6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Thanks cindjo,
I decided to try to germinate one of the poppy seed packs indoors and leave the second for backup. I was planning on growing the seedlings in peat pots so I can just put the whole package into the ground - should be minimal disturbance to the roots? What time of year do you direct sow?
Amna
Thanks Dave,
Will let them dry out first before watering next time. Just a little nervous since never grew tomatoes from seed before.
The last time I grew from seed, lost everything to damping off. *You'd think I'd know not to over water. :o
La Donna
I started two different varities of tomatoes by seed they shot up in a covered seed tray. They grew so fast they were spindely. They got their second set of leaves and were transplanted. I put them on the porch for a few days and then in the sun, now they seem not to be growing. I did use a mild fish emulsion solution on them.
I had problems with those, they didn't take transplanting well at all, and they were fussy about growing in miracle gro potting soil (maybe too much fertilizer for them or something). I'm not sure what's wrong with yours, but if any do make it, let them get good and rootbound before you try transplanting them, they will take it better if the root ball doesn't get disturbed in the process.
you can direct sow them .mine are supposed to be an anual here in zone 6a but they reseed for me like crazy and are coming up right now. or you can start them in paper pots and then just slit the pots slightly before directly planting in garden so the roots can grow out. thats what I did yrs ago and they reseed like mad. no fertilizer for them and they like drought conditions with full sun.
In my experience, overwatering looks very similar to chlorosis and is very much more likely if you are watering daily. That's what has caused the mold growth. Are you really fertilizing every single day in potting soil with organic matter? I would only do a weak Miracle Grow solution once at about the two true leaf stage.
I find that the green algae grows mostly in cells where the seeds have not yet germinated (and maybe never will)I've been carefully dabbing the green areas with a clean paper towel and the algae pretty much stick to the towel and brown soil is once again visible. I had cells that looked a lot more heavily covered than yours and they are now doing fine.
Hope this helps,
Amna
The above photo is too small...so here is a link to the WS forum where I posted originally with a larger photo. I can't get tinypic to give me the larger photo for some reason
Here is a link that might be useful: larger photo
I have always saved seed from pods that filled out and dried on the vine. I saved them in a frost free area, assuming they would only freeze and would rot in the ground,during the Winter. I wait until the weather is warm and settled. You can actually start them sooner in seperate cups or pots, indoors, in very bright light. They can be planted around the outside of a tomato cage,but they easily get 6-8 feet tall and would benefit from a taller support. Just make it sturdy enough that a coming Summer thunder storm won't blow the whole thing over.
You might still be OK, assuming you weren't planning a certified organic garden. I say MIGHT, because to answer your question with certainty, we would need to know what product he used, what the active herbicide in it was.
Weed and Feed products are generally post emergent (they don't prevent germination of weed seeds, they kill actively growing weeds), are often but not always 'non' or 'low' residual - that's why they are applied directly to weeds already present (contact).
"Although nonresidual, some herbicides may remain active in the soil for a few weeks ("carryover"). This time period will vary with the herbicide. The information should be found on the label."
Thanks for your responses! It was Scott's Turf Builder & +2 Weed Killer. I think I'm going to just try it- I called Scott's and they said the weed killer doesn't have a pre-emergent in it, so the seeds shouldn't be harmed. We'll see! The seeds I'm throwing in there are just for fall decoration items, so while I would have preferred not to have any additional chemicals in there, all the corn stalks and pumpkins are just going to end up decorating the front lawn come fall so it shouldn't really matter.
Lightly dampening the soil a couple of times a day never got the water through the "somewhat hard crust" you noticed, so the seeds are just sitting there waiting for water. Instead, you should water thoroughly and deeply (like a good soaking rainstorm) a couple of times a week to soak the soil to a good depth. Overwatering is more of an indoor problem where the soil volume is limited. Outdoors, you can't really overwater unless you leave standing water.
Also, your partially finished and unscreened compost is actually quite a different medium from what Coleman used. There may be clumps of soil with large air spaces where the seeds' roots can't touch soil and can't get water. I'm not faulting you for this - I'm not always fussy enough to sift my compost (as compared to my father's beds of almost 100% carefully sifted compost that looked like chocolate cake...) but you have to be careful that big clumps are broken up and that the seed are pressed into the soil to get good germination.
White stuff on the surface of the potting medium is not a sign of damping off at all, so lucky for you. I suspect that it's just a simple mold growing on a surface that might be kept too moist. Sometimes, hard water (as well as fertilizer) can add to the problem.
I'd guess that the yellow water is simply dissolved organic compounds from the potting mix. I wouldn't worry about it. Or, if you mean outside dirt when you use the word 'soil', then the yellow could be the clay and/or silt washing away.
Thanks for the information. I don't think its damping off either. The hollyhock & blue fescue is doing really well. I haven't fertlized any of them yet. Yes the yellow is the water that is running out the bottom. I have lost a few more seedling, but I think that is because I left them outside to bake in the sun. It's a learning experince for me. I will try again next year. I have big plans for next year..lol
I agree with jesterwitch. It's still in the 30's and 40's at night here and I'm keeping my tom and pepper seedlings under lights for now. I hope to start hardening them off in a week or two.
When you repot they tend to build up their root structure before putting on a lot of top growth. Be patient.