6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I always use warmth mats & grow lights when I start from seed. Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. They always do well as long as I don't neglect them once I put them outside.
My cat has NO problem dragging a rabbit almost as big as he is to the back door. I feel bad for the rabbit, but my garden is happy!
Here is a link to our FAQs here with lots of information to help you.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs
I am trying to start plants from seeds for the first time this spring...Under lights in my small greenhouse. Please give me helpful hints on prevention of leggy seedlings and the damping off fungus. Thanks Lynda
Hi Lynda - all of this is covered in the FAQs here linked on the forum front page. I'll link it below to make it easier.
The main key to preventing leggy seedlings is enough light kept very close to the plants. If using fluorescents, that means no more than 1-2" above the plants. Avoid damp-off by avoiding over-watering, don't let it get too warm inside, and providing enough air circulation - most use a small fan of some type near the plants.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs
The average gardener usually does not have the space or light source required to grow the plants indoors for that long. It takes a lot of space, good light and good air circulation to bring healthy seedlings to the bud or bloom stage.
The seed company probably sets the guidelines to ensure the success of the largest number of gardeners.
That is true. I am lucky to have lots of space available, and an unheated greenhouse to move them into when the temperature rises enough to allow me too (sometime in early to mid March). It does take up a lot of space! Especially when they get transplanted from cell packs to 4 inch pots.
I use sterile seed starting mix, so I haven't any personal experience, but I would imagine so, yes. I can't think what the alternative would be. I've read something about heating soil in a microwave or some such, but can't remember the details. Seems like a lot of work when I can get a bag of seed starting mix for a couple of bucks.
I heat all my soil before starting seeds indoors. I use seed and cutting mix. It not only gets rid of any fungal spores that are in the soil but fungus gbnats too.
I do it in the fall with regular pro mix when I bring my plants inside. I never have those annoying black pests.
It's simple to do. I use a tin foil roaster, and fill it with soil. Then I cover it with tin foil to keep down the odor of cooking dirt. I set my oven at 200 and leave it for half an hour. Then remove it and moisten with cold water and you are ready to plant.
Seeds, by their very nature, have all they need to get a great start on life. I've found that using potting mixes, even those touted as "ideal germination" mixes that have any kind of ferts in them are worse.
FWIW, my fav mix is Ferti-lome, both to sow seedlings in and to use as a transplant mix. Not real cheap - $16 for a 50 quart bag, but IMO well worth it.
Mike
Morz8, indeed I did the same. I left the little pots outside throughout the winter, and they germinated outside. Then I thought I should have kept the seedlings under grow light and at warm temperature so they would have grown faster. Do you think they will grow well and hopefully bloom this year if I bring them outdoor now?
This is how they look like:
If you've moved them inside under lights with heat, you now need to treat them as though they have germinated inside and not been outdoors at all. Hardening them off will be required before they can stay outside again.
I've never had them bloom first year from seed.
Stevey I never use the dome. I plant lettuce right on top sprinkle a tad of fine vermiculite or perlite over the seeds Spray with a fine mist and you should be good to go. You can just bottom water after that Don't go over 80 F And most lettuce needs light to germinate. Do you have air circulation around the started plants? I use a small fan, but I don't blow it right on the plants just indirect air movement. OH one more thing If you have romaine lettuce it will not need light to germinate, but still should be started below 80 F.
Curt :-)
It's salad bowl loose leaf lettuce that i'm growing. The dome is only going to stay on this time until such time as the lettuce sprouts. The tomato and pepper, basil and dill are on their own after that... I think.
From this point on, I'm only going to bottom water all the plants, having learned (i hope) my lesson after making my last batch sick.
Exotic and tropical seeds are unique so the folks over on the Tropical forum might know the sources best. And many of the different exotics have their own forum too so check them out by plant name you are interested in. Oh and check out the Garden Baazar here too as many of the seed vendors have links and info posted there.
Few of the more common seed vendors that often get discussed here and on the Rate & Review Vendors forum (check it out for ones to avoid) carry unusual seeds because of the low demand but one I have dealt with is http://www.rarexoticseeds.com
Another is http://www.seedman.com/
I have had no problems with either of them in the past.
It just all depends on what specific seeds you are looking for as some seed vendors are highly specialized. ;)
Dave
Not to seem flippant, but you might as well ask "What is a good meal to fix for dinner."
Google is great. Type in the plant you want to grow, along with "seed" and check out the links.
To wit: I wanted some banana plants. Most places wanted $15-20 per plant, plus close to the same in shipping. I found a place that sold them for less than $10 and shipping was $7.
If you find a site, then you can always ask how people have fared buying from them.
YMMV,
Mike
You can start the pits in damp potting soil as well as in water, so you could probably put it in a pot now, with just the upper part of the pit sticking out (just barely). I would think a 6" diameter pot would be about right. You can always repot it into a larger pot later on.
So the shock of being in a drier environment doesn't kill it, I would put a clear plastic bag over the newly-potted pit, but cut some holes in it for ventilation, and enlarge them when the top starts growing, then leave the pot uncovered for air movement. All you would need would be some mold or fungus to start.
I would also put the potted pit in indirect light to encourage the stem to start growing, although it may grow well behind (time-wise) the root, like an acorn does.
Once you've got some leaves, I would feed it with some diluted worm tea or apply a thin (1/8") layer of good homemade compost to the surface of the pot and water it in.
Sue
I agree with her. Put it in a small pot and keep the soil moist. I personally would use miracle grow potting mix. Holds moisture and is full of nutrients for the plant. I had an avocado seed in a very small pot with some native sandy soil under the shade of a banana tree and when it was about 4 inches tall, I planted it in partial shade area in an existing hole where other my banana tree was. That was back in May of 2008 and now it is 7ft tall. I live in a rocky landfill area of southeast Florida.
3) As long as they do not burn the plant, they are not too close.
2) I do but you do not have to. The idea of reflective material (Mylar) or white walls is to, uh, reflect light back on the plants, thus reducing the need for more lumens.
1) Last year, two 105-watt bulbs (6,900 lumens each) provided enough light for about 20-24 sq. ft. but I used Mylar on the top and sides.
YMMV,
Mike
I ran across the site below when trying to identify some seeds that I had received in a trade. It says it is from tropical Africa, but it doesn't set seed even in Florida, so the author is assuming that Florida doesn't have the right pollinator. I would think that it could be hand-pollinated... maybe...
But the author says "it occasionally pops up for sale at large retail garden centers so keep your eye peeled for it!"
It is listed at Plants of Perfection: http://www.plantsofperfection.com/Cristinas_Collection.html
And Glasshouse Works: http://glasshouseworks.com/trop-t.html
Sue
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Thunbergia battiscombei
Thanks. I'll try it and see what happens.
Julia
I have one that has been outdoors since last Fall & has weathered several frosts quite fine (still has a lot of green foliage). Is this a normal trait of the plant? When I received it at a plant swap, I didn't know much about it.
- Steve