6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
When you transplanted your seedlings from their community pot into their individual container they went into transplant shock. This is normal and should be expected. It takes a while for the new feeder roots, growing now, to show new growth on the foliage. All is well. Al
Hi Al! Glad to hear they will be okay! I don't know why i didn't think of that! It looks like the stems are turning a red brown color too. I hope thats not a bad sign. Its been so long since i grew anything from seed i seem to have lost my memory!
Enjoy your day & thanks for your help and support!
Tonia
Nope, not old seed - I've always bought fresh every year. I think I'm going to try a combination of soaking/Saran-Wrapping. I've also read that one way to ensure germination is to freeze the seeds in ice cubes, then just scatter the cubes in the garden. I'll probably try this, too!
I have never soaked or paper toweled or anything!!!I use a potting mix from a local greenhouse, no plant food added, just has the right mix of soil and perlite etc.!
I plant the seeds about 1/2 inch below the soil, cover, with good ventilation, and they sprout plentifully!!!!
Oh...I did use a 4" pot/plastic! and put a bunch of seeds....the containersare FULL of 8" parsley already!!! 1 packet of seeds did 3 containers for me!
Carol, I always keep ALL of my seed in the refrigorator. I actually have a refrigorator just for them now. Anything that is coming in a "planting mix" probably does not need to be chilled before planting, but it won't hurt them any. Any extra that you want to hang on to for next year, put in an airtight container (I recycle Mayo and peanut butter jars for this) with a packet of silica gel if you have one. I started tomatoe seeds this year that are ten years old with 85% germination!!
B
Carol, I don't have any experiences with mixes, but I wouldn't think a seed company would put seeds with greatly different germination requirements in the same package. You're probably safe in following the suggestions on the seed envelope back...Do they tell you what time of year to sow?
But I did want you to know when you come across a seed that needs stratifying (a chill to break dormancy), the chill must be moist. Dry in the refrigerator is a good way to store, but it's storage.
Scattered thundershowers would save you a bit of work in not needing to water to keep your seeds moist....unless, you are expecting a deluge that could move your seeds around or wash them loose. :)
How did you use it? It would be very unusual for fertilizer to kill plants unless you had put it on the leaves. It is supposed to be worked into the soil, and the label warns to wash off leaves. Like other granular fertilizers, it is supposed to be activated by water so I don't understand the "crumbled by rain" comment.
I've only tried the Lavender variety "Lady", and I had blooms mid summer last year from it so I went with it again this year and have 7 small starts. I use the wet coffee filter in baggie method for germination, which usually takes less than a week...give or take. If you're unaware of what that method is. Wet a coffee filter (bleached/unbleached whatever) thourougly, sprinkle the seeds on it, fold it up then place in a plastic baggie. Blow a puff of air into the baggie before sealing it up. I then place the baggie (for other seeds/plants as well) on top of my cable box (for gentle bottom heat), and check every day to make sure the filter stays moist, and for germination. Once germination occurs, proceed as normal into seed starting mix/under lights.
Hope this helps...could be the variety, or method you're using for germination....hope it helps...
Todd In Philly
I planted snapdragons from seed last year. They were a little slow to handle the sun. Like you I put them out in the shade (like your overcast days) and after a few days into the sun. I learned that I had to start them in the early morning full sun and then move them into the shade come around 10 am. Hard to do for you if you work outside the home though. After a few days of this, they seemed to handle the sun okay.
The good news is that their final planting spot was in some planters that were in full sun. They did very well all summer. I did plant them in the MG Moisture control potting soil.
Years ago I had managed to gather leaves to about 1' thick on my 30x75 garden. It took a lot of work and was very productive. We had a large "dust devil" and it picked up and scattered every leaf from my garden all over the neighborhood. My neighbors were very upset and needless to say so was I.
You will know the answer as soon as you knock the seedlings out of the tray. (Or dig them out). It's a bad thing to recommend, but I always knock my seedlings out of the community pot (in my case) and see what's what. THEN I decide what pots to move them to. -- The risky part is taking too long to decide with the baby seedlings exposed, but I have never had any trouble with it at all.
Sometimes I am totally surprised by the huge root development, and sometimes I put them right back where they were to contintue growing bigger rots before transplanting.
The roots will tell you the size and shape of the pot. Tomatoes can (should) also be planted deeper, so a nice deep pot or cell pack would probably be ideal.
None of this directly answers your question about soil blocks, but I think the answer lies in asking you a question: Are the soil blocks big enough and deep enough to allow unfettered growth for the next couple of weeks?
LIme
Good question, limequilla. The blocks I would transplant them into would be the 4 inch blocks. I think anything smaller would affect their growth. There is a 4 inch block maker that you can put a spacer in that gives a 2 inch hole in the top, with the reasoning being that you started with 2 inch soil blocks and are transplating them into the 4 inch size.
nygardener-If I got the block maker with 2 inch spacer like the one described above, it would fit my 1 3/4 inch cells. I'm not sure I want to experiment with transplanting them into 4 inch blocks at this point. I may wait until next year to start them from scratch with soil blocks.
regine-
How are you keeping them warm? Do you have a heat mat going?
By heat mat, do you mean a heating pad? I don't feel comfortable leaving that on all the time.