6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
There is an entire forum dedicated to winter sowing if that is the route you choose to use....in the W's, under Winter.You'll find that containers that are at least translucent rather than light blocking will be better choices. The lid in particular, although altering an opaque lid is demonstrated here:
Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown.org - lids
The internet is a wonderful tool and if you use it diligently will give you all the answers you need. I find it is well worthwhile researching where the plants you want to grow come from originally. If they are not from southern USA, locations with a similar climate will do best ie. Southern China or Japan. Plants from tropical climates will do well for a season but then die as the winter is too cold.. Plants which have a different rainfall pattern ie. Mediterranean (wet winter, dry summer) are also tricky, as they get diseased easily. As for containers, really anything that has the right amount of drainage will do. Plastic is good as it is easy to perforate and put in extra holes. Don't try and economize and use ordinary garden dirt for seedlings and young plants. Get (or make) some good quality compost. Good luck. Ian
Oh, I'm not too worried about the above-ground pests: the neighbor's dogs, the local fox and coyote populations, the owls and my .22-cal rifles keep them in check. It's the damn pocket gophers that kill me. They never come out of the ground to be killed. I had a row of apricot seedlings in the garden last year, and the little bastards pulled them straight down, Bugs Bunny style, into the ground as they ate the roots off! I lost a 6 ft tall Honeycrisp apple AND a 6 ft tall Northstar cherry after they ate ALL the roots and the trees basically fell over in a strong wind one spring day!
The Real Problem is this:
The Proof On The Ground
In the forests of Northern California, bark is literally being scorched from trees. On many specimens, only a thin strip of bark remains on the shaded side of the tree. Foliage is being scorched with many trees having only a fraction of their normal leaf cover. Many native species of plants are not even sprouting any more. The organisms that do still manage to grow appear miniaturized in some cases.
What are just some of the results of excessive UV exposure to plants?
Can stop sprouting of seeds,
Stunts growth,
Limb die off,
Reduced foliage,
DNA damage,
Changes nutrient distribution,
Mutatins,
Effects photosynthesis
Greatly increased mortality
SOME known effects of excessive UV exposure to aquatic life:
All aquatic life is particularly vulnerable to high UV levels.
Phytoplankton accounts for some 30% of the worlds' intake of animal protein. Phytoplankton and the microorganisms they consume are killed by excessive UV levels. (Global plankton populations have already been reduced by 40% to 50%. Much of the die off is likely due to increased UV radiation.)
Less plankton = less carbon-dioxide absorption.
Less plankton = less oxygen production. (Atmospheric oxygen content around the globe declining rapidly)
Less plankton = less fish. Period.
Continue: http://globalmarchagainstchemtrailsandgeoengineering.com/
Also view the evidence videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvtD_dizuDE
and this one too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48J6F4PLOlU
Contact your local news channel and newspaper. Don't contact the government, they have the canned answers anyway.
Here is a link that might be useful: Global March Against Chemtrails and Geo-Engineering
Greetings,
(check out my response=***)
I don't like to start seeds en masse, I like to use seedling trays. But since I don't always want 72 plants of whatever, I will start several different kinds in one tray. And of course they don't all come up on the same schedule, so when it's time to pot on one kind, the others are still too small. And since the trays are flexible, getting out the ones I want can negatively affect the ones I want to leave to grow a bit longer before potting.
****I have tried this in the past with no success. I made an microsoft excel spread sheet with all kinds of data and observations. in the end space, light, water requirements were too much for me to deal with and lost all 72.
Yes, I could just plant partial trays, but that runs into space issues.
So I've tried spoons, knives, chopsticks and plant labels as tools, but am not satisfied with how they work. What do you all use?
*** I have tried many labeling techniques but the only one that seems to work for me is just growing one item per tray. In the end I dont use all 72 that germinate but the 10- 20 seedlings i keep are of high quality.
I hope my experience can assist you. I couldnt really find a good labeling technique when dealing with many varieties. Cheers!
Hi florauk,
I think I got the picture, you mean because soaking starts the germination, then when the seed dries out during the germination process then maybe my seeds have died?
If the seeds have died though, why cant i find them? Like parsley seeds that are easy to see.. I dont have an empty container right now.. And running out of seeds too!
Greetings Nadya17,
(check out my response=***)
Last weeks I bought some herb seeds like oregano, parsley, rosemary, and two kinds of basil. I soaked them in water for 24 hours before planting, then I scatter the seeds on top of the soil. Then I had to come to family wedding out of town, and I simply forget about them. I told my brother to water them but he forgot too. When I came home, the soil n top has been dried out. I cant see anyseeds. The basils did sprouted, however, only few of them.
*** If you cover the area with plastic you greatly increase survival rate, so much so that you will have to thin them out. Try it!!
My question is, because I scattered the seeds ON the soil surface, should I start with new batches of seeds or wait for them to come up? I've read that oregano and parsley are slow to germinate. I've watered the thoroughly now.
***Start a new batch! if you cover it the area with plastic you not only increase survival rate but you also decrease germination time!!!
Also, I know it's stupid but when I saw the dry soil I tried to look for the seeds but couldn't find even one in the place I put them on the soil.. What should I do now?
****Don't worry about the seeds, a squirrel or birds could have snacked on them. Proceed with new seeds.
*** two kinds of basil??? What kind are your trying? I had a hard time with lemon basil when i first started gardening... now i have more than i know what to do with! I hope you have this problem soon. Cheers!
You have some challenges wanting to grow your Pink Elephant from seed. It's a hybrid and won't come true from seed, meaning the seedlings may not look like the parent. Not all hybrids set viable seed, and with those that do may not set seed at all times of the year, seed pods with ripe mature seed may not form from all flowers, only flowers that form under certain weather conditions.
Same is true of your Fireball, also a hybrid and both are patented plants.
Here is a link that might be useful: photo of ripe pod here
The only other method you could try is to treat your seeds with gibberellin. We were going to try this experiment in class but never got around to actually doing it. However, I don't know how feasible it is for you to find gibberellins.
A much more feasible solution for your problem is grafting. This will only work if you know somebody who can give you a fresh cutting. You can germinate regular cherry seeds and graft a scion of Prunus serrulata onto it. This has to be done when the plant is about to break its winter dormancy. I'm assuming that these two species are related enough for the graft to take. For this reason, it is not advisable to use other members of the genus Prunus, such as peaches or apricots, as rootstock because of genetic dissimilarity.
This post was edited by jai854 on Sat, Aug 24, 13 at 22:06
Snaillover, there are different kinds of milkweed (Asclepias) and they don't all have the same germination requirements. A good place to look up the different types for reliable suggestions on how best to germinate is the Clothiers Germination database, I'll link it for you. The seed sowing articles found there are good too, you may want to read through them.
If stratifying a type seed is recommended, storing dry in your garage won't help, that's only storage. In order for the chill to be helpful the seeds must be moist. Can you sometimes skip that step and get (some) germination, Yes, in a very few cases...but the databases will give you suggestions for methods shown to provide the best and most complete germination.
It's hard to advise not knowing which poppy too. The oriental perennial types will germinate without the moist chill, are fine sown in pots, while other perennial types may need the chill - and the annual poppies are often best direct sown. In my milder climate I'll direct sow in Fall, Winter, earliest Spring. You can sometimes very carefully transplant the annual types into the garden but for the most part they don't do as well with the roots disturbed.
Here is a link that might be useful: Clothier Germination Database
Regarding the frugality issue, it can be cheaper in time, effort, and frustration to buy a tuber or other vegetative offset of a really great named variety, grow it well, and divide the plant. Just depends on what you want to do - if you want more of the exact same plant, start with a tuber - if you want to exercise your green thumb and/or surprise yourself, start with seed.
For some plants, you'll never see seeds available commercially - chocolate cosmos comes to mind. In fact, although my chocolate cosmos flowers prolifically, I've never seen it set seed.
A big advantage to starting from seed is that you avoid the possibility of propagating disease along with tubers. A big disadvantage is that seed can take longer to reach flowering size. By definition, a tuberous plant is perennial in its own climate, and it may not flower from seed until it is several years old.
Never tried canna, but dahlias are straightforward from seed, they usually reach flowering size the first year, and it sure can be fun to see what you get.
Regarding the frugality issue, it can be cheaper in time, effort, and frustration to buy a tuber or other vegetative offset of a really great named variety, grow it well, and divide the plant. Just depends on what you want to do - if you want more of the exact same plant, start with a tuber - if you want to exercise your green thumb and/or surprise yourself, start with seed.
For some plants, you'll never see seeds available commercially - chocolate cosmos comes to mind. In fact, although my chocolate cosmos flowers prolifically, I've never seen it set seed.
A big advantage to starting from seed is that you avoid the possibility of propagating disease along with tubers. A big disadvantage is that seed can take longer to reach flowering size. By definition, a tuberous plant is perennial in its own climate, and it may not flower from seed until it is several years old.
Never tried canna, but dahlias are straightforward from seed, they usually reach flowering size the first year, and it sure can be fun to see what you get.
Excessive heat is about the least of my gardening issues here in this cool summer Z8, but you may find this chart helpful, indicates approximate guidelines for your Fall crops. It appears you are early for the Fall lettuce, and for several other things too
Here is a link that might be useful: Texas A&M Extension
Hi suzanne and welcome to GardenWeb! That's a nice looking plant and the double purple flower is truly beautiful. I agree with florauk, it appears to be a Datura. Although a beauty, you really need to do a little research on the web regarding the toxicity of the plant; especially if you have small children or pets around. All parts of the plant are toxic if ingested.
I've grown Datura from seed every year, for the past four or five years (my kids are all grown and I have no pets). I've grown the white, purple, and yellow and love them all. The yellow datura flowers are often triples!
Art
That is what I was afraid of. I had a start of Evil Ways seedling and it looks a lot different than the original plant but I wondered if it was my imagination.
I have had a white one that seems to have white seedlings and Potters Purple seems to have the same seedling.
I guess it is live and learn on buddleia.
Thanks
Buddleja is really easy from cuttings.That way you can get exact copies of the parent.