6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
I know others will disagree with me, but I never feed my seedlings. The potting soil I use (Metro 360) has some fertiziler in it. That is all the babies get. I figure they will be out in the sun and soil soon enough and can get what they need from their outside environment. When I plant them in baskets or planters, I do include a feeding of Osmocote time release fertilizer.
Eleanor
Could you take a look at this "cosmo" in my seed album.
Do you mean I can bury this plant up to the 2 thin long bottom leaves. Also what about the bean plant?
Sure would like to know what flowers you can bury deep...
Thanks,
Patsi
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Album
I think Mom meant to snip the growing tips just above the last leaf node, which will encourage branching. If you cut more than this, or do it while the plant is too young, you can weaken the plant, since the plant relies on its leaves to make food. Wait until there are five pairs of leaves and the lowest ones are at least an inch long.
These guys are singing, "Sorry about your petunias!"
But this fellow is reminded of his own penchant for decapitation.
Good luck!
I have some emerging now that were started on 2/9. Generally 4 to 6 weeks to germinate. They don't need any pre-treatment if that's what you're asking. Just plant, cover lightly, give full light and keep misted. They germinate best when temps are on the cool side 40F or so. But mine are in a 50F basement and doing fine. Germination is erratic.
Hi Cynthia,
My daylilies are up and about 6 inches tall now, but do not seem to be growing. It seems as if they have been at this stage for a while now. Do I need to fertilize or do anything special to get them growing again? I put the actual seeds in a little water in a baggie when starting the seeds. When the roots formed I placed in pots.
I have zinnas planted too and they have about 6 leaves on them. Are you saying to plant them, stem too, up to the first set of seeds. Also can I pinch them now? Would that help them to bush out more? or should I wait until I have planted them in the ground and they have gotten bigger?
Yes, coppertop, that's what I'm saying, but I was looking at Tina's picture above. If you have a 4" difference between the top of the soil and the bottom of the seed leaves, I'm not sure what you should do because that has never happened to me before.
Pinching will help them bush out, definitely. I'm not sure if you do it at 6 or 8 leaves. But yes, do it when they need it whether they are inside or outside.
Lime
justaguy,
I notice a yellow cast to your photo, which suggests you are using a sodium light. I think cool white fluorescents are more suitable for seed starting, because of the higher blue spectral content. Would it be possible to try some cool white fluorescent light on at least some of your seedlings?
Also, I notice your vermiculite has a distinctive brown color to it. I know that some vermiculite has a tan rather than the usual gray color, but I never saw any look so very brown. Did something you watered it with turn it brown?
I don't know what the problem is at this point, but your dahlia leaves shouldn't be turning brown at the tips.
One of the reasons I don't like yellow sodium lights or purple gro-lites is the unnatural color they cast on the plants for photos, or for just visual observation.
MM
I am using a high pressure sodium bulb. While I agree it doesn't make for the most natural colored photos, it does the job for growing. A Metal Halide would be preferable for seed starting, but I can't justify replacing the HPS at this point.
Just going to wait and see if the plants outgrow whatever the issue is. The newest leaves appear to be doing better still so maybe whatever the issue is/was is lessening.
I'm a newbie too, so can't really answer your hardening off questions. I just read a suggestion elsewhere that if you're worried about your plants getting too cold overnight in a coldframe, just put a couple hot water bottles in there.
I gave some of my germinating seeds a nice kickstart by putting hot h2o bottles in with them!
Good luck! Ruth
Eddie,
There are more than a couple classes of plants, and the classes need to be treated differently. Hardy Perennials and Hardy annuals will be ok in your cold frame. Then, when it's reliably in the 30s day and night, pull them out where they can get sun and rain.
How do you know if you have a hardy annual or a hardy perennial? Go to the T&M site and do a search on each seed you sow. They have the class of seed right there. HA, HHA (half hardy annuals, what we would call a tender annual), TP, P, Gh (tender tropical, these might have minimum temperatures of 40 or 50 degrees.)
The most common tragedies that kill seedlings when they go from the basement to the outside is pounding rain, sun scald, animals/children, extreme cold. I would put them in that order. (That's all I can think of, anyway.)
Next year, start your seedlings in 2 stages. Start your perennials first, your hardy annuals second. Then start the annuals that take a long, long, long time like Lisanthus and Torenia. Then stop for a while. The hardy perennials and hardy annuals can be hardened off VERY early and can be planted out, then you can start your second wave of sowing. Hardy annuals I planted out three weeks ago, well-before our recent 6 day cold snap were:
Annual Chrysanthemum Tricolor
bachelor buttons,
Annual alyssum,
DWARF Ensign Morning Glory,
Calendula -- I had some losses on the Calendula,
Clarkia,
Snapdragons,
Gilia,
perennial Primula often grown as annuals, and
Wallflower.
ALL of these were outside, planted in the garden when it got down to 23 degrees and when it was sub freezing for several episodes lasting more than 12 hours. (Actually I was sort of shocked they came through so well.)
Flowers that have grown tooooo fast for me indoors under lights are dahlias and Zinnias. I heard about the dahlias, but I didn't realize what they meant -- those things grow FAST!
If you're a vegetable gardener, I've heard broccoli, kohlrabi, and several others are cool weather crops and should be treated like hardy annuals.
Lime
Saturn69,
The sprayer may have been a good idea for when the seedlings first emerged, but now you should probably use something that gets the water on faster and in greater amounts.
A measuring cup with a pouring lip could serve. Just gently dribble some water around the base of the seedlings without getting their leaves wet. You can pour water on faster than you can spray it on. Some garden stores have small watering cans with handy long necks that could work well.
It's also time to think about adding some soluble nutrients to the water, because your Hyponex growing medium doesn't contain a lot of nutrients, if any. As your seedlings develop a root system, you can water and feed them from below by pouring soluble nutrient solutions directly into the drainage trays.
Since your growing medium is probably sterile, your soluble nutrient formula should not contain any nitrogen in the form of urea. In the garden, soil microorganisms break urea down into usable nitrates and ammonium ions. But in a sterile medium, urea can accumulate to harmful concentrations.
Better-Gro Orchid Plus water soluble orchid food (20-14-13 plus essential minor elements) is urea-free and starting off with ½ teaspoon per gallon would be safe and appropriate. As your plants get much larger, you could increase that to 1 teaspoon per gallon. I get Better-Gro Orchid Plus at Lowes.
If a Lowes isn't handy, Peters Specialties African Violet Plant Food has a urea-free water soluble formula of 12-36-14 with micronutrients and it is available at Home Depots and many garden centers and nurseries. Hydroponics supply stores have other brands of urea-free soluble nutrients that could work as well.
MM
Oh dear. I think the ones already on their side may be too far gone - RIP - the others you really should try and get to a significant light source ASAP. Keep them warm, not to wet and with fan on them to prevent damping off.
The hardening off process to introduce seedlings outdoors is usually done in stages: first day in a partly shaded area for only a few hours, second day a bit more sun for a bit longer, etc.
This has happened to all of us at one time or another - good luck!
Howard
they might still be OK once they're back inside. they might have dried out and/or gotten too much sun too fast. this has happened to me before. i think the transition to full sun all day has to be more gradual than you'd think. gradually increasing the sun exposure and time outside over the course of a week is what i do now. i'm curious as to what others do. and i wait until they're bigger, about 4 weeks old, maybe, or until the temperature is milder (for things like tomatoes.)
good luck!
Dan,
75-80 temps would be better for these seeds. I would be more concerned over being able to keep the seeds moist until they sprouts with all that warm air blowing over them constantly.
Maybe you could vent the tent somehow to allow more air to escape the tent and reduce the temperature a little bit.
When they do sprout remove them from this heat house and get them under some light. A south facing window if you have one works pretty good. Watch the cold from the window though.
Best of Luck!
Cindi
Here's a website with seedling pictures. If you can't find some of your seedlings there, go over to the "Name That Plant" forum and post pictures.
Here is a link that might be useful: The Seed Site
Are these the bottom leaves? If so, it is the seed leaves (cotyledons) that are dying. That is natural. Those are the leaves (two, in the case of marigolds) that are in the seed itself. When true leaves start to form, the seed leaves die off. If all is well, you should have new leaves at the tops of the plants that actually look like marigold leaves.
Eleanor