6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

I am going the winter sowing route.

Hi kanuk - First, calm your nerves. ;) Keep in mind that winter sowing, as we discussed above with the original poster once it became clear that was what she was asking about, is a totally different (and relatively new compared to this forum) approach to growing from seed, ok?

Winter sowers have their own recommendations for soils mixes to use and since it is done outside rather than in an artificially created indoor environment such as we traditional seed sowers use, they don't use many of our same techniques (sterile soil-less mixes, staged transplanting, light set-up, amended soils for transplanting, etc.) and we don't use many of theirs.

Both approaches have their advantages and their disadvantages, but they are two very different approaches to growing things from seed. So when it comes to problems or questions it's important to "dance with the guy that brung ya". ;)

Not being all that experienced with winter sowing myself, all I can tell you is that based on my reading over on that forum and all the different soil mixes they use, you have no problems with yours. But I don't want to accidently mislead you either, so you need to discuss your concerns with the experienced winter sowers rather than let much of what we discuss here confuse you. OK?

If you can't get your question answered or are still confused, feel free to drop me a note via email on MY Page here at GW. Good luck with your seeds and most of all, enjoy the process.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing Forum

Dave ~ Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my concerns. I think you've saved my seeds from being ripped out of their containers and replanted!! Kidding!!
I will go over the info over @ WS forum. I probably skimmed through it too fast and missed a lot of important stuff.
Nonetheless your offer is accepted with gratitude should the need arise.
When the time comes for me to learn how to sow seeds the traditional way I can only hope you'll be here to lead me in the right direction. I respect your knowledge.
Happy gardening!
Bruce

suggestion: Try emailing Emily at the Yahoo Group site for explicit instructions on germination techniques. Personally, I like to winter sow mine, but I know she's in Z6, too.
GW won't let me link it (in any form...schmucks...anyway, make this all one line, and it'll get you there.

http://
tech.
groups.
yahoo.
com/group/Yvonnes-salvia/

Here is a little inspiration with Yvonne's Salvia...seeds were started 2/29/08 in pre-moistened Promix BX, surface sown, pressed down into soil but not covered, spray misted with water, clear baggie placed over top of cell pack, placed under cheap shoplights before germination...

The best way to get onions is probably to buy plants. Less than $10 for 3 bunches of 60 to 75. That said I started mine about 2/4 hoping they will be big enough. I just spread them in cut off milk jugs and usually they are fine until transplant. Keep cutting the tops to about 3-4", which will make the stems thicker. I use 1 pkg per milk jug and usually have more than I need at transplant time.
JMO,
Tom

I have bought onion plants in the past, but want to try seeds. last year I did so unsuccessfully, and resorted to plants when the seedlings didn't work out. I hope to do better this year!

Sedum spectabile. Surface sow on a well draining seed sowing mix 40-50F . spectabile seeds will usually germinate in 15-30 days, even under good conditions germination may be erratic - meaning not all seedlings will appear at the same time.

My Sedom spectabile reseeds itself regularly and I dig up and transplant the seedlings. Al

I buy my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and they have a seed planting guide on their website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Gardening Guide

I don't pay attention to the start date. I have some plants I started in January and have repotted them and are doing fine. Some are under artificial lights others are getting natural light.

thanks for your responses...

to answer glacier: i just transplanted them 2 days ago into 16 oz. plastic cups w/ drainige holes. I had the problem before i transplanted them though... now they seem even worse. And yes the are getting yellowy.

to answer dave: I transplanted half of them into miracle grow soil and the other haldf into miracle grow seedstarting soil. Other than that, noting. should i?

Thank you for your help

The combo of sagging and yellow gives me the impression that they are overwatered and underfertilized. The top 1/4- 1/2 inch of the planting medium should be allowed to dry between watering. (the bigger the pot, the more you can allow to dry out) And the pots should not sit in water.

They should be fertilized regularly. I use the blue stuff at about 1/10 stregth at all waterings. Well, most, anyway......Kay.

but isn't what you first see come up a leaf? or does it have to grow much longer for the first set of leaves to appear?

The first things to appear that "look like" leaves are actually the cotyledons, or often called "seed leaves". But they aren't really plant leaves, They are parts of the seed itself. The true first leaves will appear from the notch between these "seed leaves".

You can transplant at this stage and it is often required when planted this close together. Many of us do it routinely because of the way we germinate our seeds in bulk germination trays. It just takes more care to not damage either the stem or the cotyledons as they cannot be replaced by the plant while the true leaves can be. It's for this reason that it is usually recommended that you wait to transplant until the true leaves appear.

Just lift out a spoonful of the soil with a bunch of seedlings, gently separate them, and then transplant them to already prepared cells or containers. Transplant them deeply, to just below the cotyledons and put them somewhere out of the direct sun for a day or so until they have time to settle in to their new home.

Good luck with your plants.

Dave

Dave,
In case you have not heard this frequently enough...you are an invaluable resource of information on this site and I for one truly do appreciate your input. thanks for always being willing to share your knowledge and experience :)

lol, no, the seedlings in the round pot are Cherry Lupines.

Wow, I guessed right about the round pot. I thought lupine - (not cherry, I'm not that good! lol - What's behind it, Cosmos ?

Cute babies!

kim

Reading these posts just gave me a great idea! I was all set to plunk out the money for seed-starting mats, but was looking for used ones or some alternative. I have a nice warm waterbed (my son's) just sitting there, unused! Can I use it? I can't drain it for the heating pad, but someone's post gave me the idea of just using the bed itself! What do you experts think? Any suggestions on how I can test the temperature and what I'm shooting for? Do I just lay a thermometer on the surface? Sure would appreciate anyone's comments. Thank you very much!

You should be interested in the temperature of the soil. The least expensive way I know is to get a cooking thermometer that has a metal probe and a dial that shows temperatures down to about room temperature. I think the one I have is called a candy thermometer.

Charts show most germination temperatures about 68-85°F. I usually find that two or three degrees above the information printed on the package is just fine.

Simple solution...If you have an easily accessible hot water heater start seeds on it. I have done this with some of my plants over the last few years and have had great success. I have never used a fridge. I will note I live in a townhouse with the water heater located either inside or outside in a storage room. Be creative.

I start all my seeds in trays on top of the frig and tall cabinets and armoire-type furniture. The air is a lot warmer up there, and it works well.

Does this apply to starting storage onions too?

For sheet transplanting, we're just talking green onions or salad onions as some call them. It would be very overcrowded for storage onions without some aggressive thinning and I hate to waste seeds ;) But many plant storage onions - seeds or sets - very close together and then thin them out - use every other one as a green onion and let the rest bulb up.

Onion sets of course can be direct planted in the garden but storage onions from seed have to be started at least a couple of months in advance (January here) so I start mine in what are called plug trays and transplant them individually to the garden when the time is right.

Dave

Ahhhh....the "hunk o'seedlings" method. That is a good question about overcrowding tho'. Sure they don't need much room, so I guess that thinning them out as they grow should be OK, shouldn't it?

And when I say "thin them out," I mean, "pick what I want to eat today."
Kay.

The conifer cones usually mature in late summer to early fall depending on the weather.

Thank you both for your suggestions.
Chris