6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed


I read before that most perennials, when grown from seed, will not produce flowers the first year. Is that true?
As a GENERAL rule, that is true. As it should be, perennials devote their first year to root development for longer life than annuals.
But there are a few variety exceptions. And also some exceptions depend on (1) your gardening zone and length of growing season and 2)when planted in their permanent growing location.
Dave

Also the peat pellets themselves don't have an awful lot of nutrients, so potting up enables you to give starts a richer medium. For brassicas in your zone, I would think that the end of first week of April should be earliest for hardening off/planting out, JMO.



Oh, that's ok; the cool thing is, after you said that about the link at the bottom right, I clicked on it, and that shows you everything they sell that is 'supposed to' flower in the first year, which I didn't know they had a category like that. But the only bummer is it shows you their plants for sale, too, so it ends up being like 300 things, and not just seeds, but it was still neat to look through that category. Glad you will have some beautiful hollyhocks THIS year! :)

Last year I did an experiment and start sunflowers inside 3 weeks before my last frost.
I also direct sowed some in the middle of May. The ones I started inside were about 12" tall and were very sad, but I got them in the ground.
Come June, my direct sow sunflowers were much larger than my 'inside' sunflowers.
And come July, almost all of my seedlings I started inside fell over because they were not as strong as the ones I started directly outside.
Lesson learned... and now I don't plant any and I have 50-60 that self-sow. Fun to see what they will look like once opened. Mine reach over 15" tall. It is crazy!
Keriann~

We start our sunflowers inside a couple of weeks before they go out. We use paper cups(ecotainer 8 oz.), and at transplanting, rip out the bottom, and sink them in a bit.
We grow sunflowers for large seed heads, and height(county fair competition)....so these are not baby sunflowers. And if we don't start them inside, the critters eat the seed before it comes up...or take down the small sprouts. The buried cups also help with cutworms....and the system works wonderful for us:)
m

Hi Sarah, welcome to the forum. Please see the FAQ's posted on the main page; I've linked them here at the bottom for your convenience. Most of your questions are answered there. I would recommend you do some research into the benefits of starting most of your veggies indoors versus outdoors. Some veggies do not like to be transplanted, particularly root crops like carrots- which I know you mentioned you planned not to start indoors due to number, but the real reason you wouldn't want to do it is that they'd be darn difficult to transplant; the root itself is the vegetable. You're lucky, you live in a nice warm zone that should have a long growing season, so your veggies should take of quickly outside. You can find pretty much all the info you need online, including which should be started indoors vs. outdoors, best time to sow, growing conditions, etc. I'd recommend either buying or checking out from a library, a good book on vegetable gardening. I have a battered old one that I've used over and over again, and it's well worth it to have at hand.
As far as your pots, I think you'll find most here recommend plastic containers; again, see the FAQ. Size wise, you don't want to start too big. Containers the size of the ones you linked to are a good size to start with, and then transplant up to a larger size; or, if you start with something slightly larger, say in the 4 inch range, put several seeds in the container to germinate. Anyway, hope some of that helps, best of luck!
Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ

I collected the very small seeds from a Pentas this past September. To check on viability, I sowed a few on a paper towel moistened with a dilute fertiliser solution, placed towel in a Baggie, and stored it on a furnace top. In 9 days small plants appeared. Today I sowed the tiny seeds on a sterile, powdered peat and covered with a glass pane. Literature indicates that light is necessary for gremination as well as 70 degree temp. Good Luck!

Here's what it says on the Thompson & Morgan germination database:
"Pentas: 25-40 days to germination, surface sow on peaty soil, 70-75ºF, see #5.
"5. These seeds should be sown on the surface of the compost and not covered. The compost should be quite moist and we would recommend that you cover the seed container with a piece of glass or clear plastic and leave in a temperature of approximately 65 degrees F in a position which receives diffused light. Once some of the seeds have germinated air should be admitted gradually otherwise the seedlings may damp off.
"Alternatively the seeds can be sown on to moist blotting paper or kitchen towel placed in a saucer. Cover with a transparent cover and place on a windowsill which receives plenty of light, but not direct sunlight. Keep the blotting paper wet at all times and when the tiny seedlings are large enough to handle prick out into small pots. Use only pure peat with no fertilizers, added to which sphagnum moss should be added if available."
Good luck!
Sue


Yep tomatoes are very leggy as the lights are way too far away and too much heat. Either switch your bulbs to CFL and lower the lamps to 1" above the plants (you'll have to deep transplant those really tall ones*) or switch to a shop light.
*16 oz. cups with the transplant set right on the bottom of the cup and all of it buried in soil except for the top set of leaves.
pepper seedlings look fine just as is for now but with the lights that high they will turn leggy too.
Dave

T12 bulbs are getting phased out, only to be replaced by T8 and T5. The is also a number on the bulb: example SP41 and that is a cool white and a SP35 is the warm white. The SP41 is the better light for plants. There is also a daylight bulb which is more of a SP50 (guessing on the number), but is more costly but better than the previous mentioned. I use T8, SP41 bulbs and my plants do well with them.

No. Winter Sowing is a genuine propagation method for starting seeds outside. In vented containers. During winter.
Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Thesaurus 'Winter Sowing Method'

This pertains to indoor seed starting:
If you are only starting seed to save money, I don't think it will be worth it for you.
Becaue you are only filling a window box with pretty common flowers I bet it would run you $10-$30 to fill it with plants from a garden center.
Lights, soil and seed will cost you about that.
I am sure you want nice large plants come time to plant because it is such a focal point, and seedlings will be smaller than nursery bought plants (but will quickly catch up).
So I would say you start saving money on starting your own seed when: 1. you start at least 30-40+ plants 2. you plant things that are hard to find 3. you plant things that are more expensive (such as tuberous begonias, wave petunias...3" pots ect.)
Plant seeds for the experience and the enjoyment...not just saving money, it is much more valuable in the long run.

You do not give enough information. Peppers like a warm soil, like 85 degrees. Source of heat should not be the light source. How high are the lights from the seedlings? A 400 watt HID light puts out a lot of heat as well as light. I keep mine at least two feet above the seedlings. I also provide bottom heat. Sixteen hours of light sounds OK. I start my peppers in recycled sixpacks. If I were to use four inch pots I would start 9 seeds per pot and repot when they were about 3 inch tall. Sixpacks makes potting up easier with less check in the growth. Al

Why are you using the HPS instead of MH? HPS is mainly for flower/fruit production, MH for vegetative, all around growth. I keep my HID lights 4 feet away from my plants. That's why I like to use HO flourescent tubes for starting seeds then I switch over to HID lights. I can have the fluorescent lights almost touching my seedlings. 16 hrs a day on seems fine. Are the curled leaves dry? They might be too close. As the previous person said HID lights generate quite a bit of heat.


Perhaps a good answer would be that the majority of the watering should come from the bottom, with just enough of a misting on the surface to ensure that a crust doesn't form on the surface as well as to make sure that small seedlings with undeveloped roots are not sitting in a dry top half of the soil, while moisture remains in the lower half of the container. Everyone would agree, I'm sure, that at no point do you want your seedlings sitting in soggy, soupy dirt, but neither do you want them in a bone-dry lockdown. It's a fine line; luckily, most seedlings are forgiving. Those that aren't...well, live and learn! Also helps so much to really research the specific needs of the individual variety you're growing. Different plants like different conditions, some dry, some damp, some are very susceptible to damping off, some you can bury up to the leaves when you transplant, some will wither and die if you do that. Research! :)

Agree it is just cool growing temps that cause it but it does no harm to them. The plants green up quickly when planted outside and the weather warms.
If you want to warm just the growing area a bit without heating the whole house just enclose the plant area a bit with a plastic drop cloth and let the lights provide a bit of heat to them. That means leaving the lights on a night and off some during the day. Get a timer. ;)
Dave

I'm no expert, but thought I'd share my experience. I think some plants can handle an early transplant, and some can't. Things that tend to be relatively fast-growing don't seem to mind a transplant before their first leaves. But I transplanted a few tuberous begonia (super slow growing) seedlings when they were very, VERY tiny because they had some how sprung up in a clump on the very edge of the container they were in, and were getting dislodged when the container moved. Those guys are still struggling and I don't know if they'll pull through; it appears to be transplant shock, their little leaves are brown, though the new leaves they've sprouted are green. In contrast, the other seedlings from that container grew their first true leaves and were at least twice the size of the little guys, and they've been transplanted without any trouble. It almost seems like, if they still have just that one baby root with no offshoots, they might not stand transplanting as well as seedlings with more developed roots. Just my little bit of experience, ymmv. :) I do struggle, like you, with seedlings germinating and sprouting at different rates, but I guess in your situation, unless you could possibly steal a light or two from outside, I'd sacrifice a little legginess to let them grow some roots before I pricked them out.


Thanks. Wow, it's really that easy!
lou--For slow starting seed sow a few turnip or radish in the same seed furrow-they germinate fast & you can cultivate close to row if necessary. Remove when you see intended crop