6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

ricker--
If you haven't fertilized yet then that's your problem. Nitrogen is the first number on the fertilizer box. Give them the tomato fertilizer and all will be well.

Oilpainter: Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping to plant this weekend and thought I'd put some 8-8-8 around the plants when I put them in the ground. Our weather in NE Mississippi has been wetter than usual and colder than usual, but it looks like nights will be staying above 50F. Let's hope for the best. Thanks again.

Especially in the case of slow growers, it is very important that you indicate on the label WHEN you seeded, WHEN the seed germinated. Many gardeners, myself included, look at their new seedlings so often, a week seems like a month, and we are sure NOTHING is happening. Al

In my experience, coleus take off after thinning. They do not like to be crowded.

I will look at starting later next year, although I also won't have to wait on the garden to be built before I plant, which will help. I was orginally going to plant them a week and a half sooner than I will be able to.

Maybe I can just leave them in the starting cells longer next time since they are 2x2x2 cells.. (thats gotta be 4-5 oz right? I'll check tonight). The only reason I pulled them out early was not everything had germinated. On my second germinating go-round everything was tomatoes and they all germinated together which was great, no early transplanting needed. I'll be able to leave those in there for longer before I have to transplant them up which is good.

Sigh - It's hard to be at work when I just want to be home playing with my plants :(

-T

I know what you mean. I felt that way 35 years ago, and truthfully, it's still just as fulfilling and even--yes, sometimes--exciting!

Seeds bring out great thoughts about life and how the world goes round...

I think that's one reason gardeners are often more mellow than some. With exceptions, of COURSE!

Paula

you can "prune" them to make them thicker. i have a neighbor who has tomato plants with stalks like tree trunks, and he trims an inch off the top every few weeks. this allows them to grow wider, and develop more foliage.

Also - how old are your bulbs? - after 2 years the lumen output drops off dramatically. I change mine every two years and use the 40W- 4 foot shop light cool white, 16 hours/day

If your compost/old potting soil thing has been working for you, and you're continuing to sow the same kinds of seeds you've successfully sown in the past, it's probably fine. "Potting soil" can be so many things--I don't know what you're using. I've bought good stuff in the past, and I've also bought stuff that seems to be 50% sawdust or some such thing, and that doesn't do young plants any favors at all. Compost does have the risk of weed seeds, I suppose. If you know what's supposed to be coming up in your flat, that might not be a huge concern.

I do generally use fresh seed-starting mix that I either make myself (usually peat and perlite--and vermiculite if I have it) or buy (preference for Pro-Mix), but not always. And for tomatoes and tough things like that, I think a bit of compost can be beneficial. Sometimes I re-use my old stuff, and I don't sterilize. I won't re-use it if it was wet for a long time, has a green crust or smells funky. My rules of thumb are that I only re-use mix for things that I know are easy to grow and are sturdy as seedlings. Most vegetables fall into that category. Things that come up looking fragile or are as slender as hair I make sure to use a finer mix that's fresh.

And I'm in the peat-pellet haters' camp. I tend to underwater at times, and those things dry up on me seemingly in an instant. But they are fun to expand--sort of like Jiffy Pop.

If you do use your own soil mix - to sterilize it - put into a metal roasting pan (-: and bake at 180F for 3 hours. Let cool and use!! I generally moistened mine to start with - seemed to help with the sterilization - steaming, etc

I have been told that stepping in a warm fresh cow pattie with bare feet is supposed to feel quite extraordinary! Provided you have a sinus cold or plug your nose.

whatever your method beforehand, you need to water afterwards to settle the soil around the roots and get the large air gaps out so that the roots are in contact with the soil

Thank you Dave and gawdinfever. In previous years I covered seeds with black plastic and used room temperature. Also I did not pay enough attention to amount of water. This year I put on heat and covered with black plastic with very poor results. After gawdenfever email, I sowed a few seeds and put on heat and covered with vermiculite. Do you think that will work. Thank you. Marie

Vinca is no more difficult than Impatiens from seed, but they do not require light to germinate. I usually cover lightly with jiffy mix. However, I got a packet of Vinca seeds from Swallowtail Gardens this year that instructed that light should be completely blocked which I had not done before. I covered the pot with newspaper and had germination in 4 days.
Alana

Go Diego Go!

Maybe it's Diego making them grow!

What I did wrong... Well, I started them in containers of a similar depth/size as I would other seeds (margerine tub, or similar). That was too deep, as they are so tiny at first, that maintaining proper moisture on the surface was difficult. Then, some of them were crowded, and I attempted to transplant them too soon. They really pouted for a long time after that. Also, I transplanted them into the dreaded peat pots, which did nothing for my 'dry on top, damp on bottom' issues. So, with the new ones, I sowed them in shallower containers, and left the cover on longer than I normally would to help maintain surface moisture, until they were of a size that could be seen by the naked eye. Also, I sprayed the surface more than I normally would. Since there was less soil, I could actually water a bit more frequently (usually just about daily), but had uniform drying of the soil, so the tiny roots at the top were receiving the benefit of the watering. Also, I haven't transplanted them, even though a few of them are crowding each other.

Is there any way for you to set up a wicking system.

I will try to describe one, but you can use different materials...

Take a 1020 tray with no holes and add one inch of water. Then set a baking rack in it so it sits out of the water. Then lay a piece of paper towel, cotton cord... something that will draw water, over the tray so that the ends are sticking in the water and then set your seedlings on that so that the seedlings can wick up water via the cord/papertowel... I know it is a long shot but worth a try.

The other thing I would try is getting them into bigger pots to hold more moisture.

Or setting them in a 1/2 inch of water and putting a fan on them... that would increase the chance of dampening off but you may get lucky.

Good luck, don't let it ruin your vacation : )

Keriann~

I'm still giving a neighbor free tomato plants, and tomatoes I grow when she has crop failure, for her help in watering my starts daily about 4 or 5 years ago for a few days when I had to be away due to a death in the family. That, and I can't do anything else with them.

Sell them? Ha Ha Ha! Can hardly give tomato plants away around here. I think the greenhouse tries to sell them for $1.50, but doesn't move many until they have their 6 for $1. end of season sale.

Thanks very much for the info. I will start some outdoors, as you suggested. I noticed that one of the web sources said that seed did not come true to the parent. Have you had any surprises when you started monkshood from seed?

I am trying these seeds and I sowed them last January, left 2 weeks at 70F, and then I put them in the refrigerator around the end of January. I took them out of the refrigerator today, and this is how the tray looks like as I opened the baggy:

The little seedlings actually are not Monkshood, but they are Jacob's Ladder seedlings that I planted in one of the 9 cells and they survived in the dark of the refrigerator for almost 2 months!!!

What concerns me are thos white moldy spots because I think I have lost some seeds here. I have 70F in my apartment and I definitely would not want my place to be left at 50F, so I will have to see if they can germinate at this temperature. Outside it gets high 50s in the night and low 80s during the day. Would it be better if I leave the tray outside? I hope I will have at least one plantlet!!!

I'll keep you posted.

Rino

Yeah, I figured seaweed and fish emulsion were organic, but honestly the rule for a lot of products seems to be they are chemical based, so that is always what I assume if I don't know. My other problem is that none of my local landscaping and gardening centers are open for the season yet, and they do not carry these products at Menard's or other area chain home improvement stores.

I planted a variety of flowers (cosmos, poppies, butterfly weed, dahlia bulbs) and herbs/veg (parsley, rosemary, oregano, leeks, tomato). Some plantings got the worm castings, but I ran out before I was done getting all the seeds in. I used regular potting soil to start everything.

Right now most things only have 1 set of 2 leaves. Sounds like I don't need to fertilize yet, but if I do at some point, I'm wondering what is best. Thanks.

The fish emulsion I use is actually certified by OMRI; there's a link at the bottom. So it's definitely organic. Since you started in soil and not sterile mix, and since your plants all seem to be doing well, and you're probably another month or so from planting out, I'd sit tight for now. You can always wait to fertilize until you plant out; bigger plants now just means more potting up and space issues w/ your lights anyway! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: fish emulsion

I have! Earlier someone on the Vegetable forum suggested I try it and posted the same link!

I have a white 5-gallon bucket with a 3-inch hole cut in the bottom for planting stuff out in the garden (to alleviate the PWT). I just turned it upside down, put a CFL down through the hole, taped it in place securely, and set the bucket and seeds on a heating pad. Everything germinates very quickly in that setup.

I am looking at saving some talc buckets from when we plant our commercial corn. We go through many buckets. The buckets are square 5 gallon buckets and would work a lot better.

I put them under lights....

But I found this link that might be helpful as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aces Publication on Vinca

I'm happy to report I gathered seed from my vinca plants (and many others)last fall. Started them about five weeks ago and they are all doing well. This is only my second year of starting seeds. Thru the winter, I collect food containers (Chinese takeout, plastic sandwich containers, pie/cake containers)with lids. I just put about one to one 1/2 inches of seed starting soil in the bottom of the containers, and water well. Then, I sprinkle my seeds over that. I follow-up with a light covering of my soil and pop the lids on. Some containers I put a plastic bag over if it didn't have a lid. All my seeds come up. Even those that take two weeks or more to germinate, I never open to water. Once they have a true set of leaves, I take the lids off and put under the grow lights or in direct sun. And, I watch them daily for watering needs. Then, I transplant when they get a little bigger into larger containers. I'm so proud of my vincas and I hope I can keep their momentum going. They are one of my favorites! Good luck.

Thanks all for your suggestions. I actually have some dianthus and snapdragons started inside. I also wintered sowed them too. I plan on starting zinnia next month inside. I direct sowed some last year late May and they just didn't do to well for me.

I just love playing in the dirt! :))

Larkspur, malva????

I actually had perennial oregano behind this. I don't have pictures of that, but it was soooo pretty!

Here is a link that might be useful: