6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Hi, the shelves are fixed so I raise and lower with odd wood and styrafoam, the top lights can be raised and lowered but it is easier just to raise the trays. I don't really mind, when the lights are all on it is super bright and spending time playing with all the seedlings makes me happy. Last year I got a heavy duty metal rack with ajustable shelves for larger plants, but I need to get more lights. If I had my way I would have and entire green house down in my basement, wouldn't hyrdo love me then? frogged
Homegrown -
I do often take notes, and have definately learned from my mistakes! Last year I planted a huge amount of onions. Which would have been fine, had I not planted them all at the same time. I had onions up to my eyeballs all at one time. Definately learned a lesson there, and will plant my seedlings to reflect that. :)
Kim
taking notes of what you plant and time to germinate is very helpful unless you have a great memory.I have a room in my basement to start the seeds and this month will take some of them out to the GH. Most of the time my seeds will be blooming just like the ones you buy at the store.
Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by the Seat of my Pants
Maybe this link will help you!
Here is a link that might be useful: Germination database
Agree, the gaillarda should germinate within 21 days at approx 70F
Rudbekia (BES?) is much like echinacea, may or may not need a moist chill.
Rudbeckia fulgida, hirta, and maxima , Sow at 68ºF, if no germination in 3-4 weeks, move to 39ºF for 2-4 weeks
Rudbeckia laciniata, nitida, occidentalis, and purpurea , Sow at 68ºF, germination slow
Why are you starting apples from seed, just an experiment? Every modern apple is a grafted variety or a clone of a known variety of apple. Growing from seed you have very little idea of what kind of fruit or rootstock you will have for a several year experiment. Not that experiments are bad.
Some apples make great root stock if you want standard size trees. After a year or two you can graft the apple of your choice on your "home grown" root stock. Here where we get no summer rain and must dry farm, a really aggressive root stock is a must, but not usually available on nursery grown trees. Al
If they have 2002 on the seed package then that's when they were packed. That means they are 8 years old and if they were not stored right you might not get any.
The test for tomatoes is to cull the immature seed from the ripe seed. If you want to test these seeds without planting them, then you can sprout them in a wet paper towel, but if they sprout you will have to plant them.
That's not a test I'd use with any confidence. Some seeds float simply because they are so light for their size. I recently started some callirhoe. These seeds came from my garden rather than a commercial package, so I was really concerned when they ALL floated when I poured the hot water over them. (They need a hot water soak prior to cold stratification). In fact, even though I knew the floater test isn't foolproof, I panicked and ordered some commercial callirhoe-- and then my personal seeds germinated upon removal from cold stratification. So, I guess I'm going to have lots an lots of callirhoe! The same is true for rose seeds, btw. Floaters germinate at a lower rate than the "sinkers," but many do still germinate, so I no longer bother to separate mine out.
Agree - its damp off. In addition to the fan, cut way back on the water. The soil surface needs to dry out before you water so "keeping them moist" is only adding to the problem. "Moist" is needed for germination but not for growing on. ;)
Check out the FAQ here on preventing damp-off.
Dave
If you mean bulbettes that grow out of the original bulb, sure. You don't have to separate them the first year they appear though.
If you mean cutting the bulbs into like 8 or 16 sections, I know that can be done with hippeastrum, but I am not sure about amaryllis. You do do some search. If amaryllis belongs to onion family like hippeastrum does, then you can probably do it.
But depending on where you live, if might be easier to just leave them outside until they multiply, and then you can divide them.
a1chemyst,
There is also a Amaryllis/Hippeastrum Forum here if you'd like to check it out. They would, more than likely, be able to answer any questions you still might have.
Larkspur is one of the plants that reseeds itself in the fall in my zone 6b PA garden. It did also in my zone 6 Cleveland garden. I suggest you try scattering some seed now where you want them to grow and let nature do it for you. I was out raking yesterday and see that some Larkspur is up and growing already. The frigid temps, snow, and ice to come won't hurt these seedlings. They'll hunker down and ride it out. If you want to use the belt and suspenders approach start some seed indoors as backup.
Just a note, if you have a heavy mulch down you won't get reseeding later this year. The mulch will keep the seed from coming into contact with the soil.
Good Luck.
Yeah, the cost of little extras can really mount up. I bought ten four foot fluorescent light fixtures for $3.99 each, but they didn't come with a cord. I went to home depot and they want $5.97 for a cord with a plug on it, which is more than I paid for the light fixtures. I spent quite some time searching for power cords on the internet and found a place that had some over-run cords for 95 cents each, but they wanted $11 to ship them. I finally decided to cut the cords off a bunch of old electric typewriters and other electronic equipment and use them.
And you are right, the cheapest fluorescent fixtures and bulbs are 4 footers. Strange pricing that a two foot bulb would cost more than a four footer.
Here's a pic and details on a small light set up I ran across on another discussion. Uses a white plastic bucket and one CFL (compact fluorescent light bulb). You can make the same sort of set up with a cardboard box lined with foil too.
Good for small numbers of plants but it is so cheap to make that several wouldn't cost much to put together.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Small seed starter set-up
Just my two cents on brands... I am a huge fan of the APS seed starting system put out by Gardener's Supply Co. They have self-watering trays which is a (literal) lifesaver for someone like me who constantly forgets to water! They are great for maintaining just the right moisture levels all the time, and you just have to check the base trays once a week or so to make sure they still have water in them.
I've started seeds both in them and in other containers (like peat pots, styrofoam cups, etc.) and the ones in the APS units always grow the best... I'm sure if I was better at this whole thing, the results would be more equal, but it's nice having a foolproof system when you're still new at seed starting!
Dave's link will be helpful, so check out the FAQ's.
My two cents: I personally find that the peat pellet greenhouses work excellent! I usually get about 80-90% of the seeds (for tomatoes) to germinate within 10 days. The things you have to remember for the peat pellet greenhouses to work are that you must keep the pellets fully wet, as they soak up a ton of water. That is not hard to do if you keep the dome/lid on, as moisture will not escape very easily and you'll find that you really only need to re-water them once or twice. Also, watch for white mold that looks like spider webbing. After a few days with the dome on, you may very well get some of this. If that happens, remove it by hand & let the pellets air out a bit by propping the dome open just slightly. It's recommended that the greenhouse also be kept in a warm dark place. I agree with this to a point. Once you have about a third to a half of the seeds sprouted, you will want to keep the dome on about half of the day, but move the greenhouse to a lighted location (sun or artificial is fine at this point), but not too sunny/lighted as this is the first time the wee seedlings have seen any light. Once most of the seeds sprout, remove the dome for good. I only keep the seedlings in the peat pellets for that initial period of between 7-14 days, depending upon tomato variety, as the peat pellet is not a good seedling growing medium, only good for seed starting. Once the seedling has been pointing straight up for 2-3 days and gets to be about an inch and a half or so in height, then I transplant it to a semi-translucent plastic cup (a lot of people prefer Styrofoam cups). When transplanting to the cup, make sure to remove the lining around the pellet. Also, very carefully soften the peat around the plant, then pot up until only about a half to a full inch of the seedling is showing. I then place the seedlings, in their cups, in a sunny windowsill. This advice works great for any pellet/greenhouse/dome structure. The main thing to remember is that these pellet greenhouses (or peat cups/pots, etc.) are only for seed starting and are not very good at all for seedlings growth. The same goes for peppers & other veggies, but time for germination will obviously vary. If you prefer to just stay away from the peat items all together, like Dave says, you can just start the seeds in the cups, bypassing that stage. I have had ok/varied results doing it that way.
Regarding grow lights, a lot of people swear by them, but I never use them and still have great results. If you don't use them, you just really need a good bit of indoor sunny space for the seedlings.
If you find a well working germination method like I do, you don't really need many seeds, but it's all in the gardener's method/opinion. For example, I used a 25 peat pellet greenhouse to start most of my tomato seeds in this year. I put 4 seeds in each pellet. I had about 90% of the total seeds germinate. I simply let all the seeds sprout and then "thinned out"/pulled the weaker looking ones (ended up being about 50 that I pulled) until I was left with the best looking seedling in each pellet which then were potted up with the method I explained above. Some people don't like to do this though b/c it's a slight waste of seed. It's really a matter of personal choice/opinion.
Anyways, hope some of this info helps. Regarding the Roma's, 3-5 plants max, well taken care of, would give you enough tomatoes to can, eat fresh & more.
- Steve