6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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
Like Thistle wrote, just transplant the tomatoes deep, (all the way up to the first set of true leaves) and they should be fine. Keep the lights just a couple of inches above the plants (higher if they seem to crisp the leaves). Isn't it awful when someone says something with complete assurance, at it messes you up big-time? Sometimes I've read something in several places, and thought it must be true (different sources, right?) and it turned out to be a BAD idea for me to try.
Ground cherries are going to need the same amount of light. Indoor fluorescent light is nothin' compared to the sun, I think even shade perennials grown indoors can have the same amount of light (not sure though), but ground cherries are sun-loving annuals, so give them as much light as the toms. Most people keep fluorescents on 16-24 hours a day.
They don't look too leggy to me. I would recommend using a fan to strengthen up the stems if that is a concern. Just a slight breeze should help. The deep planting will do the trick in the end though... Just curious, How do you like your pots? I have never used those before. I assume you plant the pot in the ground as well? I have been using new 12oz. stryofoam coffee cups. Poke a hole in the bottom, easy to label...Not very eco though...
Your phlox is a warm, cold, cool germinator -
Phlox paniculata , Sow at 64-71ºF for 2-4 weeks, move to 39ºF for 4-6 weeks, move to 41-53ºF for germination
If it's still cool outside there at night, move them outdoors after 2 - 4 weeks indoors and let mother nature take over, or put the pot in your refrigerator depending on your climate.
Here is a link that might be useful: Phlox paniculate seed here
Very interesting morz8, Thanks! Seems like it would just be easier to sow and mark the spots outside, then transplant later. I have some marked outside from last fall. It will be interesting to see what happens! The link you sent is pretty useful. I've also been trying lily seeds, sowing them outside in the fall for years, and nothing happens - (don't know what kind they are). There must be a trick for them also. Oh well, thanks for your help! Paul
Neat idea, although I've never tried it. This would be helpful under the propagation forum, too. I'm at the other end of the spectrum in that I start too many tomatoes by seed and end up giving most away. I look at it as community enrichment and good will towards others. Thanks for sharing the tip.
No, I have no outdoor place that's mine. I thought of taking the plants to the park with my kids for a few hours but I am worried the kids will destroy them.
At what point do I introduce the fan?
So you think it is best if I plant them right away when I get to my house and not let them harden off for at least a few days? I am going to have soaker hoses on timers so they will get watered while I am away.
Thanks!
My hardening process takes about 2 weeks but I've hurried before in 5 days, one year I really didn't even harden off. I assume that your weekend garden is in the same zone? Some suggestions would be to wean your artifical light time over the seedlings by a few hours, open your windows near the seedlings, let in some natural sunlight while you're in NYC prior to your 4-day visit, if possible. Also, run the fan when your seedlings are growing now, just for good health and prevention of fungal issues.
When you get to your house, you can plant the seedlings because we're talking about May in the northeast and not June in the southern USA. Someone posted about using a laundry basket to shield seedlings, so if you plant your seedlings, is it possible to have some weighted down cheap laundry baskets over them for a week until you return the following weekend? The sun would still get through but in a filtered way, as long as you have the water covered with soaker hoses. Another sun shield would be dead branches, evergreen branches, and tented up sticks around your seedlings. One year, I had no choice but to plant seedlings immediately without hardening them off and I used dead branches from trees to shield the sun and wind. I removed the branches in about a week and all the seedlings were fine. Good luck :)
Great idea with the hay! Saves my hubby a honey do, too! Thanks a million. I'm going to try it. As for the seedlings, so far I have Coreopsis, an early morning glory (President Tyler), Galilardia, Nigella, Viola, Red Hot Poker (but the great grand baby dumped that one so I'm not expecting much!), Penstmon, Rock Soapwort, and annual phlox (phlox is my favorite flower so I usually try to do both annuals and perennials of them!). I also have some in the fridge chilling out before I try to start them--so they'll be along later, hopefully. Still have a bunch of seeds to plant as I get time. Thanks again for the great tip. We have some bales on hand and that will make for a well-insulated cold frame! Blessings, Daryl
Hi, Sakura:
I've been thinking about your problem, and I have an idea of what may be happening. You say you have grown tomatoes before, so you know what the seeds look like. Nothing else looks like a tomato seed, (although some are fuzzy, and some commercial seed has the fuzz removed) so you can look at your seeds from this company and know if they really sent you tomato seeds. If they sent you tomato seeds, you can't blame them for the other seedlings.
Now, the hairlike things growing instead of tomatoes: because it's white, it may be fungus. But it may also be weed seeds in your starting mix. I grow in a mix of perlite and peat moss, and I sterilize it with boiling water and cover it to keep it hot for awhile. I still have little sprouts of something coming up with my tomatoes! Most seed starting mix like Miracle Grow has weed seeds, too. Maybe you have not seen this before because you get different weed seeds with each bag!
It's been 5 more days since you posted--do you have any tomato seedlings yet? How long have the seeds been planted? I have found bottom heat to make a huge difference in how fast they sprout. Last year my lights made the soil a nice temperature, but it took at least a week, even 2 weeks, before I saw tomato sprouts. This year I used my heat pad again, underneath the flats, and most seeds sprouted in 4 days. The soil was the same temperature, but the direction of the heat makes the difference.
I've had seeds damp off beneath the soil--I never got any sprouts, but when I sowed more in a different pot, those sprouted.
If you have some seeds remaining from your seed order, try sowing some of those and giving them bottom heat. Or try germinating some in a moist paper towel or coffee filter that's inside a plastic bag. If they sprout, as soon as you can, gently transfer them into seed starting mix. If they don't sprout, present this information to the company and see what they'll do about it--having carefully organized data may convince them to send more seeds, even if they don't have a guarantee.
On Mar. 17th, I planted 3 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. I ordered them from HeirloomTomatoes.com. They are doing great. Most have developed their true leaves. My only regret is that I planted 2-3 seeds in each 3" pod. This was recommended . 90% of the seeds have germinated and now I'll have to pitch off 1 or 2 healthy plants from each pod. I use florescent bulbs, water from the bottom and have a 6" fan blowing indirectly over the area.(The $6.00 fan is from Dollar General.)
I started cucumbers way too early, too. I started them a couple of weeks ago and then I found out that you are supposed to start them in JUNE on the coast! The thing with cucumbers is that they don't transplant well and they need a lot of heat. You are supposed to start growing them just three weeks before you transplant. Sorry to be such a downer, but I guess you have no choice to hang on to them. I'm sort of mentally saying goodbye to mine already but who knows, they might surprise :)
This seems to be a common experience with those peat pots. You might want to try small plastic containers next year.
It's probably algae rather than mold, but it doesn't make much difference. Whatever the stuff is, it's hindering the evaporation from the peat, exacerbating the whole situation. Green algae commonly grows on surfaces that remain moist, like your peat pots, clay pots and such.
Green algae won't harm your plants, but also won't respond to anti-fungal remedies, either. If it begins growing on the top of the medium surface, keep it broken up with a toothpick (or something) so that moisture can evaporate from the pot like it's supposed to.
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.