6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Kiddo:As Dave said-some seed have a short life-Onions,parsnips etc.Fresh seed each year is best but i would not throw year old seed out unless your long on money & short on time.Sometimes a little extra bottom heat helps.This year i had luck starting 4 varieties onions[old seed].I did seed heavier-25-50%.I got 50-88% germination.So during this cool[damn cold]winter it's fun to seed/grow under lights.Just my opinion--fez920 Wi Z5
They need to be planted almost immediately, within 24 hours, or bacterial contamination sets in. You can extend it to 48 if you rinse and drain them at least a couple of times a day. And yes, seeds sprouted at the same time will mature at the same time if planted. Just sprout some more later.
Dave
Here are a couple of previous discussions on your questions with lots of tips on how you can do it.
Shelves, lights, some plastic or reflective material to enclose the shelves, and a small fan is all you need.
Hope it helps.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: starting seeds in unheated garage discussions
Please post this on the Aquatic Plant Exchange forum.
Thanks.
Here is a link that might be useful: Aquatic Plant Exchange
My experience is to thin them sooner rather than later, I've had good luck for a few years doing it. All my Kale that has been transplanted and survived but lost a few due to overseeding, it happens. I use a spoon and slide it an inch away parallel to the tap root and dig 2" past the length of the plant itself, it should lift out with a little help of your finger, have the hole in the new pot ready thats deeper than the lenght of the root. Then just place the seedling in its hole and slide the spoon out. Trial and error will teach a lot but a hint cant hurt. I would do this when the plant is like 3-4" tall, or when it has set its true leaves. The roots will bind quickly so its better sooner than later, I separated mine when they were just sprouting, about 2"-3" tall, I'd say its safe then for the broccoli.
I have snow on the mountain. It is a great ground cover that looks like hosta but smaller form and is a hardy perrenial. It grows in the sunny spots where hosta WONT.
Try Park Seeds co. www.parkseed.com their product is great and have had awesome outcome. Good Luck!!
Petzold6596 & Dave-
Thank you very much. I don't have a particular seed in mind.
I started to catalog my seeds this year and just wanted to be sure. As to not save seed of an undesirable offspring.....:)
Also, Thanks for the info on the corn Dave. I did not know that all corn are hybrid.
Have a great night all and thanks again for the help.
I stopped at the local Dollar Tree yesterday and was amazed at the seed display they had and the best part was they were 10 for $1.00 :>) They had a nice variety of flowers and veggies... So if you can get to a $ Tree store it will be worth it, I promise, I grew alot of there seeds last year and they did very well.
Christine
I'm way new at this, obviously. It never occured to me I might have to pot-up my starts. I used peat pellets for all my starts, lettuce, thyme, chives, onions, brussels sprouts are up so far. Assuming my last frost date is toward the end of April, I should be planting the lettuce in March, will I have to pot them up? How do I know that I need to?
If it becomes rootbound then it it should be transplanted. If you can spare 2 weeks then yes move to a larger pot, if not leave them be. Timing is everything if the roots don't become bound in time for final transplant then the roots can become too damages to repair themselves. Trial and error is the best because each plant grows at a different rate. One time for a slow growing plant can be different .
At least wait till the plant is somewhat well developed. I'm not sure how big it should be I run behind sometimes qand it depends on the needs of the type of plant. I would use a hot house to ease them into the chilling weather by using a portable heater when it freezes(used for over 20 years and still a good technique. Do not permanantly plant them until the last frost is over, you do not want them to get damaged.
When the plant becomes root bound is when I would go to larger pots, the pellet will have root mass growing all arount the outside of it. Remember to score(slightly rake a knife on the outside to slightly damage the roots to promote growth and to get it used to its new pot or environment. You shouldn't need to use larger pots, even my tomatoes that get 8-10 inches tall stay in their original containter until transplant.
Be sure they are getting lots of light and DO NOT give them too much water. Hide the spray bottle to prevent over use. Al