6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed

Most of my containers are on a drip system outside, and I get all kinds of things growing in them!

I have wine grape seedlings in 2, a fig seedling in one, and many weed seedlings! I grow figs and wine grapes and know the leaf patterns.

I just pull the weeds once i figure out what they are.

Good luck and I hope you have a real plant there!

Suzi

Look at the attached link. As flora UK says, "possibly a morning glory of some kind".

Here is a link that might be useful: Cotton Morningglory: Ipomoea cordatotriloba

This post was edited by bugbite on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 22:08

I think you may be mixing together a couple of unrelated suggestions. First, many large hard seeds will benefit from pre-soaking and it is a fairly common practice. However it is done with just lightly warm water and for a period of 12-24 hours.

A brief soak in a peroxide mixture (10:1 of water to peroxide) is recommended by some seed savers as a way of disinfecting saved seeds before drying them for storage. Some also use a diluted peroxide mist for stopping fungus/mold growth on soil. But adding it to a pre-soak isn't a common practice and while it might disinfect them it really serves no other real purpose.

Since you only soaked the seeds for such a short time I doubt the peroxide hurt them even though it is a stronger mixture. But how fast those seeds will germinate will all depend on the soil temperature used.

Most melon seeds will germinate in 4-8 days if given soil temps between 70-75 degrees, 3-5 days if provided with warmer soil. In cooler soil it can 10-14 days.

Let us know how yours do.

Dave

Please, could I ask where you got the 3 to 1 mixture and the 5 hour number?

That's good to know! I think I may have sowed my seeds a tad bit late, but we'll see how it pans out.

You're in zone 5? So the winters here in 9 would be less severe than there, but I'm wondering about the summers. Anyway, regardless of the details, here in 9, should i plant in containers or the ground?

Given an option I would definitely plant in the ground. Even planted in the ground I was needing to hand water, in addition to the irrigation system, once or twice per week. But the summers are hot here and humidity levels are often around 10% in the summer.

If they weren't going to make it you likely would have seen that within 48 hours so it sounds as if all went well. How long until they can go to the garden?

Dave

My "guaranteed" last frost is the beginning of May. I'm in South Jersey and the weather is still pretty cold here. I was planning on starting to harden them off in a few weeks hopefully if it warms up some. Also, I was going to make self watering containers for them instead of planting. I like the idea of the plants having water to take as they need and the freedom to move them around my yard. My garden got a little crowded last year.

This is a very bizarre batch. Maybe it's the mixture of soil I used, or maybe it's something else. It's not the seeds, as the previous round of this all sprouted and are growing wonderfully.

I planted 12 and 5 never came up, 6 did as shown above and eventually withered completely (and still had green stems!) and one looked okay. I cut it off that cell pack (and threw the rest out) and took care or it with my other seeds.

This is today. Not only is it not vigorous, it's beginning the whole browning/dying process.

Any ideas what is happening here?

A closer shot. Sorry, this is about as good as it will get on my iPad.

Recently began to think the amount of light is directly related to the required depth of planting the seed.
See depth page 54 of the attached book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Light/depth

This post was edited by bugbite on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 12:07

Try this site. Tom Clothier's Garden Walk and Talk. Click on the seed germination database you need.
http://tomclothier.hort.net
It will tell you all you need to know.

DEET is a solvent - the instructions warn against spraying on fabric, plastics and varnish. Think what it could do delicate plant tissue.

I did not want to use pesticides in the garden, but after years of having bugs, particulary tiny, tiny beetles chew up my plants, I finally bought plant spray from Lowes. It did the trick. I tryed the "natural stuff" before, but it seemed rather ineffective. So I got the regular garden stuff. It works.

One thing I learned about garden mistakes, DON'T WORRY ABOUT. You will have plenty of chances to get it right.
If you have a plant disaster that is breaking your heart, pull the darn thing, quick. Suffer no more! Move on.

Watch those peppers for a few days, then pull quickly and replace them if they don't look good.

You have a lot of months ahead of you to
grow a new batch.

If the surface of the medium looks moist you do not need to add any more water. Observe your trays every day and wait until they feel light again before watering again. We can't give you exact instructions about how much and how often because there are so many variables. Observation is key to looking after your seeds. You will learn to tell just by looking what needs doing. We can't teach you that. But be aware that more newbies lose seeds from too much intervention than too little.

When I am germinating and when my seedlings are small enough that they are in a 2" container - I check them twice a day - everyday. Last year I had to leave town for 4 days due to a family emergency and I lost almost a quarter of my youngsters.

And by the way - depending on what you are growing, some seeds do need light to germinate, so in a dark garage, depending on what you are growing you may need those lights on for germination. Its important to do some reading up on the needs of each type of plant you are starting. Different seeds have different needs. It makes it difficult to try to start so many different types at the same time in the same tray.

Some plants are easy and I am sure you will have some successes no matter what you do. Others are more demanding and you may lose them no matter how careful you are. This is my 4th year growing under lights, I learn more every year and get better at it every year, but I still struggle and or lose completely with some plants - There are an enormous amount of variables, and ultimately everyone has to work out what works best for themselves with what they have to work with.