6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
When the stem containing the spend flowers/seed heads drys, I cut it off the plant and insert it upside down into a large brown paper grocery bag. I mark the plant name on the bag and put the bag in the house in a well ventilated closet or any dry area where they will be out of the way. In the evenings during the winter I collect the seed which has fallen into the bottom of the bag and separate the seeds from the chafe. I package and lable the seed and store it for next planting season in a cool dry place. Al
I bought a case of 4 inch plastic pots 15 years ago and am still using them. I just rinse them out at the end of the season and reuse them the next year. I will probably still be using pots from this purchase ten years from now. Just don't leave them sitting out in the sun all year. Spread over 15 years the cost per a use is probably now almost negligible.
True, true. I've had good luck covering them (maybe an upside down clear storage bin, or glass cake pan, or something). (But if it starts to get warm, take it off!! I formed a nice tarp-table seedling oven last spring) I'll be watching your blog to see how you get along :-)
If you can make it to home depot you can buy a good fluorescent light set up for under $20.
Lithonia Lighting 2 Bulb, 40 Watt Fluorescent Shop Light Model 1233 $9.98 - this comes with a little bit of chain but you you might want to buy extra chain and extra S hooks in case you want to install the light some where at eye level.
The bulbs are sold separately but Home Depot has them for a reasonable price. We bought a 2 pack of Philips 40 watt T12 bulbs for $7 but they also have the T8 32 watt which I'm considering (lower wattage for same light output) for $6 for the 2 pack.
The strangest things? Well, I've wintersown in sawed-off vodka and V-8 bottles! ;-0
Funny, I used to think the bottoms of 2-liter soda bottles, milk jugs and water bottles were strange, but they're just so "normal" now they don't even make the list.
Prof
Yes you will need some sort of tray to set the paper pots in, they get quite soft and easy to tear so need to be well supported. You can recycle something like the plastic trays that meat comes in or buy a tray - whichever you prefer. The paper pots drain very well all on their own. Water the plants from the bottom and don't let them sit in water too long - just until they absorb enough to wet the top of the soil.
I make my paper pots a bit thicker than usual (4 thicknesses) so they last longer but if they break down too soon just plop them into foam coffee cups with holes punched in the bottoms.
Light - 1 fixture may not be enough for all those plants unless you are only doing a couple pots of each. Normally 16 hours a day but you can go 24 if you wish, some do and claim it speeds growth. The important factor is keeping the light VERY close to the top of the plants.
You'll need some sort of bottom heat source to get the seeds to germinate and once the plants sprout do NOT leave any dome or plastic cover on them.
Good luck! and enjoy.
Dave
Second one is pawpaw, they take a while to send anything up, first one just came up in the last few ones. The other is some kind of vine, but the seeds of several similar vine species were mixed up, so I am yet to besure what it is. It's growing like mad though
For most seeds to germinate, the amount of light makes no difference. The amount of heat/moisture is the key to germination. When leaves appear and produce carbohydrates by photosyntheses THEN the amount of light is critical. With light meters sold at nursery suppliers everywhere for $25 reading directly in foot candles, I am surprised so many gardeners guess at the amount of light at their seedlings. Al
Even though everything I have read told me that the seeds don't need light, I put them under them anyway, as they had not sprouted in a week and it's cold in my house (I was getting impatient!). I don't have a warming mat yet, and perhaps the warmth from the light helped them(?)...it could have just been their time to sprout anyway, but I figured that it couldn't hurt much to do it.
The seedlings are now happy under the lights, so I suppose if one has no other light alternatives, the under cabinet setup could work, with the right accommodations.
With the success that has been made with the setups that many gardeners here have talked about(I'm referencing shop lights, but I am sure there are others), I probably wouldn't buy a light meter. The cost isn't prohibitive, but as a newbie, I don't know if I'd feel the need for it just yet...of course, I am a gadget gal, and as I learn more over time that may change.
LOL @ Dave. My experience growing tomatoes, or anything else for that matter, goes back 20 years. I am a lover of earht, and what God has created, not that of science. So that, my friend, is the difference between the two of us.
Don't you scientist types like to experiment? LoL
Not a scientist, just an old farmer with about 40 more years of taking care of the earth than your 20 contessa. And those years have taught me to NOT buy into far out practices like way too early seed starting and so-called "super-cropping".
Also, while many experienced tomato growers advocate pruning tomato plants, none advocate pinching plants back - which is a totally different practice - because all it does is reduce your production and stress your plants. Before advocating a very questionable practice to new growers it may help to learn how tomato plants grow, how the node length controls production, how the suckers that develop on the plant dictate production of fruit, learn what happens to the circulatory system when you pinch dicots like tomatoes and how that damage interferes with nutrient delivery to the leaves and fruit.
There are also a number posts from reputable gardeners over on the Tomato forum on how to grow tomatoes in short season areas, some of them far north of you with even shorter seasons. They discuss methods and varieties that work well and have been used by many. I strongly encourage you to read about soil pre-warming and the various methods of protection for planting younger plants much earlier. Bottom line is that you adjust the environment, not the plants.
lindalana - great info! Thanks for sharing it.
Dave
Last year was the first for me starting seeds under grow lights. I was amazed at the results I had! It was awesome!
I am getting a bit ansy to turn the lights on and start planting also. I do believe I will hold off a bit even though a house I pass on my way home from work has their grow lights on already. I struggle with when to start seeds and when to transplant into the garden safely.
I only repotted my tomotoes once last year, but believe I will do more this year, as lindalana does.
I have heard it said that there is as many ways to do something as there are gardeners... seems that is pretty close to the truth. I enjoy hearing about others' ideas, successes and failures. I take what I can use and leave the rest. I have learned volumes from lurking here. Thanks to all those that share.
Thank you for all the help, you guys. Very informative. I've never bothered with seeds that say "needs vernalization" before...but these Blue Hobbit eryngiums look so darn cute! The seed package says "Needs vernalization for flowering the following summer." Anyway, I seeded them today, in case they don't germinate when they are supposed to. What do you think of putting them on top of the fridge? They don't need light to germinate. Is that too warm? Not warm enough? Just until they germinate of course...
Thanks again.
Light and gentle bottom heat usually very helpful in germination of most seeds/ few need dark and few germinate best at cool temps/. If you have old fridge it will produce some heat, new ones do not do that, you might get it heated only by the height of the fridge and heat collecting at higher level of the room. Anyway, I use usually old electric blanket or heated floor in my bathroom. Most plants will germinate without heat it will just take longer as conditions will not be optimal.
If you put a plastic tent over them it give you a higher huminty which will collect condesition and drip on the seeds.
I use one of thouse seed trays with the clear plastic cover. On my tom. seed I didn't water at all .Works GREAT and they stayed damp. (sorry for the spelling)
Sow completely covered for the flax and lilies. I'm not sure about the African Foxglove at all... You'll want to allow one full year for germination for the toad lilies. But it may not take that long for all of them. Lilies and flax self-sow very easily so I really recommend an outdoor sowing method. If you don't have a cold frame, please go to the wintersowing forum and read the FAQ on how to make a mini coldframe.
Ceratotheca triloba - African Foxglove - 6-8 weeks before the last frost date. Barely cover the seeds, germination in approx 7 - 10 days. Annual
Toad lily, tricyrtis, fresh seed - sow barely covered 65-70F for germination in 30-90 days. Dry stored seed: Tricyrtis hirta, latifolia, and maculata, Sow 64-70F for 2-4 weeks, move to 40F for 4-6 weeks, move to warmer but still cool, 50F, for germination. Tricyrtis macropoda, dry stored seed , sow 40F, germination irregular, often several months