6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Hi again cugal :-)

Regarding your lights, I donâÂÂt think theyâÂÂre too close at all. In fact, IâÂÂd say most folks keep them closer than 3 or 4 inches. Those T8 bulbs donâÂÂt get hot enough to be a problem, IâÂÂve used them for years and have always kept them about 2 inches above the seedlings.

In all probability, your main problem is the growing medium. As mandolls has mentioned, begonias prefer a coarse, well drained growing medium. I think Pro Mix has too much peat moss and, as I mentioned earlier, no nutrients what-so-ever.

Regarding nutrients, some folks will advise not fertilizing seedlings until they have developed a set or two of true leaves. However, many disagree with that, including the University of Massachusetts (see link below).

Whatever corrective course you end up taking, I wish you the very best of success!

Art

Here is a link that might be useful: Fertilizing Seedlings

Thanks again Art for the link & your insight! And yes, I'm inclined to agree with you about the media issue. Pro Mix retains water, staying far too damp when bottom watering..... I've potted on (the few that survived) to Fafards 3B...... We shall see!

If you're not sure about your seeds test them.

Ever year before I do my seed order I go through my existing seeds and test the ones I'm concerned about.

I take 10 (or fewer depending on how many I have) and put them in wet paper towel in a Ziploc bag to keep them from drying out. I place the bag in a warm place and check it every couple days to see if the seeds sprout.... and depending on how many sprout and how long it takes, I either keep the seeds or turf them.

My experience with sowing is mainly with woody species and to a lesser extent also with perennials.

Based upon my own experiences and scientific literature found on the Internet the following woody species have a short term viability and are best sown as soon as the seed is ripe (fresh seed). This does not mean that 'old' seeds of these species will not germinate but the germination rates may be very low. Especially if you are buying seeds this is something to take into consideration. Some of the species mentioned below can remain viable for a longer period of time if stored under very specific conditions but this is often impracticle or unattainable for the amateur gardener.

Woody species with seeds that have in general a short term viability (please note that this list is NOT exhaustive):

Acer platanoides
Acer saccharinum
Aesculus species
Alnus species
Araucaria araucana
Asimina triloba
Berberis species
Camellia species
Carya species
Castanea species
Daphne species (seed should be absolutely FRESH)
Euonymus species
Fagus species
Juglans species
Lindera obtusiloba
Magnolia species (seed does not store very well but if need to be then cold AND moist)
Mahonia species
Pseudolarix amabilis
Quercus species
Salix species
Sassafras albidum

In my experience seeds of many members (not all!!!) of the Ericaceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae can be stored cold and dry in a plastic container in the refridgerator (5 Celsius/41 Fahrenheit) while keeping decent germination rates for some years.

This post was edited by GardenPrince on Sat, Feb 1, 14 at 4:57

Mine have had high germination rates, typically about 70+%, but I used "Byron's Tea Recipe" to start the last batch. It went up to maybe 80+%. Sow them early spring or fall. I start them in small pots, but you can direct sow. They get rather big though; so sowing in pots is better I think.

I just started some seeds indoors. What is the growth rate from seed? Will I have a bush by fall? Im looking at transplanting some around a duck hole by October.

Thanks in advance

Which state or climate if not US are you located?

Your sign in shows Z9, I'm wondering why you are germinating indoors on a window sill. If you germinate your seeds indoors, you will need to harden them off by gradually exposing them to outside conditions for brief periods over a number of days. Even if your temperatures indoors are close to outside temps, the amount of actual sun and wind your seedlings can take without damage will be minimal at first if they have appeared/sprouted while in a protected room.

Thanks for all the information, and to answer your questions morz8, I am in zone 9 and did not realize germinating in cell packs designed for a window sill wasn't a good idea! I did read that I will need to harden my plants off. The reason I want to try to germinate indoors (annual flowers) is because many of my plants are in pots, which are full of plants/ flowers all the time, therefore can't really sow in my outdoor pots. I rearrange, change, and/or add to them at least 3 times a year along with whatever I have going on in the beds. I guess I just wanted to try another aspet of gardening, maybe save some money and have a bit more control over my color scheme with my tried and true favorites. I know I have a lot to learn, but thats one more great thing to love about gardening!

Hate to tell you this after all your work. But all of those should have been buried much deeper. Bury all the stem to just below the cotyledons. The weak stems can't support the head of the plant once any true leaf begins to develop.

And have you read all the info here on the needed fans now for adequate air circulation?

Dave

Yes, I have a fan in the laundry room which is about 5x7 circulating the air.

Most of those you see are pepper plants/flower plants.

As far as the tomatoes, I was trying my best to transfer all of the original soil so I didn't disturb the roots and some of them I didn't get as deep as I had hoped (those trays are shallower) though they all got roots all the way to the bottom which seems good! But yes, wasn't sure I could bury all the way to the leaves, after they get stronger I'll do it. They are stiffening up now that they have soaked in the water. Its probably at the lowest 55 in that room at night, and closer to 70 most of the time. Is that okay/ The heatting pad is still on my seeds I'm germinating, and its helping give the small room a little warmth I can feel too.

Its getting down to 10-15 degree's on and off the last few days here. Burrr.

Ungarden related news, we're closing on our house Friday. Would an open shelf/table in a morning sun location + 2 T8 Lights be best inside or an enclosed closet with a fan/light?

Thank you for all the help guys, I know I must seem like a clutz. Sometimes I am and I just rush into things :

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden YouTube Channel

Thanks I think you're right! I found bluebonnet seedlings look the same. In the same family I think and since I'm in Texas where they're everywhere and the soil came from a pile outside.....

Yes, Blue Bonnets aren't just the same family, they're the same genus. They're Lupinus texensis. Nice 'weed' to have.

After dowlinggram's reply I went ahead and put some soil in the bottom of a two different shallow (2 1/2 inch high) pots (with drainage holes on bottom) that are just a little taller than the two sizes of bulb(s), and arranged the bulbs close together (almost touching) around in the pots. I'd say there's half an inch of soil between the bottom of the bulbs and the bottom of the pots. Then I filled with soil until just the spouts are sticking up above the soil line, and watered. But now I'm not sure, with the contrasting advice, whether I should stick them on a window sill or somewhere they'll get some light, or put them in a cool dark place for a few weeks while I await some root growth. The pots are clear plastic so hopefully when/if some root growth begins to happen I might be able to see some such roots through the pot, but that may be rather difficult with the soil in there to actually tell without lifting the bulbs out of the soil to take a good look. If I do notice some roots, is that the time to transplant the bulbs into bigger pots with more soil, or should I just allow them to grow in those shallow pots until I finally see blooming and then replant them? Or is the idea supposed to be not to replant them and leave them in these forcing pots until such time as I plant them in the garden? With the way I've got these bulbs now all close together in my shallow pots and the shallow soil there's no way the roots can ever get nice and long and straight as shown in floral_uk's photo. Not if I leave them in my shallow pots. Do I want to leave them in the shallow pots until I actually see flowers blooming? How long are we talking here, a month maybe or quite a bit longer?

Here's a photo of what I got going. Seem about right or not really?

I'm personally addicted to growing trees. But, I have a place to plant many of them, and I know not everyone does. If you have the room to plant them or have a way to find them good homes, that's what I'd probably grow. Suppliers like Sheffield's and Schumaker make shopping for a wide variety of woody stuff pretty easy. If you don't want to have to stratify the seeds, just look for some that don't need pretreatment (there are quite a few).

Right now, I have my eye on some seeds from Prairie Moon. They have a good selection of native / environmentally-beneficial plants (especially perennials and grasses).

I guess really it's more about what you have a place to grow than what's the most fun to plant. Cause growing just about anything from seed is fun to watch!

Wintersowing can be a fun way to grow many things. Some of the benefits are less indoor space needed and no extra electricity for indoor lighting. Of course, you can't always watch them as closely and you may not get as much of a jump on the growing season.

Rocca, that's a broad question, and you have not described your garden, how much space you have, what you are interested in. Why not start here and get a better idea so you can decide what you really want to do:

Here is a link that might be useful: Local info

Thanks to all you for good ideas.
I might try different ones on different flats.

Francis, is it possible to replace cow manure with some other manure? Like horse, chicken?

Sometimes Tropical Milkweed shed their lower leaves so that the new growth has more nutrients. They may need a little more fertilizer.

Thanks, Nel5397. I added a little slow release fertilizer on the plants today. I also reduced their light a little and I've noticed a huge difference the newer leaves don't have the red spots like the previous leaves did. I noticed you lived in FL you must see Monarch butterflies there all the time. This year I'm starting early so they can lay some eggs on my milkweeds in the spring. Thanks again. :)