6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
tournesol and jon, i grow celeriac just about every year from seed. I would transplant 3" seedling into individual pots now (i use square ones about 3.5"), put those into a flat and under lights. they'll develop a good root system and they sure look sweet, like miniature greenhouse foliage plants. then, whenever the soil and temps are right outside in your zone, you can plant them out. they're reasonably cold hardy and I wouldn't worry about a maverick frost, though if it's severe you might cover them up. it's good to get them out as early as possible, so you have nice big knobs by the end of summer and early fall. the one thing they need is constant moisture, so be sure to mulch them fairly heavily. GaryStPaul
Are you using peat pots?
And are they flopping over because of too much water, or because they are leggy?
I have two ways of watering, both seem to work ok.
1.) I water from the bottom, adding much more water then I know they will need. I let them sit for a few minutes, and when they look right, I drain off the excess.
2.) I don't let them dry out, when they get close to that point, I add some water to the bottom, but make sure it is not enough to get them soaking wet.
What type of plants are you growing? How many leaves / how call are they?
First, the medium holding the moisture for your moist chill must be sterile. Seeds sown outdoors, direct sown or self sown, aren't subjected to conditions that result in damp off of seedlings so sterility isn't an issue there. Algae, mold, bacteria can grow at the approx 40 of your refrigerator. Sterile moist sand and moist vermiculite are what I've used and had good results with both. The finer grade perlite would work too and I can't think why your cactus sand would not be reasonable unless I'm underestimating the size of the particles...it is just coarse sand, right?
A tiny zip lock with just a teaspoon or two or the moist medium takes care of the moisture need without taking up refrigerator space. When the time for the chill is complete, you can sow the contents of the bag - sand, vermuculite etc along with your seeds without having to extract the seeds.
Milkweed (asclepias) should not begin to germinate until brought back to warm (although seeds for some plants will)
Do you know which milkweed you have? Asclepias speciosa, fascicularis, physocarpa, syriaca will normally germinate without the chill.
Those are beauties and definitely ready for transplant, IMO. If you have a lot, I'd plant them in those plastic flats for later transplant directly to the garden (maybe 32 per flat). Or, if you want them bigger, you could pot them up, into, say, 2.5" plastic pots or a bit larger. You can use the same or other mix, it doesn't matter much. If you want, you could also start using a dilute 1/4 tsp to gallon or so liquid fertilizer. GaryStPaul
I sowed the fine seeds of Lobelia cardinalis & L. sessifolia on the surface of moist peat-based potting soil contained in a large flat pot. The pot was then covered with a pane of glass and placed in a shaded, warm greenhouse. The seeed germinated extremely well without light and quickly reached a size that could be potted in small pots. I believe warmth is much more important than light. Good luck!!!
I'm going to water today, and inoculate w/ some rich earth, I'll raise the lights a bit more before they go back under.
It may be a little early for pumpkins. Last year I had them in my greenhouse for too long and they turned yellowish and thin looking. But they are also very suseptable to powdery mildew, make sure when you water to try and and avoid getting leaves wet. The soil should be kept moist, but not soaking wet. Usually pumpkins should be started 2-3wks before the last frost.
Good Luck!!!
Maybe try soaking for a day or two, but the seeds don't remain viable very long and if they have to be stored, it's best done in the refrigerator where the temperature is more or less constant. If these have been dry and at room temperature for a year, treat sowing as an experiment and don't set your expectations too high.
Yes, great idea! They work like little mini-terrariums. Those of us that do a lot of Winter Sowing use many of them as well as milk jugs, plastic juice bottles and any other plastic container. If the container can't be cut to fit inside itself, duct tape works well. ;)
You can find many discussions on using them over on the Winter Sowing Forum here.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing Forum
I liked it so much I made a copy off the internet www.toppers--place.com/pop_bottle.pots.htm You never know how many people we know would like to know the same thing. After they are collected and made up there is more time than money if you ask around for some one who drinks soft drinks. Saves all that going into the trash can. If you don't have a sodiering gun a drill will do just as well. And they can be used over at least until they give out.
Yellowing of seedling leaves is almost always due to excessive watering. Peppers need to almost dry out between waterings. A mild dose of 1/4-1/2 strength liquid fertilizer the next time you water should pick them up.
Hopefully they are growing in a soil-less potting mix rather than soil? ;)
Dave
PS: to post a picture you have to first store it somewhere online - photobucket is a common album storage one. Then copy and paste the HTML URL for it (the one that begins
Your refrigerator shouldn't be too warm or your food wouldn't be safe...right around the 40F zone should be fine. Clothiers: Alstroemeria aurantiaca, hookerii, ligtu, and pulchella , Sow at Max. 5ºC (41ºF), germ. irregular, often several mos.
I find the refrigerator a bit of a pain for them though because they will start germinating at 40 and usually when you least expect it and don't notice...they can take a very long time, into months.
What would you do with the plants in your cold zone 4 though?
They are hardy outside here and self sow into some very odd places. When I've sown fresh seed, I give them a warm moist period in baggie of vermiculite on my desk about 6 weeks to copy mother nature, sow and move them outdoors where they will have some occasional overnight freezing in winter but they shouldn't need the frost. They start germinating in late winter while our temps are still averaging (day/night) approximately 40.