6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Actually you will need at three years before you can harvest your asparagus. This lets the plant to establish itself, and become a better producer. Picking too soon will take strength from the plant and it will not produce as it should. Also the variety you have is both male and female plants and will produce seed each year. The best time to plant where you asre located is a guess for me, I would think that the spring would be the best. I live in zone 7 and that is what I would do. If you plant this late in the year the new roots will not get enough time to establish healthy roots. Also you might pick a very few plants the second year, but I would wait for the third year.
Thats what I'm doing with what I'm growing from seed. After its ready I'll graft it from one of my nursery purchased trees. Even without grafting IMO there would be a good chance of getting something viable but I'm in the south and need to make sure it sets with low chill hours ;)
Go to youtube and search "grafting trees videos"(without quotes) You will get about 40 vids demonstrating various techniques. I'd just beg a branch from granmas tree when they prune and then graft onto nursury rootstock. Lots faster than growing from seed.
This year I had about 70 to 90 seedlings pop up in the gravel between stepping stones under my arbor. My experience has been the same as Lisas'.
Some plants do best with lean, infertil soil, and little to no covering of soil.
I guess if I was trying to grow them indoors, I would try some experiments. Some in sand, some in potting mix, some in perlite, etc.
It gets cool in the evenings where I live, so I can grow columbine in the spring or fall. I typically start mine early in the spring and I do like to winter sow them.
Columbine require light to germinate. Sprinkle on the top of soil and don't cover. You can press them lightly into the soil too. I don't press but water mine into the soil.
Columbine can have a longer germination time. I read up to 25 days. You have to be patient. :)
I know this sounds old fashioned.
Your plant wants its first fruit to have everything.
If you can, take your first fruit, let it ripen on the vine, then harvest it when you can no longer bear it.
Take its seed and wash and cleanse it as carefully as you can. Let it dry naturally in a cool place.
When the seeds are dry, store them in a air tight container until you need them.
I grew a veggie garden for years, and the best peppers I ever grew came from a store-bought thick walled huge bell.
I just saved the seeds on a whim. Let dry on a paper towel, and stored in a screw top jar.
I've seen directions for saving tomatoes, but cant remember them. I think they have to float in water. One great thing about tommies, they stay viable for years.
Pondy
Rule #1. The seed will germinate & grow BUT!!! may take 5 years + to flower & set fruit. AND the frut will not look or tast like the cherry you ate to get the seed.
These seedlings so produced are used as root stock to graft on to.
Rule #2 Apple, Almond, cherry, nectarine, peach, apricot & plum REQUIRE a 12 week period of temperatures at 40F (4.4 C) to germinate While Lemon, lime, grapefruit Avacodo do not need a cold period to germinate
If you can afford it Sebnoker, you will save 2 years and get much better fruit by purchasing young trees that have already been grafted than by trying to grow your own from seed. I'm not familiar enough with Spain to advise you on which trees are the best for you.
from what I have read, 6200-6500K Lights work fine, I believe your problem was more a lack of intensity, I had a similar problem. Lower temp lights ( 3000k range) are used when plants are flowering, you can also mix temps, for example putting in a 3000 K tube with a couple 6500K, kind of making it full spectrum.
Theobromine is found in chocolate and the leaves of Theobroma cacao. It's effects are less than caffeine on humans, but both can be toxic to dogs.
Chowdan, make sure any seeds you send meet US ag. import requirements, you don't want to get Tempskya in trouble. Also, I've linked a GW thread by people who grow cacao - you might also try contacting one of them for viable seeds.
Here is a link that might be useful: GW cocoa growing discussion
Cacao is pretty much a Tropical plant, grows all over the place here in the Dominican Republic ( Cacao Exporting Country ) I have seen that some locals out in the "country" will place seeds out on tarps, that have been placed on the asphalt roads, to dry seeds. as for a source for seeds online, try : montosogardens.com they have "Theobroma cacao" seeds listed.
I think by little cap she means the seead coat that the cotyledons are still breaking through. If so, let them be.
The vermiculite has no nutrients, so you must transplant soon, or at least water with a soluble fertilizer like dilute Miracle Gro or fish emulsion. But I would let the cotyledons break all the way free first before transplantation.
It's a touchy stage. Moisture control is very important, you can't let them dry all the way out, but they no longer need (or want) to be constantly moist as during germination. Full summer sun can fry the little seedlings.
Yeah, sorry. To keep all the measurements the same:
3 parts perlite
1 part coco fiber
1/2 part washed sand
1/15 part slow release pellet fertilizer
Sometimes I forego the slow release fertilizer and give a once a week boost of dilute, soluble fertilizer like fish emulsion, Miracle-Gro or Lady Bug.
I wintersowed dwarf hollyhocks, mixed colors this year. I did not start them until April 7th. They are now blossoming. This variety is known to blossom the first year.
A lot of other hollyhocks are biennials. They will blossom the second year. A lot of things can happen to hollyhock though.
Some of my stands of hollyhock are having a difficult time with all the rain. I have rust setting in. I am busy amending all the beds with corn meal as well as the usual applications of manure. I am spraying them and cutting off the badly infected leaves. The clean up will have to be really good this year as well.
I recall hollyhocks of my childhood as being a lot more carefree. They came back every year and seemed to do quite well!
Thanks Tom. I'll mix up some H202. I started these in pellets because I didn't have a container ready for planting. My garden is limited to the deck these days. Tomorrow I'll get these few seedlings in the ground along with some new corn.
I've been looking at pics of mychorrhizal fungi online, and had myself halfway convinced that was what I was looking at here.
As for the water - I was afraid they would dry out on the heating pad. It's been several years since I started seeds of anything.
Do you presoak your corn kernels before planting?
If you keep them covered, they won't dry out. They will just be in a very humid environment.
I don't presoak because it's catch as catch can to get them planted. I usually plant as I have time and not on a schedule. I don't think it hurts anyhow. I just have never presoaked my seeds.
Good gardening,
Tom