Here is a chart I found for seed longevity, might come in handy for some of you.
http://www.hillgardens.com/seed_longevity.htm
2010 Seed starting in the MA group
So much for my MGs, got home from work to find stems sticking up with no leaves in sight, I hope the cats enjoyed them. At least I have more seeds to try again.
Hi Cat, I have extra seeds of Large Blue (approaches Moon Flower in substance and size, Heavenly Blue, and Venice Carnivale. Glad to share for a SASE.
Catbird--bummer! Pets do NOT understand the concept of houseplants or seed starting.
( And othr things. I was trying to write an appointment in my planner yesterday with someone on the phone and the cat kept insistently laying on my writing hand.)
Time to check the seedings! ( i d o have radishes outside- sprouting them is one things getting actual edible roots is quite another- years of failure there, must fertilize)
Sally Here is a nice article on radishes, I remember reading about wood ash for radishes, this explaines it well.
I have to watch putting house plants where my dog MaryChris can get them. or putting them where they block her look-out spot on the deck.
here are some of mine this morning
Nice Allison! You have a heads start on me. But I can't set out plants till later so I'll catch up by summer.LOL
yeah mine won't be out for quite a while
While fighting off back to back pneumonia I have just enough energy to start some seedlings. Introducing my only starts this year......spearmint and silvia. This is my second year with silvia. Interesting sugar replacement. The larger group of seedlings is the spearmint. My $2.50 got me only a dozen silvia seeds only about half of which germinated.
They will both end up potted for the patio near the picnic table. A little pinch will do ya. LOL
Doc, I hope you are getting better. Take care of yourself.
Nice baby plants!
Cute seedlings, doc! If you're talking about stevia, I've grown it before, and germination usually seems low... then the little seedlings sit around forever looking tiny before they finally start shooting up!
OH goodness..................yes stevia. I am a bit goofy with all the medicine crud chasing the pneomonia crud. So bad I've elected to not drive until things clear up.....if they will. I do remember them being slow to grow last spring. They are really small with the cotty leaves open and the first true leaves just begining to peek out at the world. I think they are to tender to uncover just yet. I cracked the lid but did not remove it except for the picture.
Wow looking good Allison!
Doc cute little seedlings you have going! Get better, spring is here!
LG what kind of dog is your MaryChris? Cutie!!
I 'think' I have a safe sheltered place for tender plants on the deck--until the cat squeezes in there for shelter from the dog (75 lb) and the dog goes after! ARRGGHH
luvs, Both of my girls are Brussles Griffons, retired breeding and show dogs. Here is Penny, she lost her right eye in rough play with another breed, so the story goes.
doc,
We sold Stevia plants last year at HD--they were with the Herbs and such.
Yes! I actually chewed a leaf--and it was sweet......
How is your Epi doing?
Aww poor Penny! Such Cuties...I couldn't place the mugs...!
Epi is doing fine. Looking forward to getting both plants you gave me back outside. That will be about April 15 th. here. I have to get me better to even think of doing much growing this year. If I do not get better the patio growing will have to be cut down to less pots for sure.
hi Doc.. hope you feel better!!
Well I am "finally" on board. I planted my first seeds yesterday, Blushing Susie Vine, Cardinal Climber, Passion Flower, Hydrangea Beans, and Cinnamon Vine.
I'm trying to deceide what to do about my hundreds of Zinna Seeds. Thanks to all you wonderful DG friends I have a ton of them to plant. So do you think I can put them out in milk jugs to start or should I wait and direct sow them into the bed. I was playing around with sowing them into an undivided flat and then seperating them later like I will with the plugs I'm getting next weekend.
Holly I started mine in the basement, but when I lived in Pittsburgh mom just direct sowed them in the garden. It was warmed there and you could start things earlier then up here where I live now.
Maybe try all 3 methods and see what works for you best.
Again this year I find I did not press down the soil in my jugs and it has settled more than I expected. Not disastrously but, wish I had been better. I am glad for this cold snap to hopefully get columbines going.
Warm weather expected this coming weekend.
Well, I usually direct seed zinnas rather thick in rows. If you transplant them when it's cloudy and expecting rain, then you don't even have to water them in, nature does it. That being said, I've had to transplant them at Noon on very hot days, I just ran the sprinkler and transplanted them with me and them getting sprinkled, again no problems. Zinna seeds can last many years, don't be afraid to save seeds. The picture shows pink and orange zinnas from old seed. Last March, I put 6 2 year old seeds in a moist paprt towell in a zip lock baggie. (This is the old seed germinator test) Put the date and kinds of seeds on the baggie, you can mix seeds on your towell as long as you can tell them apart- large flat zinnias, little rod rudbeckia, small round dianthus, and so on. The Zinnas promptly germinated. I don't like to kill anything so I potted them up and in the border they went. 5 pink and 1 orange. They grew almost 6 feet tall. I looked a pink bloom in the eye, (I am 6 feet tall), and said "Remember me? I remember you, you were a flat seed I put in a paper towell in March." I do not like starting zinnas indoors, because of damping off and mildew, which zinnas are VERY subseptible to, also they grow incredibly fast, getting big very quick.
beautiful photo KD
We often grew a bed of zinnias for cut flowers. They grew well in one of our cooler draftier houses, they didn't require a lot of heat, or care, by loved the air flow. Their cut and come again habit made them a joy to work with. I believe we grew them in the same house as our carnations and snapdragons.
I'm trying a few newbie this year that I have to get started, one is okra, I got 2 kinds. I have some potato top tomatoes to start and scarlet runner beans will go in as soon as I do the trellis. I'm also trying a crop sweet potato in a container and will probably stick a couple of Holly's OSPs in for root stock. If I put it on a pedestal it should be safe from all but the 3-4' bunnies and hedge hogs. I also have some new herbs from the swap I better put on the heat mat. Ric
Because I was due to have shoulder surgery on March 15th, and there was the possibility of having to be in a sling for up to 6 weeks, I started my ornamental peppers, bell peppers and tomatoes on March 6th. Everyone is up and growing nicely! I recently started basil, and it's up, along with Nicotiana (tiny, tiny seed) and some butterfly weed. Also have marigolds growing for a sale in May. This year I'm repeating Mortgage Lifters (from seed saved from my biggest one last year- nearly a pound!) and Cupid grapes. New ones this year are the heirloom Bloody Butcher and Egg Yolk. Had never heard of Egg Yolk and I'm looking forward to seeing how it does.
(the surgery went well, and I'm out of the sling! YAY)!
These are not from the swap. I will probably plant those out after May 15. But I did some winter garden sowing in January.
Here is Lychnis. This is a beautiful plant and I think it is a perennial but I saved seeds & winter sowed even after planting some around the parent plants.
Here are zinnias from different colored plants that my sister in law buys every year.
Asclepias tuberosa (mine disappeared last year and I collected seeds from orange & yellow plants growing on a hill.
Ligularia from seeds I collected from my own plant.
Red Gaillardia
Painted Daisy
Button are these all outside sprouting?
Yes, t hey are in little plastic pie containers with holes in the top & bottom. I only opened them up to show the plantlets. I did this last year & it was so exciting, I had to do it this year, too.
nice!!!
gardenbugde- that all sounds great, especially the part about being out of the sling. Just in time for the beautiful weekend we expect!
Buttoneer- doing great there too. Its so much fun!
buttoneer--
I am surprised that you can W-sow Zinnias!!!! I always knew that they needed warmth to germinate????
In your containers--it looks like regular garden soil--the way it is cracked. What did you use?
Is it better to use regular soil in W-sowing rather than a potting mix or even a seed-starter mix???
I transplanted my tomatoes this morning from the small (1") little cells into a deep 6-sell pack.
They were already 2"-3" tall. I can see it now---a repeat of 2008--when they were 12" tall and I had nowhere to keep them under lights....Planted them out in their bed in mid-April--holding my fingers crossed......Only had one cold night--pit 5gal buckets over each one--and they barely fit--they were that tall already!
My 2 Hyacinth bean seedlings were literally root-bound growing in a bathroom cup--they went into a 3.8" pot.
I soaked 2 more--as I want to have 4 to put in this planter by my shed.....
Things are a-growing---I have to keep up with switching things around. The tall ones under one light--and the shorter ones under the other.....It will be an adventure!
You all ready for 75* and 80* this weekend?????? What an Easter Sunday it will be!!!!
Gita
Here's my Tomatoes and basil a couple of days ago....
A lot of things that you can "winter sow" won't actually sprout until warmer weather... they sprout when the time is right for them!
My Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile) seeds have come up, I'm excited about that. I learned last year about starting tomatoes too early. Just planted mine. The Bachelor Buttons planted outside last weekend came up thick! Haven't grown them in 20 years. All the Spring veggies doing great, they love this cool rainy weather we've been having. Tiger Lilies have come up everywhere. I guess when I removed the old stems the bulbils dropped in the borders. I will offer 9 foot tall (yes 9 foot) tigers this fall, when the bulbils ripen, let me know who wants some. They also bloom 2 blooms to one stem. Giant red salvia seeds anyone? I have extra and they only last one season, so they will be wasted after this Spring. God bless and good gardening everybody! Here's last years Spring garden, lettuces, Mesclun, spinach, onions, Fourth of July Rose, Iris pallida (anyone want some authentic "grape koolade" iris?)
