6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

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.

Thanks shebear, I'll check it out.

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.

I wish I'd done the same...I still didn't receive my seeds...apparently, they are still in shipping and will be shipped out within "a couple of business days."

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.

As you have already potted them up to a larger size pot is sounds like they are recovering from the transplanting. As soon as possible, you don't mention your zone, take them outside into a brighter light for a hour or two a day. Al

When the soil gets dry about 1/2 inch deep it is time to water. Be careful not to over water though!
Better to go a little too dry than to over water.

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

Yes you can. In fact, most of what you listed can be winter-sown.

Thanks! :)

Regarding seed movement: there are a number of folks that will "rag-sow" seeds--as in, put them in a moist paper towel (nside an open-ended baggie) and place them in a warm spot until the seed has germinated, then the seed will be planted in medium. Based on this information, I would hypothesize that seed movement, as long as it's not too out of control, shouldn't cause germination problems. I have been completely hit or miss with my seeds this year. It may be that your seeds had started to germinate and then got too dry and died before they were able to take off--my tomatoes always sprout long before peppers.

For the record, if you have ever grown tomatillos before, you may have heard that it's best to plant them in pairs; some won't set fruit if there is only one plant. Doesn't make sense to me, but I've always planted them in pairs, and never any regrets for having done so.

Don't give up on your babies; if it's nice outside, just put them outside in a greenhouse-style protection--just put those peat pots (watered from the BOTTOM to avoid more trouble) into a cleaned out milk jug. Go check out the winter-sowing forum and FAQ's(no, it's not too late to wintersow if you're still starting indoors from seed) and let mother nature do the hard part--just be sure your medium stays moistened--tomatoes are very unforgiving when it comes to moisture.