6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I live in Green Bay, zone 4 or 5 like you. I don't start my seeds until the middle of March. Unless you have a really good set up as far as light goes, I'd hold off. I think my Zinnias and Cosmos are blooming in July.? Maybe check out the Wisconsin forum. Someone there may know better. Good luck and congrats on the marriage!
Cosmos and Zinnia germinate fast and grow fast. Don't start them earlier than 8 weeks before your last frost date. Also, both take well to pinching. So once they are about 4" high, pinch off the very top above the highest side shoot, so that the develop side branching. Carola
I've always used a soil-heating cable buried into the seedling flat(s). Models with an automatic thermostat work like a charm. They allow you to keep the greenhouse or whereever you're germinating cold, while the soil will stay a consistent toasty 72 (or so). Once germination is complete, the plug is pulled.
I've had the same cables for about ten years.
Check for a cheap Heating Mat at Walmart. Might get one for around $10.00 and those worked well for me. It's actually good when they have that flimsy cover that you can remove, as the cheap ones are vinyl underneath which can get wet without problem. :-) Carola
I start my petunia and impatiens early, as well. they germinate quickly but do take longer to grow to a full size. I've started them as early as the last week in January, but I did them the first week in February this year and last. Tender annuals aren't suited for the unheated greenhouse while it's still cold out (1. it's too cold for them, 2. plants have a temperature they like to grow at, and even if it's not cold enough to kill them, it won't be warm enough for them to do anything. Ever notice how your petunias are small, and then when it gets real warm out they take off?).
I sow cool annuals and perennials in the unheated greenhouse - similar to winter sowing. At the moment my greenhouse isn't heated, but I've built a propagation tent inside (using greenhouse film) that has a small heater inside. that means I only have to heat a 4Wx6Lx3H space. By the time those seedlings are ready to be potted up I will be heating the whole greenhouse. you can use your hoophouse for cool season vegetables. I don't start peppers until a few weeks before the last frost. they like it warm. I haven't tried starting them even earlier and growing them inside - I don't have the space. It's all taken up by flowers!
Not that hard... I've had luck with them on top of a Tropical Fish Tank set in Jiffy 7's and keep mosit in a water bottle Mini Green house... Hope that makes sense...
I May be able to get my hands on some Point seed as Dads looks like it's setting some, I'm hopping to try and Germinate some... Please wish me luck...
NC
You are going to love this plant. I don't care for the regular KMOTGG. It's a weed here and I'm constantly pulling it out of the yard but the variegated variety's foliage is quite different. The plant is beautiful with big green & white heart shaped leaves. This also gets a lot bigger then the weedy kind. I had some that were almost 10' tall.
Karyn
It is called "damp-off" and results from too much moisture, insufficient air circulation, combined with mold that forms on the soil surface. There is a FAQ here about it. I note from your other post you are or were misting the seedlings daily? Please don't, the seedings need to have slightly moist root soil but dry surface soil to survive.
Good luck when you try again.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ's Growing from Seed
I think I might have found what the problem is. I had a tray of Cardoons that sprouted nicely. I took the lid off and kept them misted. They are on the top shelf of a three shelve rack with metal supports. When I went down to look today, I saw that something was digging in the seedling trays! I think it was a mouse!
I guess a mouse might have eaten my seedlings!
I don't think the fluxuating temperatures are that big a deal. Problems can arise when you have a period of warmth and a plant seed germinates that doesn't like honest to goodness freezing temperatures. In my experience nasturtiums fall under this category. Last year mine germinated during some warm days in late February but then one night of just below 32 degrees in March killed them.
But there are plenty of seedlings that can come out during a warm spell and handle their jugs being frozen solid. I have lettuce in some jugs that I planted back in December that germinated quickly. The seedlings have thrived despite nights down in the teens and their jugs being frozen into solid bricks of soil.
High 30's shouldn't kill anything. It's 32 degrees and below or desiccating winds on opened jugs (the entire top has been removed, not the little lid that comes with the jug)that can kill seedlings.
Parsley, sweet pea and stock all benifit from planting while temperatures are still cold. In fact, here in Michigan, I toss down parsley seed in the fall for best results.
Delphinium will do better if started in a dark place - no light at all. I start them in a little-used drawer or cabinet.
The rest should not be damaged by cool weather, they will not germinate until the soil is a certain average temp. It just depends on if you are picky about where they sprout and how many sprout. Starting indoors is more dependable and gives you greater control, but with your long season, starting them outside seems to be a lot easier to me. Or is the hot summer hot enough to kill things off, hence giving you a shorter season that way?
Does the stem have a thinnish area? Is it still droopy? If so, you are a looking at damping off and your best bet is to cut your losses by snipping out affected plants. And yes, quit misting!
Water when the top half inch of soil is dry and keep a fan running in the room for at least 4 hours a day. Lighting within a half inch of the top leaf. This will make the environment less attractive to things like fungus and molds.
Much luck. I love sweet basil and am having a real hard time keeping myself from starting plants too soon for my zone 5b.!! Kay.
The varieties you named are annuals. Sure, you could plant now. But considering that your soil is likely still frozen and snow is a very real possibility, I would wait until early spring when I could press the seeds into the top of the soil right where I want it to grow. Mid to late march, I guess. It has been a while since I was living in zone 6.
Winter sowing can buy you a month over direct sowing, but the plants that you purchase or start inside are another month or even 2 older than that, so if you want immediate impact and don't want to wait until summer is half over for flower, don't bother with the winter sowing. Zones 6 and lower are just too short-seasoned for the method, in my estimation.
I would start the cosmos outside, early spring and the other two indoors under lights 8-10 weeks prior to your last frost date.
Cristi, good advice above. As for fertilizer, I'll just add that I dilute to 25% for the first weeks and always use a water soluble type, not granular. In fact, I dilute from the label instructions for full sized mature container plants and rarely apply a fertilizer product to much more than half strength. Remember, the fertilizer company is in business to sell fertilizer and the more the better, just like laundry soap :)
I got down and dirty last night to transplant all those little 3 and 4 inch plants.
They look great today.
Now that I have all the empty trays I will be able to start planting a bunch more!
I did not have a problem with the roots being to entangled, I was worried about that after you mentioned it Dave.
Also, thank you for letting me know that my soil mix is what I should be using, and it is all a soil-less mix including the potting soil.
I installed 2 more sets of lights using T12 bulbs, I will watch and make sure they are providing enough lite.
I also placed mylar under the plants and on the wall behind them.
I really hope this is enough to keep them growing!
Thank you all for the help =)
cristi
Sunflowers are not so easy to start indoors, because they grow so fast and outgrow pots easily before you are ready to do anything with them, or get funky shapes if they didnÂt have ideal lighting or do the "falling over". I donÂt know what zone you live in, but it sounds very early to already be starting them. I actually have had trouble direct seeding my sunflowers because of my heavy clay soil and birds tending to steal the seeds, so I do start my Sunflowers in pots. 3-4 weeks before I know I can plant them in their destination spot, I actually plant individual seeds in bigger transplant containers, but using seed starting mix. Many times, I even put them on my patio, so they are growing up outside and donÂt need hardening off. When the plants are only 6-12" high I plant them where I want them to grow in the garden (and then have to cross my fingers that little squirrels donÂt come and chomp their tops of *G*)
Seed starting mix is a mixture of Vermiculite and Perlite. ItÂs a steril mix that doesnÂt have any bacteria in it, as regulur soil and planting mix would have. Therefore your plants donÂt as easily get any diseases that will lead to dampening off etc.. The mix is also very pourous and light, so that it promotes easy root development.