6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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!
Harold, it wouldn't be too late if you wanted to try -
Dig them back up, soak overnight, put in some moistened peat or perlite, or sterile sand, zip lock baggie or sealed container in your refrigerator until about Halloween. Then replant.
It all depends on whether the plants like cooler or warmer conditions. Spinach and lettuce I'd think want to be cooler, squash, tomatoes, green beans, okra, melons, corn, stuff like that probably wants it a bit warmer, but I don't think any like temps over 85° of 90°.
--Ron
Thanks, Ron. It appears that they survived the day I had them in the 'hot' window. Your answer makes a lot of sense. I was also thinking that they are more of a greenhouse type container while in the baggie in the window, so I've determined that it's probably just too hot there. My lettuce is the only one that appears it might not survive the torture it underwent in the hot window so far.
~Angela
Hmm, that's frustrating. I wonder about overwatering. Do you back off the water after germination? You don't want it to fully dry out, but you don't want it soggy either. For the beets, try soaking for an hour then planting directly.
The main seedling stem breaking sounds like damping off. Controlling the moisture should help and watering with weak chamomile tea can help prevent that fungal disease.
Sounds like they're reaching for light. When they stretch, the stalk isn't strong enough to support the growth, so they fall over. When you have them indoors, do you have them under lights, or in a sunny window? Under lights is better - no more than 2-4 inches from the light.
Deanna
And how many of us would happily enter into a disagreement between you and your mother? ;)
She is both right and wrong, as mothers are. SOME hybrids are sterile, that's true, but many will set viable seed - however that seed does not produce a plant that will bear fruit/vegetables identical to what you ate and in many cases you will be disappointed with flavor, quality, size. The new plant could have characteristics taken from either parent in the cross, and not necessarily the desirable characteristics .
Thanks so much for the tip on taping them to the window! That just gave me a whole lot more space. hee hee
I can't believe it, but it worked for me, too. I am dropping them in paper pots filled nearly to the top with soil and adding a little soil over top of the seedling right now.
There doesn't seem to be any real good info on what to do and when based on seeing a root develop and/or a stem... I am not waiting to see the stem, just going for it now with the root showing. I sure hope I'm doing this right.
~Angela
I just started the coffee filter baggie method less than a month ago, and let me just say that it is amazing! I collected seed from various plants, dianthus, snapdragon, alysum and they all sprouted within days. I'm also starting some store bought seed for periennals for fall planting. I'm experimenting with transfering them in different ways right now.
I have also yet to read exactly when is the best time to remove from the baggie and transfer to soil, so I do it when they have their two little "starter" leaves. (I forget the technial term.) I figure I shouldn't wait longer than that, but having those two little leaves going to put above soil really helps me.
Once they sprout I put them in little soiled filled newspaper pots or yogurt cups. If they fall off the coffee filter easily, I do it that way. If they are "stuck," I cut up the coffee filter and leave them attached to that and put them together in the soil. The FAQ has a tip about using a toothpick which can be handy to have on hand when doing this.
Once in a little soil, I leave them in the windowsill right below where they were taped in the baggie for one full day. But I figure they need to get in full sun as soon as possible. Plus, I get sick of moving them in and out and squirting them with a water bottle. So I just spend a few days setting them outside for longer bits each day, then after that, leave them out.
Right now I'm just trying different things with different plants as far as when I'm planting them in ground versus leaving them in some kind of little plastic pot or yogurt container. But either way, I also want them outside asap, I also hate keeping things with dirt inside as it's messy and attracts bugs and my kids can knock them over, lol. That is why I love this method as they are only inside in dirt a few days at most. They are either in a baggie where I can glance as to their progress however much I want but doesn't take constant watering, but they get planted and acclimated to the outdoor environment rathar quickly. But then again, I live in a mild climate and have a small house without the whole light set-up deal, so maybe that is why it works well for me.
Good luck, and definately check back what works well for you!
Thank you so much for responding. I guess these are often acquired knowledge from experience that new gardeners don't know of; we new thumbs always try to go by all the rules I guess!!
This is so far how the seeds are coming up..
On the left are lavender, top centre lemon balm, botton centre lemon grass, right rocket.
The white fuzzy seeds sound right....
I have had a whole flat of almost-ready-to- plant Dalsburgs die when watered from the top by mistake.... I now put that flat in a seperate section of my greenhouse and only water from the bottom until I plant out.
Good luck!
Andrea
Hi ya'll - I've collected my seed and now am just wondering - after pressing into the potting soil and bottom watering - approximately how long does it take (our temps are in the high 90's) for them to germinate?
Thanks again for all the help.
Linda
65,000K or 6500K?
All of the "daylight white" I have are labeled 6500K. The often unreliable Wikipedia says the sun is 5780K. I know some auto parts resellers claim their lights are 65,000K.
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.