6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Dicot has given one method. I have found you can usually avoid fungus growth by venting the pots regularly. Take the plastic off every day or two, turn over the plastic and put it back on. I have never tried putting holes in the plastic as a venting method. Al
Thanks everyone! I've been reading the other helpful advice and FAQ posts too. I wish I hadn't wasted money on those stupid Jiffy pots! I also just used potting soil mixed with worm castings for a starter base, not a soil-less mix. I guess you just learn, don't you!
no, jiffy's have their uses. They are really useful for taking softwood or semi-ripe cuttings. I put my 38mm ones in a 40 module seed tray - they fit snugly and do not dry out so much. As long as you peel off the outer net when you plant, you should do OK. Also, if using peat is against your principles, you can get peat-free ones. They are too expensive for anything other than special seeds that are large enough or scarce enough to justify using a jiffy.
Lettuce works best when direct seeded anyway so I sure would go ahead and direct seed some now in your zone. Even snow poses no threat to it. But heat does. By the time you get your transplants hardened off and out in 2 weeks it won't be long before they run into weather that is too warm and bolt.
Dave
Perfect timing--I'm going to try my first asparagus this year! Question: can you set the seedling out when the plant is very young, much smaller than 5-6 inches? Also, once the seeds have germinated in water and you place them in the pellets can you immediatly place them outside under the protective plastic pellet tray top so you don't have hardening-off issues? I've never hardened off. I'm doing WS this year and I'd like to copy that style with asparagus, if possible, and have them spend time outdoors before putting in the ground.
Have you considered blue-eyed grass. It is a wildflower of the lily family. It just seems to show up in flower beds--at least it did in mine. It has very pretty little blue flowers. I don't know about anyone else but I like it and have left it alone. If you ever want to get rid of it it is very easy to pull out.
It's not blue-eyed grass, I grow it also and it has kinda flat stiff 'leaves'....I also have chives which have kinda rounded 'leaves'....but this is just a very fine grass..I did think maybe 'just grass'...but it really looks like a 'bunch' of whatever just re-seeded there. I also notice some individual 'sprigs' in the back of my garden. I will try to get a pic this weekend and post it.
Thanks everyone.
Thank you so much! I will find a grow light today
If you read the FAQ I linked for you on lights or some of the other posts here on light, you'll discover that "grow lights" are not what you need. Grow lights are a special kind of bulb used for blooming and fruiting plants, not seedlings, and much more expensive.
Dave
You are in zone 9 so can you start hardening them off and getting them outside asap? Do it gradually as these etiolated plants will not take kindly to sudden changes. It should certainly be warm enough for the chard and mustard. I'm not familiar with your squash and tomato planting times.
I grew them last year and was also unimpressed - not as interesting a color and moderate production. I don't eat raw tomatoes so I can't comment on the taste (the rest of the family does). I have a few seedlings in the basement, but haven't decided if I'm going to try them again.
Andrew
Your soil is too wet. That is why the leaves are turning yellow and the blossoms are dropping. Miracle grow tends to do that because it is mostly peat moss, or maybe the pot is not draining well, or maybe you just made it too wet when you transplanted.
Check and see if the holes are plugged. If you've just transplanted it, It has not settled in yet so you could upend it and transplant it again in dryer soil
That's really strange. Do you have them on a heat pad? I've had soil stay moist under a dome for literally weeks without watering it. I suspect either your heat is way too hot and causing the soil to dry out or that your soil wasn't moist enough to begin with. Regardless, all you can do now is wait and see. Sometimes they will still germinate, sometimes not.
I used the Burpee 72 pod ultimate kit (self watering tray). The Burpee disks you put warm water on worked very well for me - 70 out of 72 tomatoes, eggplant, peppers sprouted and are doing well. The self watering container worked fine. I don't have a heating mat - two lamps with standard 100 watt bulbs provided the heat for germination. Then $20 for a two bulb 4 foot fluorescent shop lite, with one standard bulb, one "daylight" bulb. The tomatoes are already transplanted to larger containers. Peppers & eggplant coming along fine. I used stack of books to prop the light a few inches over the sprouts.
In general, it's better to underwater (meaning to provide less water than is necessary) than to overwater (meaning to drown your seedlings in massive amounts of water). Because it's easier to correct the dry plant problem (provided it's not too late), than it is to correct the soaked soil problems (damping off, mold growth, etc).
The cells should start to seem a little on the dry side, before watering, and therefore before fertilizing with a diluted solution. The amount depends on the size of the plants, and their need. In general, make too much dilution, and water sparingly at first, and if your plants soak it up quickly, and the top hasn't been moistened yet, add some more. Eventually you will figure out how much you are adding.
Agree with all eaglesgarden said above.
An easy way to do it if all you have is 1 tray is just mix up a jug of the liquid fertilizer you are using and water - a 1/2 gallon milk jug works fine - and follow the directions on the label to make it 1/2 strength or weaker (I often use 1/4 strength). Then pour about 3/4-1 inch in the bottom tray, wait a few minutes until the top of the soil in the cells appears damp and then tip the tray and pour what is left in it back into the jug. Cap and save it till next time.
Dave
Oh boy, I get to show off my limited knowledge.
The green comes from Chlorophyll. Not green until the light puts it to work. 62 years ago, when I was sleeping in class, I remember the teacher saying some thing about there being both green and red or brown Chlorophyll I bet Goggle would have a lot to say.
When starting onions from seed I always plant the seed in a container and transplant the seedling into the garden. It is impossible to plant the seed without getting them much too close together. From a purchased two inch container of seedlings you can easily get 50 transplants. Al
Hi,
guess i will add in a couple of comments.
people need to chill out about domes/plastic/coverings being on too long....it WON'T cause horrible, immediate, deadly consequences. I repeat WON'T. I am speaking from years and thousands of seedlings of experience. I keep getting that this is so taboo from the posts that I read, that I just have to smile.
Yes, the coverings will need to be removed, but in hours, days??? I will purposely leave saran wrap on to keep that humidity high for the majority of seeds to come up or to protect small plants from dessication....or when I am out of town for the weekend. It can be done!!!! I am talking about peppers all the way to rock garden plants....in fact my saxifrages have had on their saran wrap for close to 2-3 weeks...no worse for wear. I don't have any issues with damp off or my plants dying. Use a good soilless mix, don't overwater when sowing and you won't have issues....period.
And as for the light...my lights sit over the heating bed....waiting for that first seedling to emerge. That means the minute they break the soil surface they are getting the illumination they need. If the seeds happen to need darkness...cover the container.
So...keep those lights on no matter if germinated or not. And your set-up looks fine...compared to mine about 10 years ago, a light bulb in a box to keep in warmth...ha, I still have to laugh:)
m
thanks for the info from everyone. im going to leave on the covers until at least half break the soil (i dont know many proper gardening terms so dont chew me out) the blue light is from the bulb itself. casts blue light. its a GE plant bulb 50w. the 13 pods broke through yesterday after putting the light on them so it seems to work great.
as far as light exposure i just turn off when i go to sleep, on when i wake up. seems to work fine so far.
im just having fun right now and enjoying seeing growth.