6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
A third choice is to sow and put the pots outdoors now, either in a cold frame or someplace they are protected from foraging birds, rodents....or you can protect by putting a piece of screening or chicken wire over the pots.
Fall sowing lets mother nature take care of the temperatures and at a natural progression - I've sown seeds for several things this month and have the pots in tiered carts on my deck. I top seed pots with a layer of grit or very fine aquarium gravel for those things that will take several months to germinate - discourages moss, algae.
You could sow and leave indoors if you are sterilizing all your materials - sowing in potting soil indoors in an enclosed space can lead to some interesting fungal things growing on the soil surface when you are keeping them moist, and, you lose what could be some benefit of fluctuating day/night temperatures in conditioning your seeds.
I would do that preppyjock but I have no way of knowing if they are genetically pure from the supermarket...and the kinds I am looking for are not carried in markets around here...its sometimes hard to find anything with spice beyond simple Tobasco sauce!
Georgez5il, I posted in the pepper and hydro forums already :-)
Still looking for seed donors but I think I have my hydro system questions answered, so thanks to those of you who have responded already!
an orange seed will OLNY produce a orange tree BUT the fruit may not be like the parent it will NEVER produce a lemon/or marigold. That said your pepper will produce a pepper plant BUT the fruit may not be exactly like the parent by the way the fruit will not be a "hot" pepper but will be a "sweet pepper"
OK, that makes more sense. Those 'seeds' attached to the stalk at leaf axils are bulbils (baby bulbs) :) These don't often produce mature seed in North America is what I'm reading.
Plant them now, either in your garden or in pots - don't try to hold them until Spring.
FYI - we have similar taste. I was in one of our local nurseries yesterday checking availability of a shrub my neighbor wants - a lilium tigrinum/tiger lily in bloom caught my eye and followed me home. I'm not even sure yet where it's going to fit in, just somewhere.
Thanks Morz8,
I think the older I get, the more I like the old fashioned
type plants. The plants in question have been in the same
spot since I moved there in 1992. So, I like they they are
long lived. I sure hope the baby bulbs grow, if not
I am going to go dig them up and move the whole plant next
spring.
I try to stay out of nurseries, I always end up bringing
something home and then not having a place to put it.
Hence, 5 plants in pots in my yard right now that need homes....
arrgh!
You would either want to put the lights on chains so you could lower and raise them to keep them within a couple of inches of your seedlings; or be prepared to raise the seedling tray up and then down as the seedlings grow.
I start a lot of seeds early in the house and use typical flourescent lights for this, no special bulbs required. Although you do want the light directly above the seedlings, even if it means you need several lights next to each other. Otherwise your seedlings will grow spindly towards the light.
Hope that helps :)
I've grown under grow lights before.. and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I am going to try something new this year and winter sow my seeds. It's almost free, as you recycle containers and don't use electricity. Also, I don't have a lot of room inside and the grow light setup that we had in my mom's garage has been pushed to the corner since my dad started raising angelfish.
There is a winter sowing forum here or you can visit wintersown.org for more information.
Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown
How do you know when to harvest coneflower seedheads? I have some that look pretty dry on the plant, but they still feel as if they are moist. Also, I just dug up some wild coreopsis and transplanted them to my garden. Will they come back next year?
Gnomey, yes, I believe excluding light helps on pansies, as long as you have one of those clear lids over the flat before you put down the newspaper. I think you get better germination at about 65°F, so put them in a cool spot. I think it's too early to start sweet peas in lower elevation portions of SC, but I think it's OK for snaps and alyssum. I usually started poppies and sweet peas (as well as larkspur) in October.
T-Tomatoes, it will take considerably more than 2 weeks for snaps to germinate, about the earliest I've had is about 18 or so days, so I'd advise patience, as well as for the nasturtiums and echinaceas. Nasturtiums might want cooler weather than what you'd be having now.
--Ron
You may want to post this on the seed exchange forum. Here is a link.
You should get more responses there.
Andrea =)
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Exchange
Seeds are sexually produced and the sex organs are located in the flowers and that is where you will find the seeds. Al