6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Not sure if this will help you but...I have one of those three tier growing light stands which I keep in the basement. This year, I did a little test - I planted four types of tomatoes, and put them in the "heated" starter mat holder thingie (LOL) - and I also planted two of each type and just put them under the lights on the stand - no bottom heat. ALL of my seeds germinated - the ones in the heat tray were about 2 to 3 days before the ones just on the stand.
I keep my heat rather low - only 20 celcius (68 F) and the basement is about 18c (64 F). During the night, it goes down to 14 (57 F).
Although it took a few days longer to germinate, my seedlings are doing great - they are about 3 inches high now (I planted two weeks ago).
I do have my fans going now - on with the timer through the day to keep the air moving.
Hope this helps??
i just have to comment on the "thingi" LOL i noticed alot of us use that! LOL :')) i'm soooo glad i'm not the only one!! HEE HEE and my plants did fine, i bet they'd croak, especially being small. unless you made a kinda green house for them. with plastic. so they could keep the heat they have to themselves. i know it sounds stupid. but for somereason thats what i do on the front porch and it works. cuz it gets awefully cold out there, BUT if i lift up the gh i have fot them, its cozy!! which is just a plastic dome like the ones for the small gh's. like the 72 cell packs and such! or if ya can find 6 ml plastic clear that'l work. but its thin! i like the other much better!! so do my plants!! LOL hope that helps!!
I only did Convolvulus 2 years, but they always popped up in 3 days. Very satisfying flower for kids (with all the colors).
Sorry, I can't remember how long it took them to make flowers. It usually does take awhile to get flowers from seeds (they sit there with the first seed leaves and nothing else for a week at least).
Impatiens bloom when pretty young and small, I guess they are the fastest to flower that I've had.
annebert- I'm not 100% certain. The information came from the seed supplier. They said 83% germination rates, but they really don't tell their germination method or any other information to support those numbers.
Just to clarify to because I think I made a typo in my previous post. IT IS germinating or eventually germination with fall off to death that is the problem. I'm attempting to find a way to make a control factor that might be able to bump up the survival rating to closer to 55-60% as opposed to the 40% right now. After going through all the great information everyone gave me it would be nice to see something in the ballpark of the 83% the seed supplier has. Maybe 70-75%?! That would be more than adequate! :-) Thank you again!
That is where I found them as well - past the paint department - by the lightbulbs etc. (with the desk and floor fans).
I bought the ones that come with a "clip" and a "base" and you just snap either the clip or base on and away ya go!
I now have one "clipped" onto the seat part of a wooden stool - then I can just move the stool back and forth in front of the stand as needed.
They are working great! What a difference just in the few days they have been on down there.
I would love it if any of you who are sprouting sunrise would come back and title a post "sunrise seedling color" (so we can find it) and tell us what kind of flower you got when it blooms. I know it'll be awhile, but I'm very curious to see if it will be a sunrise, a paradoxa, a purple or an original.
How interesting that this thread has risen from the ashes one year since I originally posted it. :)
I can report that the lonely one "Sunrise" and "Fragrant White" seedlings did grow on into plants outdoors. The "Sunrise" did not bloom last summer so have high hopes for it this year. The "Fragrant White" did bloom quite well.
So this year I have some E. "White Swan" sowed from fresh commercial seed, that seems to be taking its sweet time germinating. Sowed on March 12th (in the greenhouse) and not one little green head yet.
If you mean Persian blue aka breadseed poppy aka papaver somniferum from the spice aisles of grocery stores, yes they do germinate. The one year I sowed from a spice jar though, I found the bloom colors mixed, pale and not especially inspiring - I buy named seed if I'm going to sow annual poppies.
If you were looking for the true blue perennial poppy, meconopsis, you won't find it in edible spices.
I have the same problem! I've already got 3 lights up in our room, and I had to go buy another one today! I'm up to 6 sets of 72 count trays ... and once they get big enough to need their own pots, I'm just hoping the weather cooperates so I can get them outside!
I still have 10 packs of seeds I want to start!
Allison
this is so sad and funny, that we can talk about winter sowing in april! we have a pool going at work about when ALL the snow will be gone. i have some seedlings indoors - what if i can never plant them in the garden? i also have one flat that's been outside since early january. i can't see it now - maybe someday, when the snow melts. but yes, plant them out, if they don't need cold first, for which it is hopefully too late! (can you tell i'm fed up and want spring to come already???)
You may have to ask a cow, or goat...one of the original plans for this was fodder.
But you won't find out in Kansas, it's banned there as in most states - I don't know of a responsible gardener in any climate who is attempting to grow it.
Here is a link that might be useful: Kansas Dept of Ag
ya well they should add crab grass to that!!
i think that if you could be careful and control it and prune, then it'll be ok. but then i've been wrong befor!! but of course i could really tick off my irritating no good neighbors!! LOL maybe it'll block my view of them!! LOL :')) **hoping** LOL (onery, so very onery!!! LOL)
freshmangardener, "Their so small I cant imagine they actually grow into plants!"
It never gets old :)
Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog: The Wicked Good Garden
yes!! i read the same thing!! in the jerry baker book, but i can never keep the stuff around long enough to try it!! LOL them ol kiddo's!! LOL i sooo want to try it, but you have to use the regular not the sugar free, its the sugar that feeds the seedlings.
either.... if dry the soak in water for 24 hours.... any way do NOT cover the seed soil temp 75F taking 42-56 days to germinate....... AS soon as the root appeas transplant..... growing on temp 65-75F taking 24-32 weeks to produce a 4" pot plant.
well, my squashes were pushing up the roof of the baby greenhouse, so I decided to repot... from the way they were smashed on the roof, seemed like the only reasonable thing to do as I'm a ways from planting out...
well.... HOLY ROOT SYSTEM!!!! I could not believe it, I thought the green stuff above ground was large at 4-5", the roots were pushing 10" on some of them! It looked like hairy spaghetti!
Did my best not to touch or disturb the roots in any way, hope I didn't stress them too much.
wish me luck.
Hi Allison - You can either transplant them now with care or sacrifice a few from each cell - snip them at the soil line with the scissors - then let the rest continue to grow as is till they are large enough to transplant easily. Either way you will likely lose a few but most will do fine. Your choice.
Dave
omg JamJam, I sowed alpine strawberries a month ago and they are still microscopic and no true leaves yet! I hope mine make it too!
Oh, I forgot to mention. I do have alpine strawberries going, lol. I kind of expected those to take forever, though. We'll see how they go. Mine have their first true leaf, though and some are working on their second. But they are TINY!