6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I go and sit next to mine while i am in a rough & tough spirited mood in hopes that they pick up on the energy & when they are placed outside where ever they will go, they will be rough & tough with those nasty pests that try to take em out, survive all those wild creatures that will make there way about their space, stand strong against those whipping winds, driving rains, and h-llish hail storms! : P
: )
It also helps to sing "survival type" songs to them..... you know..... you always want to prepare your babies for the real world! ; )
Enjoy your night!
Tonia
Try a little weak fertilizer the next time you bottom water. You mentioned you started the plants in fertilizer free mix. At this stage, 6 weeks later, they may be ready for some fertilizer, as the seeedlings have used up pretty much everything that was contained in the actual seed. This happened to me this year, and once I gave them a shot of weak (1/4 strength) miracle grow in the water, they took off like gangbusters. Hope this helps.
They have germinated except for one spot I finally got filled back in and just planted those the other day. I opted to leave the caps off for a little ventilation, and watched the humidity in the bottles. They germinated well before the package said. Today there was moisture in the bottles but it looked dry down in there so I gave them some extra water around the bottles.
Now I'm inclined to leave them on for a day or two longer, then take them off and watch them closely.
With the bottles, I could go two or three days without misting. It wouldn't work very well for a whole row, but for spot planting, it is definitely the way to go. I did cover the seeds with a potting mix the required depth I made up and had handy rather than use the soil in the bed.
I'm going to try that for other things from now on when I don't want to mess with transplanting.
Some grew outside the bottle here but not the other seven or so spots where I sowed them. Now I'm going to have way more than what I need and do not like thinning seedlings. Should I let them fight to see what they will do?
If I thin them, should end up with one bushy plant, I could end up losing them all.
I think I will take the bottles off tonight and keep a close eye on them for awhile, may have to slap them on briefly again because now they've been protected from the real world.
I started my mg inside as well and when they were beginning to vine I put them outside! I put them out a few weeks ago and they are climbing like crazy already about 4 feet up the trellis in a full sun area! I moved mine from the little "starter" pots VERY CAREFULLY to plastic cups with holes in the bottom- not peat pots....they dry out too fast!
So I would suggest moving them to little plastic cups (12-16 oz) or at least let them start vining before putting them out!!!!
I don't know the expert answer to this moonphase, but I know that I have gotten seedlings from seeds that dropped from my daylilies because I didn't dead head them. Well, I guess Mother Nature is the real expert. I think it is worth a try to sow them now. Let us know how it turns out.
Bonny
Yea, I bought a couple of those mini-greenhouses this year - knowing better - and I still got burned. Three types of sunflowers, moon flowers (I. alba) and Scarlet-O'Hara morning glories. Only the moonflowers survived, the rest got infected with either cobweb mold or trichoderma (green mold)...didn't bother trying to save them, seeds were cheap.
Since then I've purchased this little ditty Pot Maker from burpee.com. So far, it's a pretty nifty little ditty... ;-p
Random trivia bits...
Cobweb Mold (Cladobotryum sp.)
Green Mold (Trichoderma)
I don't do much direct sowing but have winter sowed and sowed inside in pots. When I want to thin out or transplant I use a fork and try to pull a plug of seedlings out which I then separate, again using the fork, and pot up or plant into the ground where I want them to grow.
Bonny
Thanks for the advice, definitely sounds like a good strategy. Now I just have to wait for the little buggers to germinate.
Which is proving to be a challenge. The day after they were sown I realized I needed to mulch with some pea gravel to prevent erosion from the impending thunderstorms later that evening.
Then a couple days later when I saw the very first (one) little sprout, the temps dropped and our lows are now in the upper 40's... go figure. <rolls eyes>
Thanks - I've put the mimulus under lights in the garage where it is a few degrees cooler and they seem to like that a little more. Overnight almost all of them finally sprouted another leaf. I can't wait to put my plants outside but we just got another 2 inches of snow last night with below freezing temps forecasted every night until Saturday. I sure hope next week is a little more summery.
When you say "pinch" do you actually mean pinch or should I use scissors? It won't hurt the plant to squish it a little while pinching?
Lara
mad,please come on over to the wintersowing forum and read the FAQ.I found that forum 2 yrs. ago and now have hundreds of plants.The first winter I wsd almost 300 containers.This past winter I set out over 400 containers.In early spring I did almost 100 more.Ask all the questions you want there.The folks are the friendliest bunch and will answer any question you want.Trudi D. and a bunch of the other members give free seeds to new members we call newbies..lol We trade and give at a frenzy in the fall.It is so easy and simple,it is a no fail method.Hope to see you soon.
moonphase
The algae is an indication that conditions are too moist. Keep the surface of the 'soil' disturbed so that excess water can evaporate properly. Because the sides of your soda bottle container are clear, it makes a perfect environment for for algae culture. Algae requires sunlight. ;-)
You might want to consider painting the outside of your bottles next year to prevent this. Excess algae can muck up the pore spaces.
Hi Rhizo_1 & arjo....
Darn, i really liked seeing the roots condition!
So much for the soda bottle idea!
No mucking wanted around here!
Back to the basics.
Thanks so much for your help!!
Much appreciated! Enjoy your nite!
Tonia