6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
You are one zone up from me.
Last fall I read that Butterfly plant seeds don't like being pampered.
So when the plants produced seeds I just tossed them on the ground (where I wanted them) like they would do naturally. I have so many young plants now that I thinned many, many.
Saw a monarch on the parent today.
Bottomline, try to toss seeds on the outside soil in the fall.
I grow eggplants just for fun...since I do not like to eat them. They grow fast...and all sources say they hate to be transplanted....in my humble experience, I don't find that to be so. If your careful, just like when you transplant anything, they recover nicely, and quickly show you how much they like the extra leg room. I think that is what yours need. Is it possible they need a squirt of iron?
Hi,
This isn't exactly what your asking for but I thought I would volunteer this experience i had. Eggplants suffer what is known as blossom drop if the temps at night go below 50F. They will try and make new blossoms if this happens. However if you live in a cold environment you could possible be seeing as many as 70 % less eggplants at harvest time. I live in cold country and it wasn't worth it. The few eggplants that did come in were normal fruit though.
If you have an unusual summer with warm nights then you will be a big winner.
My dad the plant genetecist said this:
"Probably a hybrid variety? Ask them. Hybrid varieties do this every time. That is the plan for you to buy new seed every year
At very least there was some heterozygosity in the original seed which caused the segregation and recombination; the result is two colors.
Seed companies look for ways to have you Return and buy seed every year. The American way. Smiling."
Interesting, Amanda. Sandhill preservation center is a small family farm in Iowa known for their hard to come by heirloom seeds, and poultry. They are the only source I have been able to find for my favorite variety of okra, the Texas longhorn. They have all grown true except this one red plant. Possible the plant was accidentally cross-pollinated with one of their burgandy varieties? Anyway I will transplant these, the resulting pods should tell the tale.
SOIL temperature for germination 70-75F taking 14 days. growing on temp (after germination)60-62F & takes 3-6 weeks from germination to transplant & in a 4" pot, 10-12 weeks to transplant outside. This plant will not tollerate cold ... & growth regulators helps at transplantIdeal pH 5.8-6.0 (Acid soil)
good light either natural or grow lights helpful.
Let the kids plant the seeds in the garden themselves so they have that experience. It's too cold in NY yet to plant cukes. Wait till May. I would put the seedlings you have on a sunny windowsill at school for now. Planting them in your garden will not be good for transplanting later.
I used to be a teacher with a class garden. Good luck. You're doing a nice thing. You might want to plant peas which mature before school is out for the summer.
Agree that direct seeding is by far the best. if you must have cuke transplants start some new ones and pitch these. There is plenty of time still.
Cukes like many other vegetables prefer to avoid transplanting, much less transplanting them twice. Once they develop more than a couple of true leaves, much less begin to bloom, they often tend to stunt if transplanted.
Like Susan said let the kids learn about seeds to plant rather than the artificial method of gardening that uses only transplants.
Dave
Whats the npk on the fertilizer? Im thinking to much fertilizer. starters dont need a whole lot and earthgrow potting soil should have enough nutrients to last for a month. If i remember right seedlings dont use any fertalizer till there true leaves start coming out. They come prepackaged with there own food.
It will take at least 6 weeks to have transplants ready to set out.. I am starting mine tomorrow but then we can't set them out until the first week of June and we typically have tomatoes ready to eat in August.
I don't know how hot it gets where you live but if tomatoes have done all right in the past in your climate then I'd say go ahead and plant but buy a couple of ones already started for earlier tomatoes. Then you'd have the best of both worlds
Agree with all mandolls said. Fertilizing seedlings is strictly optional. First you have to make sure there is none in your potting mix. if there is, adding more stuff only stresses the seedlings.
If done it MUST be done with a well diluted (1/4 strength) fertilizer. That means a liquid. Only recommended organic liquid usually recommended is fish emulsion since it is already in an emulsion or some of the worm tea products. Most organics don't work in sterile soil.
Which is yet another example of all the mis-leading "organic" marketing hoopla out there. But that is another issue all together.
Dave
For the first time I lost some seedlings due to fertilizer. I have a large sink in the greenhouse that I use for watering seedlings from the bottom. I keep a few inches of water in it and drop the containers of seedlings in it when needed. While using the same sink for my new divisions of last years perennials, I added the normal amount of soluble fertilizer. The next time I put a pot of seedlings in the same water, the effect on the seedlings was seen the next day. The lesson is, if you must fertilize seedlings, be sure it is a VERY weak solution. Years ago I did use a compost leach-ate with mixed results. Al
Let me tell you about an experiment we did with cukes years ago. I had only had my greenhouse for a couple of years and every year I started my cukes in the greenhouse. The year we did the experiment I started them as usual. My husband set them out in the garden and 2 feet away started some seeds. 3 weeks after the seeds sprouted the plants in both plots were the same size and they started producing at the same time. Since that time we have always planted them from seed. The only veggies we set out as plants are Tomatoes and Peppers and sometimes things that take longer to grow or that we are experimenting with. Almost everything we grow is direct planted
You will be learning this shortly any way as your tomato transplants are planted too shallowly and as the plants grow those cups will start falling over since they will be very top heavy.
But if you have more tomato plants to transplant
1) the cups do not need to be full to the brim and it is better if they aren't. Use the sides of the cup/pot to support the seedling.
2) nothing requires any plant to sit right at the top of the cup or container.
3) it is better for the tomato plants if all that exposed stem is buried.
Fill the cup about 1/3 to no more than 1/2 full and put in the seedling burying most of the bare stem. Then as it grows add more mix to the cup so the bare stem remains mostly buried. That is where all the new roots will develop, all along that stem.
Dave
Most bell peppers available are hybrids. Doubt you will ever buy an open pollinated pepper in a grocery store.
Saving pepper seeds, even if you plant open pollinated varieties is chancy, as peppers, unlike tomatoes, are mostly insect pollinated, not self pollinated. If you grow more than one variety of pepper, you will likely get cross pollination, or poor results from planting seeds of hybrids.
I already checked the middle of the plugs, and they are moist.
That's your answer. If the middle of the plugs are moist then they don't need water. In pots of soil you stick your finger down into the soil. With sponge plugs you have to check the plug at the root level.
Dave
One tool that has been helping me with this problem lately is a pump sprayer. It just mists the tops where seeds are needing moisture to sprout, but doesn't provide enough water to saturate on down. I've been misting daily and only watering when the container gets lighter. It seems to be helping altho I don't have it down to a science yet.
Wow Cebiginalaska,
I totally missed your location. Loved the picture; didn't realize you are in 3a.
Bob
Transplanted right after germination because they were in way too small pans. They Seem to be doing well but some of them had some trouble with growing due to transplanting or the soil. They were in a U shape coming out of the soil and going back in. The ones I caught early are doing better than the ones that I just found today. I have been giving them full sun as much as possible and even been putting them outside when it is warm enough (36 degrees or more) and they are getting bigger ;) I am going to be starting more in egg cartons to make it easier for me.