6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
well, until about a week ago, they were sitting on the living room coffee table, at a window w/ white blinds.
what does the temp need to be, cooler?
i probably need to cut back on water, but i think when i got home, one was looking a little parched, i watered it, and it's lookn better, but i still think overwater might be the prob.
I don't start feed in until the 3rd set of leaves have developed. I then give the seedlings about half the recommended dosage and then every week increase the dosage.
I have some flowers like Mexixan sunflower(Tithonia) that are in 4" pots and are 8-10" tall so they can use the full dose.
Of any particualr plant or species? Or just pollination in general?
If you Google "pollination" all sorts of links come up full of info ranging from basic to very scientific. I linked one intro one below.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Pollination
You could try potting them in some soil - but I would think in CA you could put the pots on a semi-protected deck or porch, or even outside. There's no light in your refrigerator to support anything with seed leaves. Are you in an area where you would be expecting temps at night to drop much below 38-40F still, that's about what they've been exposed to in your refer.
You do need to think of this as an experiment though - grocery store apples are hybrids and don't come true from seed. You could have apples from a seed grown tree, but there is no way of guaranteeing which one :)
I haven't seen apples do that, but I did find germinated seeds in roma tomatoes one year - and yes I did plant them.
The seed IF planted in soil will produce a apple tree BUT will not resemble the parents. be they Gala or red delicious (etc). would be better served to purchase grafted plants od a desired apple. The same applies to any other fruit tree you have.
Yep, we are still using regular fluorescent bulbs, John, the ones sold at Walmart or most any hardware store or home center. Nothing much has changed about that part. ;) You can buy warm or cool - Kitchen & Bath or Home & Office labels - studies show little difference in results or you can use one of each in each fixture.
Several years back many claimed that the special "grow-light" bulbs were best (and they are still available in some garden centers or online greenhouse vendors like Charley's Greenhouse Supply) but the price is 5x the cost of the plain ones and most studies show no benefit to them for seed starting and growing transplants, only for growing to bloom where their broader spectrum is of benefit.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your seeds.
Dave
I agree with Paula that if you want to be moving the seedlings back and forth the best way to go is with Wintersowing and just leave them outside. It works quite well.
If, on the other hand you are talking about the more common approach of starting your seeds indoors with heat mats, lights, etc. (notice I didn't say better way just more common, ;) then no, moving the plants back and forth inside to outside is very risky. It is too drastic a change in environment and young indoor germinated seedlings cannot tolerate outdoor exposure unless they are first "hardened off".
Hardening off is a process - discussed in length in many posts here - that is required for all indoor germinated seedlings before exposing them to the wind, direct sun light spectrum, temps, etc, of outside and especially required before transplanting them to a garden.
Review some of the links below for more details and enjoy, but 'baby', your indoor seedlings or follow the Winter Sowing outdoor approach. ;)
Dave
Hardening off discussions Scroll down to the ones with the blue borders.
Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing Forum and FAQ's
I've found that most seedlings, once they're up, do just fine outdoors so long as night temps are staying above 40 degrees. Basil, peppers and tomatoes get pretty miserable when its that cold, though.
Lots of seeds won't sprout until night temps are higher. You can start the seeds inside and sit the trays out once germination has happened. If you get a cold snap, though, you may want to bring the seedlings in at night.
I linked another ongoing discussion on using sodium bicarb and potassium bicarb below for your info.
I have tried both baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and have had limited success with both - they work by changing the pH of the soil surface so that the fungus cannot grow as well.
I agree that trying to prevent it is best but not by microwaving your soil. That's a lot of work, only works for small amounts of mix for starting a few seeds, doesn't eliminate all the airborne fungi that can easily infect your soil, and is quite smelly and potentially hazardous.
And if you are using a sterile, soil-less seed starting mix as recommended, it also isn't necessary. It's better to increase the air circulation abound the plants with a small fan, reduce the humidity in the growing area, and avoid over-watering. Fungi exist all around us, nothing we can do about that, but we can control the environment of our plants and so prevent the fungi from growing.
Good luck with your plants. ;)
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Bicarb as an antifungal...
I agree that air circulation is necessary, but not just in the environment around your seedlings. The potting mix should be extremely aerated, too. You can achieve this by adding a substantial amount of coarse perlite to your mix before sowing.
I can't remember the last time I had a case of damping off occur in my seedling flats (over 20 years); creating a very porous mix is an important part of the whole scenario.
Good luck! Remember: prevention is the best policy. ;-)
My question is: is my house warm enough for germination? Usually the temperature is around 60 plus degrees during the day and at night approx 55-50. Also I've read that putting the seed trays on top of the fridge can help as it's a bit warmer, is that true?
Hi glacier - The house temp isn't warm enough to germinate the seeds but it is correct that you can gain extra bottom heat by setting the container on top the fridge IF your fridge has exposed heat coils on the back. Top of the hot water heater, top of the TV, on top a lamp shade with the light turned on, over a heating vent, etc. There are many extra warm places in the house - you just have to find them. ;) Or you can make a germination box with a cardboard box, a 40 watt bulb stuck in it, and a couple of dowel rods run through it to hold the tray above the bulb.
But most use some sort of heat mat for germination purposes - it's more reliable. There are several discussions here about the various types and where to get them.
Hope this helps.
Dave
PS: Also check out all the FAQ's here (linked at the top of the forum page) for more tips.