6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
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?
Probably ready for the coldframe though you should adapt them to that for a at least a few days first. If you have a fan you might want to leave it running near your seedlings for a few days. I leave a fan going near my seedlings about 14 hours per day. I
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.
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.
I too would be skeptical as it is far from the ideal set-up and you'll encounter several issues. But can you grow some plants? Sure.
Lots of FAQs and discussions here you need to browse through before starting - the problems with kits, need for supplemental lighting, heating pads, how to use the cover, soil temps required for germination, why plants get leggy, etc.
"Success" is a relative term. Some are content with what they can produce with what you have. Most are not. But it all depends on how much money and effort you want to put into it.
The more reading you do here the better your chance for success.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed FAQs
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.
If they are in filthy rich potting mix then they don't need anything else. Many of us grow seedlings with no additional fertilizer until transplanted to their final growing place unless that transplanting is going to be long-delayed for some reason.
And if you were going to feed them then the standard recommendation is a mild liquid fertilizer diluted to no more than 1/4 to 1/2 strength.
Over-feeding young seedlings leads to heavy top growth that cannot be supported by the slower root development.
From the FAQ here on Fertilizing Seedlings - Seedlings are babies. You don't give babies steak and potatoes, right? :)
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ - Fertilizing seedlings
Bottom watering doesn't mean your plants should be left standing in water 'for hours on end'. You water and then, if there is still water visible after an hour or so, you pour off the excess. In practice this is seldom necessary as you soon learn to gauge how much water you need to add.
A picture of the 'fuzz' would be really helpful. It's hard to visualize what you mean. Also I don't quite get what you mean by saying your seedlings didn't 'pop out of the holes'. Can you clarify?
It isn't 'weedy' it's just a baby. But it is yellow because it is sitting in the gloom at the bottom of a deep container and it needs light. It needs to be in a container no deeper than the pellet and later transplanted pellet and all (cut through the netting) into a larger pot.
Thank you. I had it germinate in darkness and didn't know If was ready to be brought out.
Am still having it inside the humidity dome because the air here is very dry and cool. But there's plenty of light. Once it grows a little more or gets pigment in the leaves , i'll put it out.
If you build it properly then it should work for you. When first starting with it you'll need to monitor the temperature outdoors and inside the tunnel. Keep in mind that your plants will be more at risk of burning than freezing. When in doubt make sure that it is ventilated during the day and closed at night. It's probably too early for things like tomatoes, peppers and basil to go into coldframes. Hardier things like spinach, onions, chives, lettuce, broccoli, mints, thyme, strawberries, cabbage etc are fine to be outside now.
You also need to harden plants off before moving them to cold frames. Not as much as a full time move to the great outdoors. I usually take about 4-5 days of increasing time outside. After being in my frames for about a week I consider them ready for transplanting though many will stay in the frames longer.
Below is a picture of my cold frames.
This post was edited by gjcore on Tue, Mar 26, 13 at 14:01
A cold frame can be very useful.I've used 2 for years.A heavy plastic or glass is needed.There are many inexpensive ways to rig up something to harden off plants.Sometimes I put plants in our garden cart with plastic on a frame on top.A quilt with tarp over will keep things warm if it turns cool.
rose
Even though bananas are relatively cheap for a fruit there might be better fertilizers. If you're talking about just using the skins then it's probably just best to use them as part of a mulch.
Years ago I used my Cuisinart blender for mixing up food scraps to use in the garden. A banana peel bound up the cutting blades and nearly burned the motor out.
Why would you want to?
It is just one of those garden fads that pops up now and then and then disappears once a few folks try it and find it doesn't do anything.
It certainly is not a recommended fertilizer for anything. It provides nothing that isn't better available from many other sources.
Dave
If they are all the same flower in the packet, just different colors and aren't marked as open-pollinated then the odds are 99% that they are all hybrids. Unfortunately some seed companies use the term 'heirloom' to label flowers that are hybrids just old flower varieties when it should only be used on open-pollinated varieties.
But to know for sure you have to look up each variety of flower. Seeds bought from reputable seeds companies will tell you if they are hybrids or heirlooms tho you may have to go to their website to get the info.
If the packets are mixed varieties of flowers then you have to look up each flower in the packet to find out and then sort out the seeds.
If open-pollinated flowers of only certain colors are what you want then you need to be buying individual packets of those so you can save seeds, not mixed packets of unknowns.
So what kind of flowers are we talking about anyway?
Dave
Mostly I want to know in case I save seed for trades, I typically buy mixed packets because I like a little of everything. I don't need 100 black poppies, but I may like to keep them in their own area in future or trade just blacks for example if I save the seeds.
Or I'm not sure what to label seeds if I just decide to harvest them, open-pollinated or pollinated by myself. I guess a good example would be a few types of petunia I bought and would like to keep seeds from since they're not that easy to find around here - black crystal ones and striped ones - if I breed them to each other would I get those colors in my seeds ?
Most of the books I've read don't mention if they're hybrid other than veggies.
Any seed that is not a hybrid will grow true if it was grown in seclusion from others of it's species. With hybrid seeds it is a crap shoot. Sometimes you get the plant you want but most times you don't
Since most flower seeds are hybrids saved seed will not grow true. The size of the seed makes no difference.
Hybrid seeds have many ancestors and the flower it produces can resemble any one of them. It may also have been pollinated by another species and it could resemble the pollinator.
The only way to get a plant that you want is to buy seeds. Then you know what you are getting.
All that having been said I have found that some hybrid seed does come true. If you are willing to chance it go ahead but don't be surprised if you don't get what you want. Then again you may get something you like better. As I said it's a crap shoot.