6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
No, you don't HAVE to pinch them, but you can if you wish to make them bushier. Just pinch off the growing tip of the central stem until it develops the bush shape you want. Wait till it is about 6" tall before pinching.
Why not try an experiment since you have more than one - pinch off some and leave some unpinched and see which end result you prefer. ;)
Dave
Did you ever transplant them or just leave them in their germination trays? The process of transplanting is what stimulates root development. It triggers the cellular structure in the roots to change so that the seedling switches to making multiple fibrous roots rather than just a few tap roots. Without transplanting, that change won't take place.
Also seedlings should never be fed anything stronger than a 1/4 strength fertilizer solution - never full strength. It just triggers top growth and the roots are stressed to keep up.
Now that you have transplanted them to the garden it will happen but it means "catch-up" time. Lay off the fertilizer for awhile and allow the roots to develop, ok? ;)
Dave
Well I dug mine out this year. I had gotten it as a gift several years ago and tried it and I didn't seem to get it right then. This time it worked great. I'm guessing I didn't have the soil wet enough the first time I tried it.
I had great success using the soil blocks. I made the blocks on a layer of excess quilt batting (that worked ok, but might try to find a substitute for that next year). The quilt batting was my cheap solution to a capilary mat. I could water on the edge (not to disturb the soil blocks) and the batting would disperse the water all along the bottom of the tray to all the blocks. It is essential not to let this mat dry out though, or it was hard to get it all moistened again.
Seeds I started that were relatively small did best. I tried a few cukes in my seed blocks (which are the smaller 1 1/2 inch blocks) and they didn't seem to have enough room to open up.
I had a lot of luck with verbena, millet, wall flower, lavender, and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting.
I plan to use them for most of my seed starting next year (I start A TON of things from seed every year: veggies, annuals, herbs, perennials).
What I really like about them is the space it saves. I don't have enough very small pots to start the seeds in so this allows me to only pot up what germinates and once they have a set or two of true leaves or I can see the roots starting to poke out the sides.
I am now a believer and may even look for a bigger soil block maker for some of my bigger seeds :)
I read through this and understand most of it but have a couple of questions.
Do I have to remove the seeds from the pods prior to storing?
Can I freeze instead of 40 degrees? I'm assuming it would simulate winter and not harm the seeds...
Thanks in advance,
David
From my experience with Lychee, they sprout like mad. Just plunk them in dirt and add water and they should come up within a couple of weeks.
However, I need to add a couple of caveats:
- many different fruits get called "lychee" - I can't guarantee that you and I are talking about the same thing.
- my Chinese friends tell me that actual Lychee plants are rather shrubby and not that attractive. From what I've seen on the internet they don't seem too bad, but I don't have first-hand experience, except to say that, for the length of time that I had them in pots, they were fine.
So far, so good. I made about 100 2" blocks using Johnny's 4-block maker and their 512 Mix, with a little organic fertilizer mixed in (that might not be necessary). They're on capillary mats wrapped around two layers of plastic eggcrate inside trays with humidity domes. I've sown cukes, squash, melons, basil, and sunflowers, all of which I plan to plant out in about two months. Trays and accessories are from Indoor Gardening Supplies.
When the blocks come out of the maker, they're very close together. I expelled the blocks onto a plastic surface and then moved them from there into the flat, spacing them at about ½", to discourage the roots from growing into neighboring blocks. I had no problem lifting and moving them by hand.
Some of the blocks have small cracks or have lost corners, and it takes a little practice to fill the mold and push out the blocks without compressing them. But overall they seem pretty uniform. Supposedly soon after germination the roots hold the blocks together and then they're not at all fragile. I'll post again in a few weeks!
Folks! If you're not reading pottingblocks.com, you're just asking questions to amateurs. Trust the guru, who's made over one million blocks in 5 years.
Here is a link that might be useful: The world's resource for soil block gardening.
OK. This is my first year starting from seed. I've wintersown around 100 varieties of seed. No idea how that will work out as I have no germination yet.
I've also started a dozen or so varieties of peppers and a dozen or so varieties of tomatoes from seed, along with a tray of broccoli, cauli and brussels sprouts and a few other herbs and a couple trays of flowers.
I've found that the coir pellets from Burpee work very well. Like the soil blocks, they help air prune the roots and don't let the coir/soil get too moist. I also used the coir pellets that expand into the little cell packs. Again, they have been quite successful. Nothing lost to damping off yet, knowck on wood. I think part of my luck has been the use of coir instead of peat as my seed starting medium. Apparently peat sometimes carries the bacteria/virus that causes damping off, while there is apparently no indication of coir doing so, though I could be wrong.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that at least 2/3 of my wintersown varieties will grow and survive/thrive for me.
Mark-
I'm sorry zengeos, there is nothing "like the soil blocks"!
Pellets are compressed at the factory and have lost most of there water absorbing qualities and microbiotic life. Pure junk!
Here is a link that might be useful: The World's authority on starting seeds in soil blocks.
I have never seen or used a planting stick, but perhaps one would help.
http://www.ihdi.uky.edu/kygrow/starting%20seeds.htm
"For those who have difficulty bending or getting up and down, planting sticks could be the answer. A planting stick is a plastic pipe cut waist or chest high with a funnel attached. Sharpen a dowel rod and tape it securely to the outside of the pipe allowing it to protrude 3 inches beyond the bottom of the pipe. Use the dowel to make a dibble of the proper depth for the seeds you are planting and drop the seed down the tube into the hole. Another variation for those who use a cane is to attach the tube to the cane instead of a dowel."
Some seeds will germinate nicely sprinkled on the surface of the soil. That is because they require light to germinate. I put a nice sheet of fluffy soil down, sprinkle the seeds and water them in.
Other seeds require darkness to germinate. A nice base of soil, seeds and then a covering is a great idea. For seeds that need to be put a little deeper into the earth, perhaps a planting stick can be investigated.
I looked around online for the Able Gardener catalog, and found a good one in the UK. They have all sorts of specialty tools. I don't see the planting stick though. The US catalog did not seem to have all of the garden. tools. They do sound like they are easy enough to make.
The planting stick sounds like the ideal answer for you. If you can't get one made right away, you might take a hoe and just make a thin row to plant in and drop your seed there and use the hoe to cover them lightly. I am not in a wheelchair but have difficulty bending over. This helps me.
You don't say which campanula - there are some examples of pods and seeds for some of the campanulas here:
Here is a link that might be useful: Campanula - Seed Site
No way to know for sure which variety it is until you see the fruit and even then you may not be able to tell. The most common varieties are Bacon, Gwen, and Hass plus 2 or 3 others I think. But only the supplier that sold to the store would know.
It should bear fruit...eventually...;) assuming your climate is friendly for them. Fairly good size trees and average time from germination to fruit bearing is about 5 years based on what I have read about them.
Good luck! ;) Nice idea.
Dave
Sue, that is really cute for you and your son. :) I have a 6yo daughter and we play with trying to start avacado tress from pits too. I posted in another thread here about it. Also, there are a few threads on the California Gardening forums about avacado trees that might be able to help you, they know a lot more about them than me over there. I posted a pic of my tree there too so you can see about the size, and mine is considered a small one from what I can tell.
Good luck! And don't think too much about your little boy going off to college, wah!