6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Please see the FAQ below.
Here is a link that might be useful: There is something growing on my soil FAQ
Green algae doesn't actually harm the seedlings, unless it gets so thick that it seals the soil and no air can get through. Algae needs light to grow, when growing in pots you can top the surface with fine grit to keep it from forming. With those peat pots you would have to bury them. (but take that netting off!)
It seems like every store in the world sells those damn peat pots - which makes anyone new to seed starting think that they are the way to go, but they can be very problematic.
I haven't seen anyone on this forum use peat pots more than once or twice - almost no one who is experienced recommends them. If you are going to start again - get a bag of seed starting mix and use pots or plastic cups with hole punched in them. Uncover seedlings as soon as they sprout and keep that fan running. Tomatoes need to be transplanted to deep pots or 16 oz cups so that their roots can have room to develop.
Thank you for the replies,
on the strength of which I dismiss my tentative thought of trying it.
( Before I posted the question, I had searched GW for information. I cite the
following only as a for-whatever-it's-worth perspective, given the different condition.
"...sawdust (several years old).... seeds germinated, and within a couple of weeks were 6 TIMES (Yes I measured them!) larger than the seedlings in the flats"
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/seed/msg0214050315097.html )
Comments taken out of context can often be very misleading. As was pointed out in that discussion of potting mixes, that individual was having a number of problems with their methods.
The important distinction in that thread is that it was well rotted sawdust - several years old - mixed with compost.
While we don't have anyway of knowing the ratio of compost to rotted sawdust that one person used we can guess that it was predominately compost as it was used to fill an in-ground bed.
The primary point was how well rotted it was. Any sawdust, over years of time time, will break down to the point where it no longer binds up nitrogen and becomes a neutral soil amendment. Does that mean it should be used to start seeds? No,
You didn't stipulate the age of the sawdust in your original post.
Hope this clarifies.
Dave
Our technicians wife is scurrying around, already lining up flowers on a budget for their son's Aug 9 wedding. That bride would like to use a lot of hydrangeas for very full arrangements and they've found a grower through a local farmers market. He's even agreed to let them cut for themselves, the day before the wedding. (OK, that's sounding a little to me like a mother in law going almost sleepless the night before, but I'm staying out of it ;))
She's feeling pretty confident in the availability of enough fresh flowers through farmers market sources for a lovely wedding and reception. There is a wholesale cut flowers market in Seattle too that has hours open to the public one day a week for 4 hours no buyers card required, it wouldn't surprise me to find that in most major cities, why don't you try googling your own, see what you might come up with.
Congrats on the wedding. :) Had the same idea of growing my own centerpieces for my wedding. After a trial period, where my specially ordered "prince of orange" sweet pea seeds did not grow orange but pink, which isn't what I wanted. My other flowers took a pounding from hail or didn't germinate. I think I'll probably order flowers for the event or invest in a greenhouse... let us know how it works out for you.
Purslane or portulacca which one. Although they are related there is a difference.
Purslane is a name given to a weed as well as a perennial flower. The flower will take most of the summer to mature and bloom. It has smaller flowers than Portulacca and is not as showy. All are in the same family
Portulacca or moss rose is an annual. It will take about 8-10 weeks to reach the blooming time from seed. It can be direct sown or started early. It readily drops it's seeds which sprout and grow the next year so it may appear like a perennial but it's not
Probably as long as it is allowed to run long enough to evenly saturate the soil to the depth of the seeds. Many don't realize how slowly soaker hose delivers water so fail to run it long enough to accomplish its purpose.
Most common method I think is some form of light sprinkle - either a sprinkling can or sprinkler of some kind.
Dave
Soaker hoses work fine for watering a garden when they are functioning properly and are much more efficient than overhead watering. Lots of soaker hoses don't hold up well in the long run. I prefer drip irrigation hoses. They work very much like soaker hoses, but can last much longer. Also, because of the way they are designed, they tend to provide more even watering (especially when your system is properly laid out). Drip irrigation is a little more expensive to start with, but over the long run can save lots of money.
I've grown this plant from seed (fairly easy), but 28-year-old seed might be a little tougher (!).
If there's a hard seed coat that can be nicked/chipped, then soaking seed in warm water for at least 24 hours might be beneficial.
Earlier this winter I germinated some Sesbania tripeti seed from 1999 that way.
Sorry I'm posting a pic I'm getting spindle little sprouts that appear to be strectching and most rant coming up. I thought to much mositure with heat I added the fan as directed but nothing is coming out right I miss my flos I have numerous varieties in the same dome. As they pop I'm moving them over to an uncovered dome lower right of pic any more advice?
Starting at the bottom: Strawberries are normally grown from transplants not seed and bare root transplants are readily available for planting. Strawberry seeds are only available for a couple of small wild-derived varieties ie Alpine and are slow and difficult to germinate. Strawberries produce their own runner plants which are easily transplanted.
Planting times in your zones I can't help you with but that info is readily available on the web from all sorts of sources. On average cool weather crops (chard, beets, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, fava beans, lettuce, spinach, etc.) are planted out at least a month prior to summer crops. For me that is early to mid March depending on soil temps as my last frost is Apr. 15th.
When it comes to direct seeded plants you need to learn to measure and plant by soil temps. Each has an ideal range of soil temps required for germination and that is what determines your planting date. Charts are available for all vegetables and most flowers. I linked one of the many below. EX: lettuce, spinach, peas require minimum of 40 degree soil, beans 60 degree soil, broccoli requires 50 degree soil, tomatoes 70 degrees, peppers 75, etc. Broccoli transplants are best transplanted prior to the 3rd true leaf which is normally approx. 4" tall.
Perennials blooming the first year varies depending on zone. In the warmer zones, if started early enough, many will bloom that summer.
Most annuals seed packets will give you an approx. direct seed date on the packet. They are divided into hardy annuals, half-hardy annuals, and tender annuals classes and require different soil temps for germination and survival so you need to know which class your choice fall into. hardy annuals will tolerate light frosts but tender annuals are only planted after all danger of frost is past.
Zinnas - there are lots of posts here from folks who have tried to start them indoor and discovered the problems. Direct seeding them in early May should be fine for your zone.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Soil temps for direct seeding vegetables.
I just bought a couple of bags of starter soil today to get the ball rolling and I'm thinking of starting the broccoli, perennials, and annuals today in my basement. Sounds reasonable? This would give the broccoli at least 7 weeks before putting them outdoors.
Regarding lettuce, peas (both of which I'll direct seed) and broccoli (started indoors) under what conditions would I need to protect these cool weather crops once they are in my raised beds? I'm guesstimating that they'll be in my garden in mid-April, a month before my summer crops go in.
I really want to give the strawberries a shot so I might start them tonight too. Even if there is a low probability of success, at least I'll know I tried.
By the way, thanks for that link to the germinating temps. Neat thing to add to my seed storage container for reference.
Jennie - you are using some terms without understanding their meaning I fear and that may be causing your problems. It can be confusing but it is important to understand the differences and use them correctly so that others can know exactly what you are doing.
1) nothing with "soil" is used. Soil-less mixes only.
2) Seed starting mix is one type of soil-less mix (not soil) made exclusively for germinating seeds and is not used for growing the plants once they have germinated and developed a true leaf. Some prefer it just for its ultra-fine texture.
3) Potting mix (not soil) is a soil-less mix used for growing the plants once they have 1-2 true leaves. They get transplanted into it out of the seed starting mix. It has a more coarse texture and contains some additional ingredients.
Last year I learned not to use regular seed starting soil for peppers - they did not do well at all until I moved them to an orchid soil
Peppers are commonly germinated in AND grown in any quality soil-less mix (no soil). Some use the seed starting type, most use the potting mix type (not potting soil). Orchid Mix is not required for any reason and the only difference in it is the ultra-coarse texture.
Does this help clarify?
Problems sometimes develop even with soil-less mixes but that doesn't mean it was the mix that caused the problem. And some brands of soil-less mix are better than others so we'd need to know exactly what brands you used.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the clarifications. I did understand better than I articulated, but not as well as I do now :-). The reason I mentioned orchid mix for peppers was due to some problems I had last year and folks in the pepper forum told me to us MG orchid mix. It made all the difference for my plants!
I do have seed starting mix, and I have potting mix. Here's my next question.....how do you move the seedlings to the potting mix when they are so tiny? I'm scared to touch them!
Thanks for all you do to help!
Jennie
I have a small seeder that I bought for a couple of dollars. I use it in the garden for small seeds like lettuce but for very tiny seeds like impatiens, petunias and alyssum I use my hand and a toothpick but not like SouthCountryGuy.
I pour a few seeds in my left hand and cup it slightly. The seeds all fall into the crease in my hand. Then with my right hand I tease them off into the pots with a toothpick. It works great for me
Thanks all for your take on these sowing practices! I've just sowed coleus seeds (4-5 days ago, in my germinator, under lights, & on heat mats) using fine sand & I'm seeing some germination, so it must work! The toothpick method has worked also......
My joints are increasingly deteriorating from the advances of chronic osteoarthritis, making sowing seeds a problem....... I'm always looking for any method of gardening that might aid my deteriorating joints.....
Oh my, I fear I may have an embarrassment of riches.
Bag 1 (Window, Seeds from Fridge): Multiple sprouts, including some very obvious green. I moved 2 seedlings into a pot, but this was probably premature. They do not appear to be breaking through the 1 layer of paper towel.
Bag 2 (Fridge, Seeds from Freezer): No activity yet, but I have not checked for roots.
Bag 3 (Desk, Seeds from Fridge): No Green, but a ton of roots. 1 more week and I'll start seeing green.
Pot 1 (Small 2" square pot, Seeds from Freezer): 1 or 2 seedlings coming up.
Pot 2 (4" plastic pot, Seeds from Fridge): 6 or 7 seedlings coming up.
No clue what I'm gonna do with 50-60 Yellow Alpine Strawberry plants. Probably give them away as gifts to teammates at work, assuming they all survive.
Hi guys, at first I want to say WOW, how did I live my life without knowing about this forum.
So I really want to plant alpine strawberries in my place, but I live in a very warm place, here we don't have winters, it remains almost the same temperature all year , ranges from 77F to 91F and doesn't drop any lower than 70F or any higher than 93F (like ever) and I'm trying to grow these here. I will try stratification via putting them in the fridge, my seeds come from Spain so I am hoping these are more heat tolerant.
But the question is I was just wondering, with these daily temperatures, do I have to pretend to the plant its *spring* by giving it partial shade, before exposing it to the daily +80F average?
And do you think that it will actually die in the hot weather, did you ever have problem with plants dying in a hot summer?
And if you could prevent how did you do it?
Do you guys think its a good idea to give it partial shade or full sun? (we have 12h and min of 11:30h of sun every day ear round being that *winter* is the -30 minutes of sun)
That would be very kind of you if you could tell me anything about hot weather and strawberries
thanks :)
If it's 10 degrees on a cloudy day what is it at night I'll bet it is close to freezing or below. Your snaps won't do much growing with those temperatures.
Take some clear 2 liter pop bottles or any clear bottle and fill them almost full with water, Put the lids on and let them sit on a sunny shelf in your greenhouse. The water will get hot. Before night time arrange the bottles around the container with your seedlings. Wrap bottles and container in a sheet of plastic or cloth--don't let it touch your seedlings. You will have made a little warm coccon for your seedlings. Remove everything in the morning so you don't fry your plants and repeat every evening until the weather is warmer.
Your seedlings simply won't grow with the temperatures they are at now
I will agree with dowlinggram. When I grow snaps they are kept about 15C all the time......and they creep...ohhhh they creep.... until outside to explode.... after 8 weeks I have transplanted snaps that are under 3" tall but have great roots....
good luck
If the top tray doesn't have holes how is the water from the bottom tray going to 'wick' into it? I'm not understanding this set up. Can you explain further?
Manual just assumes you're cooking directly in the PC.
What you are describing won't work. The flat containing the pots has to float or be suspended above the flat holding the water.
All you need is a standard flat with no holes, a piece of capillary matting cut to fit it on the long sides of the flat but left longer in length so it can drape over into another container sitting end to end with the flat that contains your pots. Another flat filled with water works well. Simple and easy to do.
However you also need to understand that capillary matting has problems of its own. It tends to way over-water many plants, especially young seedlings. And it will wick water as long as water is available regardless of if the plants need it or not. Fill the water flat with water and you will come back later to find most all that water sitting over in the flat with the pots and the pots will be soaking wet.
The wicking material used in the commercial set-ups of this kind are much thinner than standard capillary matting, made of a different material, and do less wicking to try to avoid just this problem. They also use spnge type mediums rather than potting mix so they dry out faster. Even then they are only partially successful at eliminating the problem of over-watering.
Standard capillary matting works ok for well established plants that need to be left alone for a few days for some reason, They are old enough to tolerate the over-watering for a brief period of time as long as they are allowed to dry out some when removed from the matting. Germinating seeds and young plants are not so tolerant.
Dave