Propagation: part XII based on my own experience

Wow, who sent me that link to Planet Natural? I could spend my retirement savings there...but won't really, as I try to be economical. Still, a lot of fun to be had there. And they have cloners there, too! Well, maybe some day. Right now, I have a gazillion seeds to get started.

I have been making labels and getting some things ready. I have the first batch ready to be seeded, as the alyssum was just an experiment. They are really coming up slowly, but for 1997 seed, I suppose that is to be expected. It was the purple one, which is much less vigorous than the whites...but on to tomatoes. I am trying to chose from all those tomato seeds, which ones to start now, as I overdid it at those websites. Well, I will have a lot of seeds to trade as I cannot possibly grow all those in one season. I am going to try and rent a rototiller, into my gopher-infested soil, which is at least protected from the deer. One year I grew 100 tomato plants from seed, and the deer got the tops and the gophers got the bottoms! Whew! That was a bad memory! Well, I am feeling brave, as we did get some tomatoes out of all that, but not enough to give away or anything like that. My hubby likes to can, so he will have the San Marzano's, though they did not do that well for me last year, but I did not really put a lot of effort into the growing, well except for just starting them and watering them all summer. I did not test my soil or give them much feeding. Anyway, I will be seeding some of those tasty red berries we call tomatoes. Does anyone have any favorites?

I am using plastic small-fruit containers, such as for strawberries and blueberries, for starting out the seeds indoors under lights in the east-facing window. I will use heat to start out, as a couple of old heating pads wrapped in towels are working fine to start. Then when they get their true leaves I will take them off the heat and take off their plastic bags (the containers have holes, top and bottom)...good for drainage, so I had to line the bottoms with some newspaper, as they were leaking some of the soil. The plastic bags are also saved from the supermarket, from the produce department.

Years ago, when I grew those tomatoes, I believe I purchased those seed-starting kits. Well, except for buying so many seeds, the rest is found or saved items, that were sterilized with chlorine and water. I have finished washing all containers that I have saved for the last 3 or 4 years or so, that my husband did not throw out. (I threw out any that were torn or broken.) I am wondering if I can use those in winter sowing as well, as it would save a lot of time. I just want to get a head start on our season, and do not know how late those W/S'd seedling will emerge, or if they will be ready quite late. I would have never thought to W/S tomatoes, but just the hardy annual flowers and cool-season veggies. I have already put in some peas, since I did not do that last fall. They do come up good from a fall sowing.

Well, thanks all for your encouragement, and maybe after I get going with my huge batch of seeds, I will check back with you. Dave, if you have any spare flats or trays LMK. I will only use them for indoors as outdoors I will just use those plastic containers to start, and then move them to cell-packs. I will check with the local HD to see if I can take or buy their spare flats.

Sound like you will be able to grow those seeds for quite a while. We are using milk jugs to WS. Juice jugs. anything. For the small cherry tomatoes you can't beat the yellow SunSugars. The Sweet Millions for red. San Marzanoes for paste, Early Girls and a lot others for table use, sandwiches etc. Black Russian for drying, and I am sure others have a lot they prefer. Steak Sandwich is wonderful. Box Car Willie and Mortgage Lifter are good.

I have friends that own a very large commercial landscape company. Homeowner association landscaping and hotel and shopping centers. I told them early last winter 2009 I need some 4" pots. That was a mistake. I think I got 500. They said, just let them know and they would bring some more. It took, me forever to clean and sterilize them. I wonder if I could use the delicate cycle of my washer to do the job. I think I will try. They change all annuals on their properties 4 times a year.

Have you contacted any large landscape companies, because they just stack them up and eventually toss them....

Morning all, 30 inches of snow is more than I can handle. Didn't get the big winds but more snow than was called for, I think I would have rather had the winds. My poor little Taurus is under the snow somewhere, all I have to do is find it. Not that I can go any where but it would be nice to see it. At least the power didn't go out, I guess that's one good thing. I made 4 pots of coffee ahead of time just in case. Can't function without my coffee.

Oh my gosh withad!! That is terrible. I feel so bad for you all. We had that last year and I have to tell you that this year is just amazing. I went out and worked in the yard last weekend. Putting a lasagna garden together. I have never in my life worked in my yard in February. So., maybe next year you will get what we are having this year. I hope, for your sake.

Holy Cow....and I was mad about another 10 inches. I am so sick of this I could scream. My truck went to the shop last Monday , short circuit and drained battery. It is snowed in there. LOL I do have the jeep, but I could not get out my side door this morning because the snow drifted. I had to dig my way out the dog run and south deck to get to the greenhouse and the cats. I am just too old for this. JB

Same here, the only good thing is a wonderful son-in-law who comes up every snowfall and plows me out. The only thing I really have to do is clean enough of the car so I can move it once he gets here. He even shovels the porch and pathway to the car when he is done plowing. This was the first really big storm we have had and I guess we were spoiled with the little 6"er's we have been getting. Of course they add up in the yard but at least we were able to move around with them. This is just paralyzing everything. Even though they plowed the roads a couple of times they haven't put any cinders down because they know they will just get covered over. It is still snowing pretty hard so I guess we are in for another couple of inches before it stops. Then they are calling for snow showers all next week. I knew I should have shot that groundhog when I had the chance.

Sorry to hear about the white fluffy stuff. I complain about 4" and you are snowed under....
Evelyn: do you have room in one of the bedrooms or garage? You might try an idea I had this past winter just never got to do it. a pvc frame to hold in the heat on the seedlings, its a coldframe for the inside seed starting. I realize its not the right kind of light but an incandescent light would do wonders to heat it up under the plastic. I have some links to websites that sell the 45 degree turns and some of the multiple turns on the corners that are not sold at home depot.
with it sounds like its time for the sil to come visit....
Dave

OK dumb question. What is the purpose of a cloner? Doesn't it do the same thing as just putting a cutting into a glass of water?
DH dug out the door of the greenhouse today, so starting seed flats are comming in, will probably start planting the beginning of the week indoors, under lights and heated of course. GH isn' heated. peroxide here I come. I think they look at me really funny when I buy it several quarts at a time. I believe it does help a lot with the gnats and etc.
Lee

Might be the same, but faster. Also, I have woody bushes in it and I am sure they would rot before they rooted. Some things work in a glass. Not all. And, I don't know if all are going to root in a cloner.

I use peroxide too, but find that not having soil etc. in the house stops the gnats. Soiless only to start seeds in the house. Soil is just like having a bowl of really ripe fruit sitting on the table.

oh he does, comes every time it snows, he and my daughter only live 1/2 mile away and sometime he even plows the road ahead of the township just to get us out. He a terrific guy but it's amazing what a bottle of Captain Morgans and ten puounds of crab legs will get you. He won't ever take money so I pay him with alternate things.

I need to check out planet natural too.
withad you must be claustrophobic by now, with total Cabin Fever, Captain Morgan is not my friend, but if I was in that boat, like you are in and have been in all Winter, I would probably be doing some drinking and there is probably going to be a huge crop of babies born on that half of the country next year too, for sure.

Cripe withad, for 10 lbs of crab legs, throw in a dozen oysters, and I'll come shovel you out. It might take me a year or 2, but I'll be there. LOL

That might be said for all over the mid west, east and even south. The population of the U.S. just might double next year. :0)

Not in this household :) :) :) Too darn old for that stuff.

Lee!! There you are! The purpose of the cloner is that if you get those roots 3 weeks or more earlier, then you are that much farther ahead of the game. That makes a difference when you have a short growing season. 3 weeks could make the difference between the plant gtting established and not. Or, even blooming or not in some cases.

I have tried in the garage, but it stays about 40 degrees all winter and part of spring as well. (Even too cold for me...so I was defeated from the start!) I did try as DH put up shelves and the top one had a shop light fixture...but that was years ago, and now that space now has a cabinet there. I may try to rig up some shop lights for the tops of our storage shelves....but then again, the problem with cool temps. So I will sow and put them outside on shelves there for natural ight, and they can come up when they're ready. I will not worry about what I don't plant for this year...just do all the old seeds, and some of the new ones.

Some day a greenhouse!

The one advantage a cloner has to a glass of water is the extra oxygenation in the water by the bubbler. now there is another one that uses a mister at the roots which I believe would work better than a cloner as the roots get a bet of dryness too not just stuck in the water. I am sticking to what works for me and I am sure everyone agrees if it works don't fix it.
I know there are addatives to put in the water while it bubbles out the air.
Sorry I am not to with it today It seems my DW has decided its my turn to have the flu bug she has had for a couple of weeks now. I did manage to get out and pull back the cover from my daylilies and other plants they are amazing. It seems every year I worry about loosing my plants outside and every year they amaze me as to how tough they really are. I am excited about the new perrienial white salvia I got last fall in the mass sell off of stock at lowes. I am still holding my breath on some of the little ones though (turning blue berry purple)....
Oh well its back to my snuggly warm blankie
Dave

Was it Salvia apiana? Or the one with large leaves? I should probably check mine, too, as it has been sitting in very waterlogged soil. This winter has been quite a bit for the rain and snow for all, huh? (Even our usually drought-stricken state - first year out of drought for quite a few years...)

Well in the Southwest we are scrambling to get our plants in the roots established before the heat hits. Dave, I have something that has stopped me in my tracks. I had a mild lung infection and then got my neighbors cold that went immediately to my lungs. I had both flu shots this year and two pneumonia shots in past years and I am seldom ill but here I go and this is not good timing but Oh Well, life will go on. It is a good thing I do not smoke or I would probably be dead. 90% chance of rain today and no rain. I hope the guys that do the weather are not trying to find the cure for anything.

Yeah, Worms.....if we were that accurate at our jobs, would we have one? I always wondered at that. But I guess they can only track storms, and try and guess when it will arrive. Many times we have had snow, with no prediction whatsoever, and other times they predict it, and it does not arrive. It seems tho' WEATHER has a mind of its own! :-)

Yes its got the big leaves and reminds me of the other perrienial salvia May night I think its called. I managed to get cuttings off it last summer so I am planning to add it to my inventory to draw from.
It looks like time for propagation 101 round XIII lol

Does anyone here know about a vine seed called hoya milkweed ? I just wanted to know if it blooms the first year. Sounds like it may be a pretty vine. Nice today, just not melting the snow. Ready I am to plant. Lee

Worms can you hear the NASCAR track from where you live? Bad race today for my driver.
In the west should my hosta's be up yet. I don't see them and they are still in the containers I bought them in, in late summer on clearance at Lowes, but I don't see a thing yet.

We have a long growing season but it is frustrating because you have to plant in late winter, early spring to establish something to take the heat, and if not then, you have to do it in late summer, early fall and it will usually be good in the spring over Wintered.

Then I would say your hostas should be up. Is something eating on them?

Never heard it that Lee.

I am starting to see the buds coming up on my hostas.my dl's are sprouted above ground. Dig lightly around the center of the old foliage you should see some buds. If not pop the plant out of the pot.
Put your hand over the top.
turn it upside down.
if it does not slide out into your hand
Pop the bottom a few times or squeeze the sides to get it to pop out.
You should see some good looking roots. if they are brown and mushy it sounds like a dead one, but give it time as what's it going to hurt to give them extra time before tossing the plants onto the compost pile?

Nascar - go fast turn left
Milk weed from what I see in the cataloges has an orangey flower. If its the one from childhood its tough as nails and sends off the plumed seeds to float off and grow else where. My dad has asked me to plant some seeds for my mom even though it goes against every fiber in my body. I guess its ingrained into my core....ok who's ready for part XIII?

OK we are shifting to here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1078837/

as always please check in so we don't loose anyone

Dave