6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Great news! They are all growing! I went out today and I'd say I've got at least 80% of the plants sprouted up with two leaves, probably more. And that's even despite snow flurries this week. Phew!

Here they are:
From Garden 2009

Great news indeed! You'll be eating radishes in just a few weeks.

Jon

yea they are calif. wonders

i will load a picture as soon as i get a chance... i have to go out and get a new disk to chop up my field, i just broke my old one and need to get a new one b4 the rain comes back. thanks for the reply i will try to get a picture up as soon as i get back

I found a discussion of purple leaves on the vegetable forum: "Purpling of leaves is perfectly normal in young seedlings that are stressed for some reason and if you search 'purple leaves' in the vegetable forum you'll find numerous discussions about it. It poses no threat to the plant and goes away once the stress is removed. For most of us part of that stress is too cool air temps this time of year added to the stress of just trying to grow. ;)"

Oh boy, I just went though this. You can get smaller lights, but they may not be strong enough. Everyone here suggests 40 watt, and it is nearly impossible to find any under 48" long that are 40 watts. The ones they have at Lowe's & Home Depot are only 20 watts. I asked at Lowe's and they told me that it isn't possible to make a 40 watt bulb that small.

I'm not sure that's entirely true, b/c I did see some on the GE website, but everywhere I called locally didn't have them. I even called specialty fish aquarium stores, because that's what this type of bulb is made for. Even they didn't carry any. The two websites I found online that had them had to special order them so it would take several weeks to get them. Plus, they are pretty expensive - the bulb itself plus special shipping since it is breakable.

Right now, I have the 24" fixture from Lowe's with 2 20 watt bulbs in it. My seedlings are doing ok, but not the best. You have to keep the lights directly on top of the seedlings (just not touching them), and if the pots stick out from the sides of the light, the seedlings will get leggy.

Some others here suggested getting 2 24" fixtures, so you have 4 bulbs, and that can increase your growing space. I haven't tried that yet because I really don't want to spend another $40, so I only have 25 tiny cells under the lights.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

I was toying around with my seedlings today and wondered: Can I mount cheapie screw-in sockets to a board and use a series of the screw in flourescent bulbs?

Are the screw in bulbs the same as the tubes? This sems like a reasonable alterative if it will work.... expecially since I have a load of the screw in flourescents on hand already.

Thoughts?

No seedling tolerates over-watering for long. But due to different root structures, the results just show up sooner in some seedlings than it does with others. ;)

Most over-water their seedlings even when they think they don't. So if you think you have over-watered, the odds are you are right.

Dave

I'm having a parallel experience. My nightshades are strong and happy but my brassicas and lettuces are leggy, small, weak and not growing. I too think I've overwatered the whole crop (the surface of many cells has a white dusty covering - fungus/mold? they're growing in a "seeding mix" of peat moss, perlite, limestone and some sort of wetting agent) and I've not watered them for days and days but the "soil" still hasn't dried out.

Will the plants be able to recover from this overwatering? Should I help them inside for a little while first or just get them outside ASAP for best outcome?

Do I need to transplant the tomatoes/etc. inside, because of that dust on their soil?

Thank you so much for your help!
Regina

Also remember that after a transplant (which sounds like it was the best thing to do in your situation), the plants will act like they're doing nothing for anywhere from a few days to a little over a week. In this time, they are actually re-rooting/getting attached to their new home, literally. Give them a bit of time (and maybe a little diluted 1/4 strength fertilizer) and they will start growing again.

I actually do have the ones who are ready, already transplanted into new bigger pots with new soil. Maybe they just need some time to sit yet. I was afraid to fertilize more since the seed starter is supposed to have it already in it. SHould I fertilize anyway?

Also, I always grew in a cool room. I didn't think about the possibility of them wanting to be warmer. Everything I grew before grew like the dickens in a cool room. I don't have a set-up to keep them warmer. I would have to put them outside. WHich is ok for most days except for rainy days like today.

Is it possible that my lights have lost their power. They don't look dimmer than a couple new ones I had. I can get new ones, but don't want to just waste money.
\ thanks for the helpful suggestions. Julie

I did fertilize... and it was right after I fertilized that they all started to curl up and turn yellow. The tomatoes and peppers are loving it, but the broccoli and brussels sprouts are apparently getting burnt by it. I added 1 capful of Neptune's harvest seaweed and fish fertilizer (2-3-4) and diluted it with 2 cups of water. I think that mix may have been too strong, come to think of it... Would that cause a yellow shriveling?

Yes probably too strong. The recommended amount on the bottle of Neptunes is 1 T per Gallon of water and halving it is recommended for young seedlings.

Jon

Isn't it exciting?!!! I'm having so much fun watching everything come up...my kitchen table is COVERED. I never expected that the moss roses with seeds like little grains of sand would come up, or the verbena...they were some of the quickest!

The black eyed susan vine, however, was one of the first things I planted and one of the things I wanted most and it's not coming up. I'm so bummed.

Sorry about the black eyed susan. Maybe it's one of those that needs a lot of time? My parsley self seeded, but it took a whole year! Yes, it is exciting!! I transplanted my sweet peas outside a couple months ago, and they are now blooming. I mixed them with roses in a vase and they make the kitchen smell very sweet! Hang in with Susan! Anything with that name has got to be pretty good!
Suzi

What about Miracle Grow? 1/2 teaspoon per 2 quarts. I read somewhere that works?

This way there no need to feed them early on. Because, the garden soil and MG peat moss already have food and nutrient.

I agree. Not to mention, the seed leaves contain nutrients as well. They're full of the starches and minerals needed to keep the plant going not only until it can make true leaves aboveground, but also to get its roots established enough to gather what it needs below ground.

I mix a small amount of time-release fertilizer pellets into my potting mix when I make it (generally a mixture of peat and composted manure, but sometimes with vermiculite, perlite, or sand, depending on the type of plant). That way the nutrient concentration slowly increases as the plant ages and its needs increase, but you never have to worry about over-fertilizing (which, IMHO, is worse than under-fertilizing).

If the root was still small, it'll reorient itself. Plants are neat that way. Just try to avoid planting bulbs upside down ;)

And yes, the first thing to come out is a root. The general pattern is seed coat cracks, root emerges, root/stem pushes rest of seed out of the soil, cotlydons (seed leaves) emerge (sometimes still stuck to the seed coat), seed coat falls off, first true leaves develop, and you're off!

Upon further observance, it appears I had nothing to worry about. Out of pure curiosity I pulled one of the artichoke seedlings out to see how it was growing. (I have plenty of spares) It had already grown from 1/2" long little thing to over 5"! In just 2 days! I was impressed. I haven't checked on the 3 planted outside, this was one planted inside in a 16 oz cup. If the rain ever stops, I'll go see if the ones outside have surfaced, though I won't be pulling them out of the ground :)

Thanks cyrus. Yes I'm sure trying to germinate conifer seeds (or probably any kind of seeds) in a damp environment like a plastic bag could easily cause mold problems.

I have more seeds to try, so I will try to soak them for a day or two in water then plant them in a small container filled with sand or perhaps Turface. Hopefully both of those "soils" will help avoid mold issues and also help reduce the chances of damping off problems.

Thanks again.

Dave

Try soaking the conifer seeds briefly in hydrogen peroxiode 3%, then fill a spray bottle with peroxide diluted to 1% or use chamomile tea and use that instead of water to keep the paper towel damp. I also think coffee filters work better than paper towels.