6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
looks good
Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by the Seat of my Pants
Quite the set up there!!!!!!
Everything looks great!
Here is a link that might be useful: Little River Nursery
This is a definite nutrition problem , I would go with what petzold says . Another questions, where are you obtaining your seeds from?
Here is a link that might be useful: LittleRiverNursery
Last year I tried 15 of the Jiffy pellet pots. 0 had mold in them and 0 damping off. That surprised me because I used the Park's seed starting system and lost half of those.
I had to take the Jiffy plants out of the plastic tray they came in as soon as they started to grow (accidental crunching of the flimsy plastic tray...) and I put them on a regular dinner plate. They lived on the plate until they were planted out. Maybe the tray crunching was a blessing in disguise?
A spray with a VERY dilute mixture of 3% H2O2 and water gets rid of any mold. Last year was the 1st time in MANY years of using Jiffy7s that I have even seen any mold. I have NEVER(knocking on wood) had any problem with damping off with the Jiffy7s. I have been using them since their introduction and have had 0 problems. Watering from the bottom is the key. IMHO they are great.
JMO,
Tom
Your Frost Free Day is May 7, so give it another week, given how the seasons seem to be changing a bit over the last few year. That would make it May 14.
Tomatoes and peppers will take (IMO) from 10-12 weeks from the time they germinate until they are large enough to transplant assuming you want a decent size (8-10" tall with four sets of leaves). Add a week to that to allow the plants to harden off, so you are looking at 11-13 weeks. Counting backward, two weeks in May, four weeks in April, four weeks in March which leaves you with 1-3 weeks in February. Since it will probably take a week to germinate the seeds, if you sow them now or within the next three weeks, you should be set to go.
Mike
thank you very much mike.... i will do some weekend farming next week and plant them next friday..... im really not loking for the PERFECT start, but any start is better than last years...... all i did was sow them outside, rather late too..... THANKS again...
God bless
I start my seeds from previous years experience. For example least year I started geraniums late and they grew okay so this year I started them first and they will be blooming when its time to plant. I pay attention only to the frost date I can keep them healthy till then
Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by the Seat of my Pants
I started my violas in December by putting the seeded "pots" on top of the steam radiator covers in my house. Perhaps you can start the seeds inside first, then move out to the hoophouse once they're germinated. I did the same thing last year for my impatiens (not NG): started on top of radiator covers in March, and they looked great by mid May. The impatiens were put on South facing windows while staying inside. I'm finding the violas need to be under a CPF lightbulb to flourish, but I give them some sunlight when available. Hope the picture shows up:
I start mine in the unheated basement area of my house. Then after germination I bring them my Germination room(my DW calls it). There they can receive ample light. I have a couple blooming now
Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by the Seat of my Pants
I use both lights in the house and greenhouse.
I start the seeds in the house under lights. Once they've sprouted and have 4-6 true leaves on them, then I transfer out to the greenhouse. But only once I know the greenhouse temp won't dip below about 45-50 degrees. I usually end up putting a heater in mine for a few weeks as a backup for extra cold nights.
I'm always nervous to put them out to the greenhouse so I usually pick a variety of the seedlings I have sprouted as sacrificial lambs to go out to the greenhouse first.
Once the greenhouse lows are warm enough, then I can continue to start seeds right out there and "close down" the light operation in the house.
I only use the lights in the house for two reasons:
1- to give me a little jump start on some slow growing things since my growing season is so short.
2- to passify my impulse to grow stuff! LOL
you can start them in the greenhouse, but you'll have to supply bottom heat for germination and you can't let the temp go below 50F. You'll still have to keep them moist and check on them every day, but you won't have to do the hardening off part. Growing in a greenhouse solves some issues, but it's trickier than inside under lights (unless it's like, really climate controlled). Until I got the hang of it I still did some things under lights.
Some pitfalls you might encounter: in direct sun, a little greenhouse can heat up really quickly and bake seedlings. A shade cloth can help this, or opening it up during warm, sunny days. flats can also dry out faster in these conditions than you'd experience inside, so be prepared to mist more often, or put a light row cover fabric over the flats. If your greenhouse doesn't have a heater be prepared to bring all the plants into your house on cold nights, then back out during the day.
Tomatoes will grow really fast when it's warm, so if you start your plants in early-mid April then you'll eliminate some of the issues with cold. If I had to choose, I'd go with transplanting smaller tomato plants into a garden than one that got stressed when it was young.
Snowdrift (Malus x Snowdrift) isn't going to come true from seed...you will get a crabapple but it could be very different than the one you sowed. If it's really an ornamental tree of a certain size and habit you are looking for, best to buy a sapling - and it will be grown on grafted rootstock to reduce the tendency to sucker.
The seeds should have been removed from the dried fruit. Will require approx 3 months moist chill; after chilling germination should take place in 1 - 2 months.
(1) The seed need a cold treatment at 40F for 2-3 months. this can be achieved by storing seed in refrigator or sowing them outside in the fall (1b) Depth of seed just lightly cover them (2) Normally not all the seed will be viable BUT what % varies from plant, season growing conditions, time left on plant etc etc... may test butif you just go ahead & plant ... and if you get to many plants give the extras to neighbors, friends
Most all reputable seed suppliers will offer dwarf varieties of both. TGS (linked above) is excellent but there is also Cooks Kitchen Garden, Johnnys Seeds, Seeds of Change, and many more.
The Garden Bazaar directory here provides links to 3 pages of seed vendors. ;)
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Bazaar - Seed Vendors
I,m trying Bush, Bush Champion and Big Dwarf from Tomato Growers Supply. Good Luck,
John