6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
The seeds are tiny(but larger than poppy seed)and dark brown. You should be able to see the tiny hole in the top of the seed pods. Turn your flowerheads upside down in a paper sack and shake it. The seeds should fall out, provided you didn't already hang the flowers upside down to dry. Also, if you collected flowers late in the season that were dry, brown and open, the wind could have knocked them around and spread the seed before you got them. If you collected flowers that still had color, you may have taken them too early. HTH
I know the feeling, I get it every year. I lost some of my seedlings to the dry hot air here in Texas as they were hardening off out on the porch. Lost a few when the dogs ran through the flats and flattened them. And of course there are always the June bugs, which start swarming in April around here and can chew through about a mile of plant material overnight. Mice ate some. But for the most part I still had more seedlings than I could plant in a weekend and, darn it, I had to take a day off from work to stay home and finish getting them all in the ground. Cheryl
Can't help you with the seeds but get some Actinovate and start drenching your soil. It made a big difference on a couple of areas that had wilt issues. It's not a cure but it seems to slow it down to a crawl and give the plant chance it needs.
You'll probably have to order it but maybe a local nursery might have it. It runs about $20.00 for a small package but you only use a teaspoon a gallon. It's used on lawns for mildew and lawn diseases so it's becoming more available down here in the south.
I figure anything that might give the soil a chance to re-balance itself is worth a try.
Hi, welcome to gardening! You can save all three sprouts in each pellet, but they may crowd each other out. If you plan to plant the chamomile in the ground be sure to tear off the net cover on each pellet as some plants roots have trouble grwoing through it. Once the seeds have sprouted they don't require heat and you need to not let them dry out. Those peat pellets are very bad about soaking up water again once they have dried out. Try to keep the pellets moist while keeping the little seedlings dry. If the pellets are too wet, your seedlings will have a problem called damping off. It's a fungus that will kill them.
You don't say what kind of container you have them in, but the seedlings now need light and water. If your container is clear, they may get enough of both if you set it outside, but protect it from overheating and cooking the little plants. They are very tender and vulnerable right now.
If you lose some of them, or even if you lose all of them, try again. I've been gardening for over 50 years and I'm still learning new things all the time. One thing I learned this year was that soilless sterile seed starting mix is much better than peat pellets for starting seeds. the pellets are handy and convenient, but plants outgrow them very quickly. Cheryl
Thanks for the reply!
Here is my frugal setup:
http://img27.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=p1010017qdi.jpg
The container im using is actually i think some kind of tinfoil roasting pan with a plastic lid on top of a heating pad and inside is a thermometer which is surprisingly staying at 80F. I had all of these laying around and its amazingly working well so far. The second picture is my of my Chamomile seedlings that i planted 2 days ago. So you think i should take anything that has sprouted out of the container? Where should i put them? How can i keep the pellets from drying up?
Thanks!!
Just as an FYI, I almost placed an order with Park Seed Company (also known as "Park's Garden"). The prices were so right and the shipping reasonable. Luckily, I googled "park seeds ratings" and on Dave's Garden website, the Company received 86 negative and 10 neutral ratings and only 20 positive ratings (ratio of about 5 to 1 negative/neutral). I didn't place the order based on what I read in the reviews.
Those are general averages and nowhere close to exact. The time will always vary. For your best estimate (via my previous experiences with Ferry Morse seeds), plant the seed. Once it germinates, you will have your first bud (maybe even flower) by the time the days to harvest arrives.
I used rope lights. Coiled in an aluminum disposable tray Âkind of tray we use for parties etc. Over this I placed another tray with plastic cover and inside started the seeds. I know this is crude, but did work extremely well for me!!
Because of aluminum the entire setting will be warm enough for seed germination.
Anyway, I think this is going to be my technique for killing weeds and weed seeds/seedlings in the spring.
Just so you know... clear construction plastic like you might get in bulk at your local big box store is *not* rated for outdoor use. It's non-UV-treated polyethylene. It'll last for about 200-300 days exposed to the elements before it becomes brittle and starts cracking when flexed.
If you want something that'll last, order plastic from a greenhouse supply store. Get at least treated polyethylene. Treated PVC or fluorinated polymers are even better. Bubble wrap is two-layered PVC, so you may get a bit more insulation that way. Also excellent are solar pool covers.
Thanks for the posts on the plastic - so much to learn yet! At least while I'm waiting around to plant, I still have time to do something useful! BTW...my extra tomato plants made great mother's day gifts, too! Less to bring in at night, and both my mom and mother-in-law are happy!
Swiss chard and its relative the beet have multiple seeds joined in a fruit, which is actually what you'll find in the seed pack. Each one you plant will typically grow into multiple plans, as you've found. I usually start chard in pots as you do and then transplant them to plugs or 4-packs to grow before planting out. I wait until they grow large enough to handle and then I separate them while transplanting them. Rather than pulling them out, I'd suggest carefully pushing the soil with plants out of the pot and then carefully teasing the soil and little plants apart. I usually let the seed mix get a bit dry before attempting this because it's easier to separate the soil then. Good luck!
Thanks Bitterwort. I did find some info explaining about the seed "clusters" after a few different searches online. Yesterday I went ahead and teased apart the 1-2 inch tall seedlings as you suggested and potted them in bigger pots. They all seem to be doing OK. Some will stay in the pots and a few I may try in the ground as edible ornamental plants. I just hope I can keep the snails and slugs from feasting on them before we can!
Thanks again,
Susanne
Half inch could certainly be young slugs, and here in the slug capitol of the world they come in several colors...
Do you think they are slugs (easy to identify) or do you suspect something else? If slugs, you'd better get some bait out (many choices of environmentally friendly or otherwise at any garden center) or you won't have your seedlings for long. Another way to deal with them is to go out after dark with a flashlight, armed with a spray bottle of approx 1 part household ammonia to 4 parts water - spritz on the slug and it's dead in a heartbeat, ammonia/water won't harm your seedlings....just don't spray on plants in the heat of the mid day sun and that isn't when you would be finding slugs anyway.
Here is a link that might be useful: Young slug
You have seeds? My own in just beginning to bloom in what I heard today is the coolest, wettest May on record.
Don't wait till Spring - Clothiers database and Druse both suggest Calycanthus floridus , Carolina allspice , sow fresh seed outdoors in the fall (warm, cold, cool germinator, needs extended weeks at all three seasons to break seed dormancy)
I'm growing these from seed. Sown last November outdoors in a protected container, they sprouted in March and were potted up last month. Only a handful of the seeds germinated.