6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I am not sure about the difference between annual and perennial poppies and winter sowing... but I know that no matter what kind of poppies I have, I have had the best like spreading them over the snow, like was suggested to you, in the areas where you would like them to appear. I missed the snow one year, and made ice cubes with the seeds in them and it worked fine too.
The one thing I really recommend though, is don't be afraid of weeds. One thing that is very commmon for people that are new to sowing plants, particularly ones that the yare not sure exactly "where" they are going to come up (because the seed was scattered) is they pluck out the seedlings thinking they are weeds! lol. Well, really not funny!
What I do is if I am not sure that a plant is a weed, I let it grow a little. Once you get a pair of true leaves, you may be able to tell if it is a weed, or your plant (poppy in this case). If you are thinking "gee, I have never seen that type of weed before" then I suggest letting it grow a little more until you are more sure, or someone can help you identify it.
You don't want weeds to get really established, but letting a suspected weed grow on for a few weeks is not usually a huge problem, afterall, you should have many more opportunities to pull it later!
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Thank you HOmemommy, Sewobssessed, and Mor28 for taking your time to reply.
Each of you gave me good suggestions!
I would separate out the sprouts from the seeds that have not sprouted. put the ones that have sprouted into an open tray, buy another black tray, or even just get a roasting pan / baking dish *something* to put them in temporarily. Put the sprouts back under the lights.
Take the tray that you likely have a humidity dome (clear plastic top) for, and put the unsprouted back in it. If you don't have a lid, then get one. Again, just a couple $$. I like to provide stubborn seeds with some bottom heat. My favourite source, is a home heating vent. Put a grate on a heating vent, then the tray on top.
the marigolds should not be giving you problems. They are pretty easy to germinate. Where did the seed come from? As for the brussel sprouts and spinich, I am really not sure exactly what they need... May wish to google it.
Any variety that say on the packet "direct sow after all danger of frost has passed - can be direct sowed in containers just as in the ground with no problem.
But for those that need an indoor headstart (indicated on the packet normally by saying start indoors 6-8 weeks prior to last frost) the results are pretty dismal if you try direct seeding them.
Marigolds, zinnas, poppies, etc. do well if direct seeded. If you will post over on the Annuals Forum here they can tell you exactly which flowers need indoor starts and which can be direct seeded.
Dave
Yes the weather has been very odd lately. February is usually mild here and it's been up and down all month. My cannas were coming up in January and then a cold front came in and made them die back again. I didn't know they were up until after the damage was done.
Now I have been covering and uncovering my plants at night. I have done it five times already.
hi
you will want to turn it on and see how hot it gets if it is too hot you'll burn the seedlings and dry out the soil to fast.
I use 100 watt equivalent compact florecents(draws like 23 wats) for my over flow from the shop lights and they seem to work fine.
michelle
Freezing only works if the seeds are well dried first and most home seed savers just don't dry their seeds that well. Any moisture left in the seeds will freeze and rupture the cell walls - end result, if not mush, in non-viable seeds.
Professional seed suppliers have access to much better drying equipment and flash freezing equipment not available to the home seed saver.
And freezing isn't necessary anyway. With the exception of a few flower varieties and members of the allium family, most all seeds will store fine for many years if just kept cool, dry, and out of direct sun or high humidity.
You will find many discussions about how to properly save and store seeds over on the Seed Saving forum here (linked at the top of the page on this, the Growing from Seed Forum).
Dave
I have never started any lettuce or spinach indoors--always direct seeded in the garden and they germinated just fine. This year I am toying with doing lettuce in a big pot just so I can start it sooner, get lettuce sooner, and the pot can be moved indoors if we get really low temps late in the season.
One year I grew leeks from seed and I did start those inside and then transplanted them later into the garden.
Does anyone have this information (http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html) on a spreadsheet file that would share it? I would rather not duplicate someone else's effort.
Thanks,
Martha
What are you planting them in? Would it be possible to individually "lift" some of the smaller seedlings up closer to the light? I have one fixture right now growing two different trays, at different heights. I separated the faster growing taller seedlings, from the slower growing ones. The tray with smaller seedlings, is propped up with a book ;-) Perhaps you can try a similar approach.
As for 2 lights or 4, that is an individual decision. Of course, more light is always better. But from all I have heard, one 2 light fixture is enough to get most seedlings started and ready for planting 6-10 weeks later.
Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. Think I am going with two tube 2ft'rs, in a foil inclosed area. Hopefully that will be enough light bouncing around to keep them/some from getting leggy. But I plan on sticking around, so I plan on posting pics and what not on the progress. Just so folks can learn from my mistakes or from what worked right!
Later.
Rob
There are two threads about soil blocks over in the SqFt Forum.
One thread, which is linked below is for making the soil blocks...
A second thread talks about how well they are holding up, and a second making method that is VERY inexpensive. I'll link it in another post.
Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Block making
I think it is a normal fungus, the seedling will be ok, just stop watering the ones that have it and let the the soil dry out under the lamps a little bit. You can also dab the fuzzy stuff with a qtip dipped in bit of diluted peroxide mixed with water. Mix a tsp of peroxide with a 1/2 cup of water, dip a qtip in it and dab the fuzzy stuff.
Dave's Garden has someone there that has made a spreadsheet. Any visitor can see and/or print it out. Anyone who belongs to Dave's Garden is eligible to add to it. The beauty of this particular spreadsheet is that it is done by gardeners who have actually experienced the growing. I don't know the website, but I bet you can find it. (I have it bookmarked and don't have to type it any more.) Judy
the above referenced spreadsheet is right here:
Here is a link that might be useful: seed spreadsheet
You have fungus growth, common problem with peat pots and pellets when they are kept too wet. Let them dry out until the fungus growth disappears - it won't take long - usually no more than 2 days and placing a small fan in the area to create a gentle breeze will help speed up the process.
If you have already cut back on the watering and fungus is still apparent, reduce the water more. You can scrape some of it off and you can mist the peat pellets (not the plants) with a dilute 1:10 mix of hydrogen peroxide and water.
Your seedlings are getting too tall because they are not getting nearly enough light - windows very seldom work - and if you review all the FAQs and discussions here you'll find that 16-18 hours of intense, broad-spectrum light is needed to prevent "leggyness". Read about the fluorescent lights set up most of us use. ;)
No you cannot snip them off. That kills the seedling. All you can do now is transplant them into new containers and plant them as deeply as possible, burying most of the stem.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Dave
i had seedlings in a window, and they kept getting taller and taller and taller!! I got them under a light and the magically stopped growing! I thought it was a bright enough window, large, south facing, heats up my dinning room on a sunny day. It was not bright enough!
You really need to get them under a light. I have in the past, saved some tall plants by staking them. could use Skewers to do it. However, it won't help much with the tipping problem. Then, when you go to plant in a larger pot, plant them deeper.
Good idea. I have hundreds of jars I've acquired over the years so I'm okay there, but I buy lids any time I see them at a very good price. I still have some Pomona's Pectin left over, but this coming week I'm going to the only store that I know that carries it (about 35 miles away) and buy up a good supply that will take me through the rest of this year. My husband says I'm a hoarder, but I'm just someone who does think ahead.
Where do you buy jars? I've looked at Walmart and haven't found them. I picked up a few Ball jars at the Good Will making sure to check the rims for chips and flaws.