on the Internet when searching for info about germination, that very few seeds are viable. Don't recall why.

I am also starting seed of the red Tecoma, but from what I've read they appear to be much easier.

May take you up on the offer for a cutting, but will first see how the seeds do.

Susan

I put mine on top of the dryer, because at the early stage I have found they don't need too much light to sprout. I leave the gro dome off the top to let the humidity and condensation dry out for an hour or so, so there is no mold either.

Hope this helps.

I use the dryer as well. I never thought about it, but I was at my mother's house planting Gloriosa seeds. I just stuck the pot in a window for a few days, but she put it in the laundry room for some reason. Everything I read said it would take several weeks for germination, but it took just over a week before I saw my first leaf coming up. She does a lot of laundry, so I'm using her dryer as my heating pad. Right now, I've got some seeds in a baggie, and I put a towel down to prevent it from getting too hot, but in peat pots, it wasn't necessary.