6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
The problem I see with tin cans is the heat they would draw. Set a tin can in the sun and after a couple of hours you can barely touch it. Your plants roots will be against that and fry.
The rest of your plan sounds fine. Be sure to mulch for extra winter protection, whether planted or in pots. If you do plant them be sure to give them a couple of weeks before the ground is frozen for their roots to settle in.
If you set small pots on your deck be sure to set them in a tray or something, and be prepared to do a lot of watering. Small pots dry out fast and they don't have much soil to give them weight so they will be blowing around unless anchored.
To tell the truth I would plant them this spring and mark them with a stake or plant tag printed with permanent marker. They would grow better and some perennials bloom the first year.
Oilpainter - hey, thanks for the post. I hadn't thought of the heat in the tin. That could be a big problem. I suppose I need to clear out and till some areas and plant them in the ground after all and just move them as I get the final places ready. I'll have to work on that. I'm glad I posted. That may have been a lot of extra work for me for really bad results.
Thanks again
Susan
Sure. Many seed starting mixes are 50/50 peat and vermiculite. Several are straight peat and Jiffy Mix is commonly recemmended for seed starting.
Many of us prefer no perlite at all so I know several folks who'd be happy to take it off your hands. ;)
Dave
It is fine for germination, but as it's a sterile, soilless mix blended for drainage and some moisture retention with plenty of pore space for oxygen, there are essentially no nutrients that the seedling can depend on once it has expended the food stored in the seed's cotyledon. That means you need to fertilize or transplant quickly or your seedlings will die in that mix.
Druse, Making More Plants" Rudbekia maxima, fresh seed, sow barely covered as some light may be beneficial to germination, 70F, germination in 5 - 21 days.
Rudbeckia maxima, (Clothiers database, suggestions are most often for stored dry seed), Sow 68ºF, if no germination in 3-4 wks, move pot to 39ºF for 2-4 wks, bring back to warm
Three months stratifying is probably overkill for rudbeckia....why don't you try sowing some rather than the baggie of seeds, barely cover or cover only with a little grit.
kawaiineko gardener.
There is a reason cool season vegetables are called cool season vegetables. They germinate better in cool weather and cool soil. and grow better with cool air.
Radish sure doesn't need a head start. It's up in a couple of days and usable within the month.Start your peas lettuce and radish as soon as you can work the soil, even if it's before the last frost date--they won't freeze unless there is a ver hard frost and maybe not even then.
I have never started bush beans inside. I don't know if they would do well or not. Frankly to grow enough they would take up too much room and they do well in the garden.
The rest by all means start early inside, but be sure to harden them off before setting out
The stuff I'm planting won't be being grown in the ground. I plan to do container gardening; unfortunately I don't have room where I live to set up and prepare a plot in the ground.
I plan to use earthboxes, which are a self-watering variety
of container gardening.
Since I'm going to be growing stuff via container gardening, should I still start growing the stuff from seed in my containers for cool weather vegetables in Mid-march?
Also I realize that cool weather vegetables like cool weather and grow best in cool weather. However I also realize they have their limits and if it's too cold they'll die. Is the weather going to be too cold to plant cool weather vegetables in Northern Michigan in mid-march to grow cool weather vegetables?
I start my seeds indoors and place them in my gh in mid Feb.
I keep the temperature around 42 at night.The only issue is cloudy days since I have no artificial lighting.
Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by the Seat of my Pants
In the winter I use HID light in my greenhouse. Having no heat(can't afford it)in the greenhouse, I use a heat mat to maintain 70 degree soil temperature. I run the light(400 watts)as little as possible to keep costs down. Natural light in the winter is just not enough here in the winter. Al
I do pretty much as Al does, except that I've been using perlite instead of vermiculite. (I might add some vermiculite this season if I get around to visiting the local Brew & Grow.) If you use perlite, it can send up huge clouds of perlite dust when you dump the bags, so it's good to plan around that (mask, well-ventilated area, breath-holding, whatever).
I grew onions from seed this past season. It was easy, satisfying and the onions were fine--but not remarkably different from what I get from the store. If you have a lot of space for a veggie garden, it might be worth it. For me, it's back to leeks, which are more expensive to buy so more worth it to me to grow. If I do grow onions again, I'll probably try a different variety--not standard yellow onions. I started mine indoors under lights, probably in February. Pretty much like most other vegetables, except that they can go out earlier than tender things.
Make sure that you use fluorescent bulbs. T5 lighting is best for seedlings but it's not necessary to invest that kind of money for a few trays. Fluorescent lights can be placed so they are almost touching the seedlings as they don't give off heat. I use HID MH and HPS lights for mature plants. I also use fluorescents in the greenhouse. A fan on a low setting will keep the air circulating and cut down on diseases.
About 10 years ago, I got it in my head that I should be growing all heirloom plants. Now I'm back to a mix.
In my experience, you can get bug and disease problems with any plant, but many hybrids are bred to resist the common diseases.
For growth rate, it really depends on the plant. What you probably won't see a lot of with heirlooms are "dwarf" or "patio" size plants. Compact size is something that most farmers wouldn't have cared about.
For overall appearance, you would probably see a greater variety of shapes and colors on the heirloom side, but it would likely look a little more "unkept" than the hybrid side. Hybridizers have placed a lot of emphasis on how the veggie looks.
For taste, I think it really depends on the veggie. I'll give the heirlooms the taste award for tomatoes hands down. Carrots, potatoes, herbs, lettuce, zucchini, and many others - I can't tell the difference.
About as I expected. A previous post got me thinking and I just wanted to ask the obvious.
Hybridizing has surely been a boon to flowers and their diversity. As for vegatables, it has opened many new possibilities. I once watched a PBS program that was linked to a post that explained a great economic colapse in Holland during the 1600's because from the fallout of a Tulip Hybridizing fanatacism.
If you search and read enough post Q and A here you'll learn everything you would ever want to know. Sometimes I like to ask just to be extra sure.
Thanks everyone.
You might like to soak your sweet peas before you plant. I put mine on a very wet paper towel on a dish. Then fold the towel over the seeds and cover with plastic wrap for a day before planting. When I plant I dig my hole and fill it with water and let it soak into the ground. Then I plant my soaked seed.
The soaking swells the hard outer covering and the moisture in the ground helps them germinate. I do this with any seed that has a hard outer shell--like sweet peas and nasturtiums
The chances are slim to none...... that is the reason they are grafted.....
On the other hand the seed grown tree may/will grow into a tree that will still be a wonderful addition to the landscape & there is a slim chance it will be better than any other existing tree.
It is hard to beat ProMix for most any seeding/seedling situation. ;) But it is difficult to find in some locations. And it isn't cheap unless you buy it in bulk. For those with a large operation starting hundreds of plants that is no problem but for the average home grower starting only a few plants it helps to find a couple of someones to share a bale of it with.
Otherwise plain old Jiffy Mix (the bags not the pellets) works fine and 1 $4.00 bag will do the average starting tray with no problem. The secret is to wet it first and then fill the cells with the damp mix. The Gardener's Supply system works just like many of the other systems on the market - it's the wicking up the water that makes it work - so it's using the pre-dampened mix and making sure the cell is well packed that makes it work.
Good luck with your plants.
Dave
I believe it's common practice for seed companies to test germination of large amounts of seed stock left over from previous years. If the results meet their standards, they use it for the current year's sales. Most probably have climate controlled seed storage areas, also, helping extend shelf life.
Thank you all for your responses. I feel so much better investing my time in these seeds with your advice.