6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

If you don't mind a humid environment, you could use a fish tank or clear tote with a water bath and an electric cooler designed for aquaria. The advantage might be that you could also adjust heat in a similar way with a standard tank heater. This is all mature tech.

It might seem difficult to avoid high humidity without clobbering light input, such as by using clear plastic as a vapor barrier or as a water bag, but it's not too hard.

That's one way.

You could dedicate an old mini refrigerator (dorm room fridge) and apply some mad skills vis-ÃÂ -vis copper tubing coils, a thermostat (even a pair of lowly snap discs), a teeny little pump, and so on. Plants could sit right on top of the refrigerator cabinet.

End of May, hmmm. Seems a bit late for all of those varieties? Should they not be planted in Feb.?
Or a fall planting? You must have a local nursery, (not a big box store), that can give you a guide to a vegetable garden. Or a neighbor or mentor that has had success...

I've never direct seeded an entire pack of seeds, maybe 1/3rd or less...then a week later or two weeks, seed a few more...for insurance depending on weather.

I did live in Texas one year, years ago, and followed a neighbors advice. Picked a high spot for a small garden and soon realized why it was a good idea...devastating heavy rains would have destroyed all efforts.

Find a garden club, a group that shares garden advice and get that soil ready for the next season....the basics for a healthy start without wasting money on experiments.

Many methods to divert heavy rains that do not wash away your good soil....or destroy your seedlings...but best to seek a local gardener.

Well, I checked them yesterday evening and the soil seems to still be in place, so maybe the seeds stay put. Yes, I'm a little late on the produce gardening, I was more into the flowers at the time I should have been planting others. But this is my first year, so I may be using it as my "classroom year." The pumpkins are flourishing, though, and I think the watermelons are doing alright. Here's their sprouts from two weeks ago..

I'm not convinced about the idea of ground cover around vegetables. They do not want competition - that's why we weed between them - and a mulch would be much better for them. As for the rest of the question - if you decide which plants you'd like you can then look them up to see if they are easy from seed. Ground cover isn't really a term I find useful as it applies merely to the function of a plant and says nothing about its botany or growing requirements.

In the case of perennials why not just grow more of them closer together - they don't need specific 'ground cover' - they can do the job themselves.

A living mulch is pretty common but they do often compete with the crop. I've tried clover and rye before.
Clover works very well but your veggies need to be well established first for best results and your soil needs to be as weed free as possible. Clover sprouts quickly direct seeded.

Not sure the brand of straw i have access to but it is gorgeous. Finely chopped, beautiful texture and a pale bright yellow. Pretty much my go-to mulch for herbs and veggies, and others like basil and greens i plant thick enough to not need a mulch but will side dress/mulch with a pro-mix during the grow season.

You could initially use a pro-mix as a mulch, then try direct seeding some clover thickly on the leading edge, maybe a foot around the bed....but just trying to visualize what your garden even looks like....or what veggies you are speaking of. Some need space to produce well, so competition from other plantings between means less production of crop.

Something fast growing and trailing that has one main root structure may work in some cases, like the sweet potato vines or trailing nasturtiums. Re-routing the growth back into the bed if they escape. I've used them in my brussel sprouts/broccoli/cauliflowers bed before to perk up how dull those plants look most of the early summer.

I have a corn area about 20x20 that did well with clover a couple years. Now will be a pumpkin/winter squash bed this year. (covered and not used last year). I've considered a living mulch, but a thick newspaper border covered with a bale of hay works so well and needs less tending and provides a soft surface off the ground for the crop to rest and ripen nice and dry during rainy weather...

Google 'living mulch'. Someone may have good ideas and successful companion planting advice more current... since i first read of it years ago, my ideas and use may be outdated....

Yaay for you! I am about to start some delphinium too. What did you do to the seeds that helped you succeed?

Starting the seeds is way different from others I have done! Google "dels from seeds" to help you understand what needs to be done. Good luck!

No, it won't affect the plants.

Your low germination rate is likely coming from the dry storage. Several weeks of moist cold should have improved germination.

Lindera benzoin:

"Seed Collection: Collect seeds in late summer through October when the fruit has turned red. Seeds must be cleaned before storing. Store seeds in moist sand or sow immediately. Seeds allowed to dry out lose viability.
Seed Treatment: Stratify for 90-120 days at 41 degrees. "

Adding definition of stratify - period of moist cold condition. The process of pretreating seeds to simulate natural winter conditions that a seed must endure before germination. Many seed species undergo an embryonic dormancy phase, and generally will not sprout until this dormancy is broken. The time taken to stratify seeds depends on species and conditions

This post was edited by morz8 on Sun, May 25, 14 at 9:56

>> Is this normal?

Not really, but the peat pellets don't do much beyond the germination thing which is really all they're designed to do. At this size they should be getting some nutrition beyond the trivial amount in the peat. I'd say to either fertilize the peat or, preferably, put them in the ground or cups or pots right away, pellet and all.

Ah! My favorite topic. I strongly believe that messing with roots on annuals you've just started (in other words this ain't trees in pots) is a mistake, so I never mess with the integrity of peat pellets. There is nothing about them that will harm or hinder a seedling that's sending out roots into another medium. There isn't a root (nature's mighty hydraulic machine) growing on this green earth that will be slowed down in the slightest by that nylon mesh. When you pull the plant later the pellet will probably be completely intact but surrounded by roots that are ignoring it.

That said, many people play with their little roots a lot and it works out just fine, but those guys are experts in all that. They know what kills and what encourages. I would never recommend stripping the pellets, but for you this is an opportunity to see which way works best with the way you do things.

There are two main limitations of peat pellets that you should remember. One is that they drain so easily that they can dry out too easily, but being surrounded by a transitional medium in the Dixie cups negates that. Secondly they have low nutritional value, so a transplant into something once the roots start reaching out is usually a good idea.

Wow, thanks for that! I always assumed the netting had to be removed eventually. As far as transitioning to Dixie cups, could you confirm covering the legs of the seedlings completely? And, potting soil or mix ( or doesn't matter)?