6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Hi Leah,
I would think ordinary potters clay could be rolled in seeds and have them stick without further wetting? I'm with you that wetting might mildew the seed, etc.
why not dispense with all the dirt stuff and just tie up the dry seed mix in traditional chiffon like you would rice? If the seed is too small, any material you chose would do. or if you want something people just have to add water to, just include a lite seed starting mix.
I just stuck a seed in the ground slightly covered and it grew into a small tree without any care. I am in 9b and the cold kept nipping it so I pulled it. It was in the wrong spot anyway. Guess I never expected it to grow. I thought of planting some of the new types that are more cold hardy but never did.
It takes a little time to grow them from their pits, but it's a basic second grade experiment. All grade school kids have success.
I got a few to grow, but they died when they got into a pot with soil.
There is one that survived. It's putting out leaves like crazy! They do love water, which is why they do just fine in pure water! Mine is on a drip system. We will transplant into the ground in spring on a drip system and add a couple more for polination!
Good luck!
Suzi
I think you'll get better info on the allium forum. When you get there, do a search on that forum for what you want. There are tons of posts about growing garlic and onions.
Start garlic from individual cloves, not seeds.
Good luck and enjoy.
Yeah, garlic from cloves are a piece of cake! You can use store bought, just get a few organic garlic bulbs at the grocery, break off the cloves, plant them 2-3 inches deep, 4 inches apart!
Onion seeds I have problem starting for some reason. Not sure why, I have a really green thumb.
Hi Gav65,
I grow the dwarf type. Actually they grow themselves. Spreading through out the garden. They look beautiful. Even though, luckily they duplicate as dwarf, sometimes they revert back to tall, which I pull mostly. Occasionally I get a pink dwarf, which I like.
I slipped into to calling them Mexican popping plants, because when it rains or you water them, the seeds pop across the yard. I remember once sitting in the yard. I heard a drop and felt a seed hit my cheek from about 4 feet away. The first new plant I got from seed was 12 feet from the parent. I thought the root traveled that far, not knowing that the seeds pop that far. At this time of the year they are one of the prettiest plants in my garden. Sorry I did not answer your question.
2010 I planted about 8 seed last 3 years and grow only 5, one died, one I sent to my friend in AZ, 3 I kept, but every year one by one died, now only one left. You should keep in partial shade or green house this time of year and winter put in green house with light or inside the house close to window that get light. For dirt I love using miracle grow moisture control and fertilizer I use Epsom salt. This plant is hard to grow as my place is dry and hot, even though I am in CA but I get snow in the winter some time or just freezing cold. I just plant again couples days ago, see picture.
I could get really technical here, but the flowering mechanism for snaps is light accumulation. Long days and intensity promote bud formation. Your observation that it didn't matter when you started them is spot on. Until they get enough daylight accumulated, they won't form buds! :-)
I grow many kinds of celosia. They do not need darkness to germinate. If anything, they need light. I sow them on top of the soil (indoors under lights) and sprinkle some milled sphagnum moss on top (as I do with all my seeds). They germinate fine this way.
In my garden, the seeds from last year that have fallen, germinate in abundance, and that happens even when I have turned compost into the soil. So they must germinate under many conditions. They are easy.
What seeds are you trying to sow? That makes a difference in the answer. Some seeds can be scattered now and some in very early spring while snow is still happening. Some can be started now and when they come up, you put some protection over them during winter to keep them at an even temp.
The vegetable and flower seeds would likely be fine in the refrigerator, or your garage if your overall humidity isn't too high. The palms may need to be looked at differently though - there are many kinds of palm and most don't store well under any condition, they lose viability if not sown as fresh as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with palms myself, those that are hardy here look a little silly among landscapes of conifers and rhododendrons :)
"With few exceptions, it is best to plant palm seed shortly after cleaning. If this is not possible, the best general storage procedure - cleaned and air-dried seed, seal the seed in plastic bags, and store at 65-75ðF. Seeds of most tropical palms will lose viability if stored at temperatures below 60ðF"
Apparently seed is a rare occurrence with these, they normally don't set viable seed. " Although the Egyptian Walking Onion is a top-setting onion, it will occasionally produce miniature flowers among its topsets, so you'd look for them there. The flowers are only about 1/4" wide. They have 6 white petals and 6 stamens. Each petal has a vertical pea-green stripe. Most of the flowers dry up and wither as the topsets fiercly compete with them for energy. Result is Egyptian Walking Onion seed is a rarity".
In zone 7 you may be okay to plant them out. How big are the seedlings? I've got 2-3 month old Echinacea seedlings I started in May that are ready to plant out, they are 3-4 inch clumps now. But it's been so dry and warm, and they are easier to water in the containers, so I haven't planted them out yet. Really waiting for a good rain, the ground is dry as dust!
If your seedlings are tiny and you have doubts, you can overwinter the plants in the pots in the garage or basement, and water about once a month to keep roots moist. I over winter some tender perennials (like Salvia guaranitica) and sometimes small seedlings every year in the garage with pretty good success. Just have to remember to water them once a month or so to keep the potting mix moist.
I am going to plant some seeds as well tomorrow. Purple basic coneflowers (cheap seeds!) I cut the bottoms out of some cheap plastic pots and stuck them in the ground, so I can easily remove later. I mostly did that so that I remember where I planted them :) I figure this is the time of year the plant would naturally drop seeds so worth a shot.
Hi Greenhorn,
Raspberry seeds don't like to be dried and stored. Also, there are a few embryonic "keys" you have to unlock. Lot's of people have different favorite ways of doing this. I would do it this way. Pick ripe fruit and freeze it for 2 months. Thaw and let it overipen to the point of fermentation. Place the fruit in a wire mesh strainer, and separate the seed from the pulp. Place the seeds immediately into a cup of water that is 100F or so and soak for an hour. Place seeds in sterile soil and keep moist, maintaining a soil temp of 75F to 85F until you see signs of sprouting. Then, you can back off to 65F to 75F Here is a scholarly link on it (good luck with trying to scarify a raspberry seed!). You could also soak them in various acid solutions at point of planting. It's all in the article in the link below.
Susan
Here is a link that might be useful: Drying interferes with germ of Rubus species
I've never heard the dry thing before. I'm no pro, but I've grown dozens of raspberry plants from seeds in the past from store bought fruit. You won't get the same thing, often times they're just sweet and no tart.
I usually pick a few berries and leave them somewhere warm for a day or two, then run them with my finger using a fine steel sieve and wash them thoroughly and allow them to dry in folded paper towels. When I'm ready I wet and wring out a paper towel or two, place the dried pods which have been ziplocked for a few months, onto one side then fold over the other side. I stick them in a baggy and put them on the condiment shelf in the fridge for about a month, then plant them. I've gotten about an 85% germination rate doing this. Raspberries are invasive, much like mint, so you'll need to check them out often as they mature. I planted and grew a little over 15 plants when I was 10, I'm 24 now and my folks' house's backyard now has about 60 different berry plants all throughout. They're regularly pruned now though, so they don't take up much space.
You could also do as nature intended, just throw a few berries into a pot or the ground where the soil is nice and rich, let it rot in the soil and come some time later, you'll have plants growing.
Depending on soil conditions and regional weather, you may have to wait more than a few years or more for fruit. If you're in California, fruit from seed usually results in faster mature times for trees. In the nearly 30 years my parents have owned that house, they've never had any luck with grafted trees. So they just did it like in the old country, they just planted what they bought at the store. Of the apple seeds, only two trees resulted in tart little apples, the rest of them are some type of cultivar, whether they're discovered or not is a mystery to me. One tree in particular sets crimson red apples the size of a fist with a buttery yellow, pink tinged flesh. The others are some type of gala and golden delicious variety, but not exactly those.
Those all fruited in 3-5 years.