Truning over a new leaf

Well the freeze killed all of the plants in my greenhouse when the heater died so it looks like I am starting over. I have decided to try and grow from seed Iris, Canna and Daylillies. I will be starting about 150 seeeds. Does anyone have any experience with these and can give me some advice? I also need a cheap alternative to buying pots. My my small plants in the house I use solo cups with holes punched in the bottom. Would this work for these as well?

So sorry to hear about the plant loss. Hmm - I've never started seeds in a large container. Wouldn't it be hard to keep the soil moist at the top of the cups where the seeds are? You could try starting the seed (mass sowing) in smaller containers and then prick out the seedlings (once they have some true leaves) for transplanting to the Solo cups. If you're short on seed-starting containers, plastic butter or margarine containers, those Glad plastic lunchmeat containers, yogurt cups - all with holes punched in the bottoms. If you're starting 150 different varieties, how about the ole egg cartons? Or old plastic ice cube trays. Or make up some small paper pots (which I usually put into larger pots with the plants - makes potting up much easier). Make the paper pots only about 3 inches tall. Can't offer much advice on the starting the seeds you mentioned.

You can also use toilet paper rolls cut 1/2 and then fold one end to make the bottom. Instead to buying seed starting mix you could make your own by mixing equal parts peat moss and vermiculite (or perilite if you prefer). Don't forget to sterilize the mix first. I put mine in the microwave for 8 min after adding a couple cups of water. This also helps get the moisture all through the mix.

Another container I like to use is the ones that strawberries and such come in. They already have hole and a lid. Plant in rows and then put them in your cups when they are large enough to handle.

For future reference. I got a bunch of pots and trays from the greenhouse mega store for a very reasonable price. I think I paid about $35 total for 160 2" pots and 150 3pk pots w/ trays.

I have tried Day lilies w/ mixed results. I think they needed more heat than I had available (no heat mat).

So sorry to hear about you loss, I think I would have to take a few days off work to morn if all my plants died. How cold did it get at night to kill everything. I thought it was still reasonably warm at night there. Good luck starting a new.

It got into the teens in the greenhouse. I have bought some seed starting trays from a vendor on E-Bay. I got over 200 pots for less than 30 dollars.

Was it just one night that it got that cold? Some of your plants may come back--one cold night can be enough to kill the top growth but may not kill the roots (particularly for things like iris, canna, and daylilies which ought to be hardy outdoors in your zone, unless they were tiny seedlings). So I wouldn't give up on your plants yet assuming you haven't had a lot of cold nights since then. Still worth trying to start some things from seed, but I'd hang onto the old ones just in case they come back.

Will do.

Hello Begon, forgive me for butting in here, but I know a guy who if anyone can would be able to answer your questions. He has his own thread on this forum and there are a group of very good gardeners on there with him that start seeds all the time.

They are a crazy group and if you go there do not expect the normal stay on the topic forum because they talk about almost everything right now. They are all waiting for seeds to germinate or plants to grow since we all had a tough winter. That group is very different so please do not think they are not excellent gardners, they are just very devilish and are always teasing each other when they have time.
Pughbear is the name of Dave. He lives in Tulsa and he is the leader of the pack. LOL He would be happy to share his knowledge with you and so willing in every way to help.
If you are interested the link is http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1159050/.
Good luck with your seeds.