6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Yes this was indoors about February - March. In previous years after the seeds germinated. I would have problems with damping off. As soon as I transplant to plastic cups and put them in this greenhouse? They do well... Can't explain why just that it works for me. I've been doing this for 2 years. The plastic will help keep the warmth from the sunshine in. That day I had the plastic back. Open side is the front which faces a south window. I took the other angle side that I cut this year and put on top of the slated side for more reflection. That's all the reflection I could think about without closing out the light. This is something I do because dh will not let me have a shop light setup. I guess this year I had about 100 plants grow and survive. A good start for plants.
barnbatt
Yea...I kinda "accidentally" mixed up some of my Serrano & Jalapeño Early Organic seedlings. =) It happens...like others mention, you will be able to identify them later on. My Serrano's will have fuzzy stems, almost like a tomato. That's one of my clues.
Get some lightweight row cover... Walmart sells it cheap... it'll keep your seedlings warmer at night and cooler during the day, with no worry about covering/uncovering. The lightweight stuff cuts the sun's intensity, while also protecting down to about 28 degrees.
Lori
Nigella can take up to 15+ days to germinate - recommended temp around 65F.
I've had n. Miss Jekyll in my garden for many years, result of just one packet of seeds - like the blue for an airy filler. I let it self sow, or take the pods and crush them in my hand to scatter them in other locations - in Fall or late winter. Why don't you try some outdoors where they would get a variety of temperatures - one of the very few plants I direct sow only. Seedlings are up about 2" here this week - we've had ONE day this year that got as warm as 65F.
I have grown Diospyros varieties from seed, successfully. The germination rate is very high, and they are extremely easy to grow.
Grafting is often done to get a more vigorous rootstock. Seeds from a grafted tree yield the DNA from the fruit that you ate, so the fact that the fruit came from a grafted tree only means that the DNA in the seeds do not match the root part of the tree.
With a grafted tree, it would only matter if you tried to grow a "shooter" from the roots. In that case, the root cutting/shooter would be a clone of the root stock.
Apples grown from seed are the worst example of not being able to grow a fruit tree from a seed. Pears are the second worst. Plums are successfully grown from seed, and so are persimmons. Even if the fruit is disappointing, half the reason to own a persimmon tree is because of their decorative value in the fall.
I would go ahead and plant the seeds, and after a year, keep the most vigorous seedling(s).
sandollarsf---I have the same problem. All of mine grew very vigorously the first 2 years, then seemed to slow their growth to an inch or so per year. I suppose that's where grafting comes in handy.
Why do the Lowes close to everybody else always carry awesome things and the ones near me never do?! I got mine online, can't remember where though.
Where would you put the heater? I was going to use heating pads in mine. Is your basement heated? Mine is room temp.
I have been using one of these for years and I would be completely lost without it.
I did use lights in it for a couple of seasons.My D.H. attached short grow lights to each shelf and I was happy with the results. However this year I started my seeds a little later and since my dining room Patio doors lead right on to my deck I have been taking the greenhouse out in the morning and bringing it back in at night. The seedlings look amazing and this has been my best and easiest year ever.I have a little bare bulb lamp which I leave on in cooler temps and keep the door closed up.
As the weather warms up I leave the door flap open to allow the seedlings exposure to air circulation.
I believe my Greenhouse cost about $70 from Canadian Tire some years ago, but it was well worth it.
Why didn't you just plant them in the ground? They would have been happy! I just took a ton of suckers from golf course trees while we golfed, and our temps are over 100 degrees. I stuck them in the ground (root hormone first), and not one has died!
I will also add that the folded leaves shown above feel very crispy and hard.
A week ago, when the first true leaves were beginning to show, I fertlized the water with a dilluted 25% strength fertilizer. Did i fertilize too soon?
Very few seeds, including maple, need to be frozen. Refrigerator is cold enough. The instructions that came with your seeds sound reasonable - periods of warm moist, followed by moist chill, return to warm for germination.
BUT, which state are you in? These are listed as an invasive species in more states than not - you need to check your states invasive species/noxious weed list before attempting to grow it. Look under 'Elaeagnus umbellata'
Don't know about the seed but they are easy to propagate from cuttings. Take a cutting from new growth before it gets to hard(1st of July here in Tennesse) Dip it in water and then dip it in some rooting hormone and stick it in some very damp sand either in buckets or a bed, just don't let it ever dry out. Pull one out in two to three wks. and see want you've got. You can space them about 2" apart but don't leave them there to long or the roots will grow together. John
naturegirl - I feel your excitement. Doesn't matter what you plant, the point is you have scored these trays and can start another 900 plants! The rest is irrelevant. Marigolds grow very quickly. Of course zinnias and cosmos would do well also - Don't know how well they would do outdoors. I'd be tempted to start some petunias, as I have a lot of extra seed saved from last year and I've heard they can tolerate the cold. Have fun!
LOL OMGoodness!! i'd be thinking, well, realistically, maybe 100 might die with the heat, because when i go to the next town for shopping if i don't water them good, they might die, ya know, sometimes things can happen, so the amount of plants would not be a problem, but OMGoodness!! WOOO HOOOO!!!! i'd be putting in all kinds of things, some from food we bought at the store to see if we could grow them, and others, that ya wanted a whole bunch of!! that were perennials, then ya have the whole vegie thing!! LOL ahhhhh endlesss thoughts!! for $3?? you scored big!! we'd have to do lots of fairy plant type of things, for me, it'd be flowers to bring in hummingbirds and butterfly's and such. WOW now my mind is twirling for the little cell packs i have. LOL i'm mostly a seed scatterer in the boxes anymore. i like the look of the "mess" as some say. LOL ~Medo
Here is a link that might be useful: barehanded totally nutso gardener :'}}
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned winter sowing to you. I sowed many seeds in pots outside, this winter. I am still sowing seeds in pots outside. Check out the Winter Sowing forum for lots of information on sowing in pots outside.
midwesternerr,
I'm not too familiar with tropical milkweed, but I can tell you this much about any seedling started inside under lights: they're gonna need to be hardened off before they go outside permanently, which can take as much as two weeks with DAILY incremental increases up from an hour or so in the shade gradually increasing the time and SOME sun exposure (increasing the sun gradually too; do a search on hardening off and you'll find some great tips on what to do and what not to do). If you're only able to go out to the site once a week, it's going to be very hard to properly harden them off, unless the seedlings are at your house and you can do this on a daily basis from home. And for the record, it's going to be too early to plant out anything with "tropical" in the name until probably at least 2 weeks AFTER the last frost date, which hasn't quite hit for zone 5 yet; again, that's AFTER hardening them off. One of the things that you can do to avoid legginess is to make the light brighter--move them as close to the bulb as you can (as close as 1-2 inches even--but also to put a light breeze on them, as from a fan on low. Yes, peat pots will dry out very quickly, so there are a couple things that you can do if there isn't an automatic daily watering system. If you leave the peat pots intact, be sure to BURY THEM COMPLETELY, as any portion of it sticking up above the surface will wick out moisture and you'll come back to dessicated remains of your seedlings! Whenever I plant anything that has been started in peat pots, though, I at least tear off the bottom of the pot. I will frequently tear away the entire peat pot, letting the soil-to-soil contact be at maximum; it just depends on the fussiness of the roots and that particular plant's temperament for transplanting.
Whatever you do, don't just stick those babies outside (unless you're not overly concerned for their survival) or they'll surely fry. You could direct-sow some, but again, being tropicals, you'll want to wait until after the last frost--but could probably direct sow ON the last frost date--just be sure to protect the area from critters that might dig up the seeds or mow down the seedlings as they emerge.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Hi Aniya,
I didn't do anything special - just kept them moist and warm (75-80F) until they poked out. I have to say that my germination rate wasn't spectacular. Only got 5 or 6 plants out of more than 20 seeds. I wanted to try some more this year but forgot. Also since the plants didn't do anything last year, I figured it might be a better idea to buy plants rather than seeds. Now I'm very encouraged and may sow some to plant out in the fall.
Goodluck with your seeds. I will keep my fingers crossed for your sprouting success.
Amna
