2014 Seed Starting, part 2

Pam I Will Be Happy to Grow a few for ya :))))

Pam, yes you hit the nail on the head.. the seeds I don't have many of are giving me issues and the seeds I really have way too many of are germinating like mad! It's like they are conspiring against me when I'm out of sight, I can almost hear their hushed whispers, "here she comes guys, play dead" LOL

I have to say the hydrogen peroxide watering really does seem to give the stubborn ones a little coaxing. Next year I will start them side by side to compare HP to plain water.

New to germinate via winter sowing:

Agastache urticifolia, giant hyssop 'alba'
Rudbeckia, gloriosa daisy 'double gold'
Salvia azurea, pitcher sage
Salvia coccinea, red
Portulaca grandiflora, double moss rose, white
Perennial mix

Still waiting on the other 50 or so jugs, lol

Good for you with the Salvia Azurea! It gave me a really hard time last year. I ended up with one weak plant. It's probably too warm and too wet the way I do things inside, and probably the fluctuating temps outside make a difference too. My plant made it through the summer, still puny. I wonder if it will show up in the spring...

Congrats with all your successes :-)

Well thanks! I'm pretty proud myself, although I'm sure it will still be a while until I'm a pro like y'all! :D

Let me know if you need more seed for the salvia azurea. Icollected it fresh this past fall, could make a difference, maybe? I was reluctant to part with the seeds but now that I have some germinating, and it seems all the transplants made it through winter, I think I'll be ok!

Thanks- my seeds were fresh, but I was using Coir with self-watering trays. I think it was just too soggy. I ended up buying three plants from a local nursery, which grew well and bloomed beautifully in the fall.

Wow what a heavy bloomer, and look how BLUE they are!!

I have mine planted with various echinacea, a knock out rose, autumn joy sedum and red autumn sage. I have yet to see the lycoris bloom in that bed but hopefully soon, also hoping my feathergrass grows well for me so I can pop that in there with them.. but I'm daydreaming again.. back to earth, Becky!

I read somewhere, maybe here on DG, that if you hack them down by half after their first flush of blooms, they don't flop as bad later.. Gonna try it with one or two this summer.

I'll never make it as far as SPWD...but, can someone give me a guestimate on how many hours per day seedlings need to be under the grow light? Any help would be great! TIA.

Pam... not sure of the foliage on Stachys Mcrantha, but it looks correct from what I can remember...lol. Duh!!! Guess I should pay attention....but leaves are similar in shape, so hang onto it!!! LOL. Can't remember if it's a first year bloom tho..., I'm thinking second year along with the Lupine. And to answer your ?, the seeds were taken from plants that were the same color (several) and mixed in a baggy They were growing with a dark purple (single color), so if you get another color I would guess at the Purple... I would guess that some of the seed is maybe more mature than the others, but that's just a guess.

So everyone bought their Salvia a. Pitcherii 'Nekan'. I got my origonal as a 2 1/2" pot. If I remember correctly it bloomed first year at about 3'. Second year it was 4'. And now I've let it reseed in the garden so should be making a nice patch for me... But mines not as floppy....it's straight up! I was growing some from seed this winter but they are looking a bit icky!!! LOL. Thinking if I want more I'll just throw some seed in the garden....Much easier...or move some of my babies to the backyard this year... Yes, Becky, they are the loveliest shade of sky blue!!!!

Susie..did you get some of my Lupine seed? Did you want some if not? Have a mix of the purple and dark red....... Also Pam to let you know....I seeded some of the mix and have 2 different color of stems....some are just green and the others are a deep reddish color..so which color they will turn out as I can't say yet... Will have to grow them on and figure out next season, but think I'll keep like colored stems together in the patch.

Spent yesterday seeding scads of things, have to get into my book and post....

Today was potting things up, did 89 and am calling it a day. More tomorrow, gotta let the little bit of snow we had today melt off and then back out to pot up the rest of those Peonies.... Potted up the Lily phillipiensis, I need to make sure I get them in the ground early enough in the season to see if they truely bloom first year...My fingers are crossed!!!

Oh Pam almost forgot....your Aquilegia seedliing (s). You will be able to recognize the true leaves when they appear (they are the second set). First set is bright green and a bit oblong, then the recognizeable Columbine leaves.... that's what I also potted up today A. Norah Barlow, which is a dark dbl purple......

Ok, chat at you folks later (boys and girls!!! LOL) Juhur...I only have the standard wild Yucca here...(fillimentosa I believe.)

Robin....I turn mine on in the morning and leave on 12+ hours.....These are standard T12's. flourecense (sp). And once up and growing I move them to seperate trays misting several times a day..(usually with a weak solution of Miracle Grow and peroxide.....).

Mipii, I was leaving mine on from 7 am to 7 pm, but pretty sure you can leave them on longer as long as they get 8 hours to rest (so that would be 16 on, 8 off), but I may be wrong here.

You are too kind, if you only knew how crappy my seedlings are looking now, I waited too long to transplant them and they are not liking me anymore. Gave them 1/3 strength MG transplant solution today but I think I'll lose a lot, I'm sure I'll still have enough to plant out, but not a ton of extras to gift and sell.. Oh well, lesson learned!

Thanks Kathy and Becky...12+ hrs. it is. I found a timer so I'm trying that out, going to set up another grow light to accommodate taller, potted up seedlings. First time seeding indoors, first time winter sowing too. It's all wild novice dreams at this point so appreciate expertise to get me rolling, or a push in the right direction when stuck.

I never knew I could have so much fun gardening through the winter. You know...winter hasn't been so unbearable this year. Thanks to all my new-found enabler friends...LOVE my new hobby! Haha, hubby probably couldn't wait to get me out of the dirt all summer, now look at what you guys did!

I'm just a dirty, dirty girl.

Lol Becky, I've detected no timidity from you, you jumped right in with both hands and feet. Your lessons are entertaining...thanks for that too.

I've read the lights should be on 14-16 hours, I do 14. I use T5's, high output daylight bulbs... Very, very bright.

Becky, try a seaweed feed. That did wonders for my ailing Campanulas, and quickly, too.

Kathy, my S Azurea plants were on the tall side when I bought them, and already bent over. I've read that you can cut them back early in the season to get them bushier. They stay a little shorter and bloom later. I think I'd rather have the height and earlier bloom, even if it means staking, at least for the first couple of years.

My Lupines are still infants, just a couple of weeks old, but I think I see a reddish tinge on the ones that sprouted first. Good to know that you're getting distinctly different colored stems. I think mine may be all the same.

The Maybe Aquilegia seedling is growing verrrrry slowly. I guess someday it will show true leaves ;-)

Yippee, a S macrantha! I wish I knew what made it happen. None of the other seeds show any sign of life.

Still didn't get to the tomatoes... Sigh...

Always more to do!!!

Cross post... Mipii, when my husband sees me pull the crate of supplies out from under the kitchen table, he leaves and reads the paper in the other room. If I walk through there, he asks, "How's the garden?" with a straight face. And he doesn't come back in until I've cleaned up my mess. He's a good boy, lol!

Mipii - I like that.. "Novice dreams", should be the name of the forum I belong in! LOL yes jumped in head first and it's a little like quicksandish but I've still got my nostrils above ground. We are both dirty girls! Lol :D

Pam, I will try the seaweed feed next watering, I wish I would have ordered some from the jump off! Your hubby sounds like mine, not too interested but supportive nonetheless. He does like to stand around and chitchat in the summers when I'm watering, but that's all the "help" he gives.. Congrats on the S. Macrantha, isn't it amazing when you've given up and then BAM! Germination! Makes me feel like a magician!

Kathy, my salvia azurea came from the ditch down the road.. Grows wild here (supposedly, but this is first time ever seeing it wild). There was a huge colony growing so I dug up a few of the little guys from around the momma and left the rest be. All the transplants made it, and this was a brutal winter here. Very uncommon ice storms and lots of sub freezing temps. I'm sure I'll always have them now. Very easily wintersowed also, it is one of the first to germinate! I can't wait to see all your seedlings mature, like I said before, seeing your pics are very motivating!

My husband's gardening interest and participation: I just carry things. Ask the people at the ORVG Roundup. lol

He is interested in plants that produce food.

I just carry things! Lol

Sounds like really great guys! We are a lucky bunch, I'm so thankful for mine...everyday day. Of coarse, everything would be jam-packed and covered with plants if they had the same obsession as us.

I'm afraid we'd have a dirt shortage.

WWK ; Kathy , I will send a few to you when I find out if their any good ,There seems to be a bunch ,
They were hanging in a bag , on a Key Chain Key hanger in the Kitchen , I hung them there while sorting through seeds in larger bags ,
My Sister came through and was cleaning the Kitchen ,, I had to fish the grocery bag out of the garbage the next day ,, She threw them away ...yikes ..
There were about 25 big baggies of seeds in there .

i forgot ,, I wonder ? Seed Diving ?LOL ^_^ I had never had that happen before .. lol

This message was edited Mar 19, 2014 4:46 PM

Yikes, Ju! Good thing you found them! Nice of your sister to clean up, but sounds like she needs supervision, lol!

On the Lupines, I have 6 red stems and 3 green so far. Another one sprouted today and got planted, one of the bigger tan seeds. I'll see what color that stem is when it emerges. Like you, Kathy, I'll keep the two sets separate in the garden. I'm going to guess for now that the red stems are the red flowers, but I don't expect to see them for another year.

The plants in the garden must show some coloration in the foliage too, right? Maybe when they bloom this spring you'll see which is which?

The other pic is the maybe Aquilegia. It's just beginning to make true leaves. Maybe by next week it will become clear what it is...

I did Christa Barlow last year, more blue than Nora, the same delicate shape. Should get blooms this year, I hope... I also hope I can remember where I put her, my notes don't say. Oops!

My husband does offer to help in the real garden, and once in a while I take him up on it. He's good for helping lift heavy mulch bags onto the wheelbarrow, and using the chain saw for the occasional serious prune. And he seriously admires the results, acts like a proud papa. But mostly he's great for having dinner ready at the end of the day. Loooove a man who cooks, lol!

LOL, got a spare man that will cook for me? Still looking for my Prince Charming...Sigh.... Lol, actually he should be looking for me!!!!! Hope he's listening! Must be nice to have an extra set of hands to help out with: the heavy stuff, raking, shoveling, mowing the lawn, and just general companionship.........those that have spouses count yourselves as lucky.

Juhur, if your offering Yucca seeds, thankyou but NO!! LOL, I have lots of natives that need to be removed from my acerage!!!!!!!!!!!! Those things are nasty, I've run into the spines too many times. Flowers are pretty and they have a wonderful fragrance but just don't care for them.. Most of the neighbors go into their feilds and dig them out every year or so...

Those of you just starting out,,,,,YEAH!!! It's soo rewarding seeing little babies sprouting, the hard part is having to wait another season to see bloom on many of the perenns.. It's always a nice suprise to find some that bloom first year. I now try to fill in with annuals around the newer perenns, so that means growing extras. Atleast there's something to look at the first season other than a stick. lol. Sorry, no pix this season yet. Am waiting for my puter to go in the shop to get fixed, so all I have are pix from past seed growing experiences...

.

Ok, here's what got seeded this week:
Asclepias incarnata Pink, Lavatera Silver Cups (3/20), Peppers: Petite Marsille, Bajio, Apache(3/25), Sweet Green, Ancho Poblano (3/25), Sweet Yellow, Calico decorative(3/23), Thai Burpa(3/24), Mehmet's Tukish; Ocinum basilicum Sweet Basil (3/21), O. b. Genovese (3/21); Broccoli (3/19); Brussel Sprouts (3/20); Celosia Pink Flamingo Feather (3/21); Clarkia Salmon (3/20); Orlaya grandiflora; Centaurea Imperialis (3/22) Sweet Sulotan; Felicia True Blue Daisy (3/21); Viscaria occulata (3/19); Godetia Dwf Scarlet Clarkia (3/20); Basil cinnamon (3/21); Zaluzianskya capensis (3/23); Nemisia cheiranthus Shooting Stars (3/22); Nemesia Mellow Red and White (3/22); Osteospurmum ecklois (3/22); Didicus caeruleus. Look at the date in ( ), some are quick to sprout..like that!! Later all....Kathy

This message was edited Mar 21, 2014 10:43 PM

This message was edited Mar 27, 2014 6:25 AM

Kathy it seems you keep nice and Busy with the seeds , fun it is ...
I thought I would ask since you did not have the Yellow , and yes,, out west I have seen them everywhere sometimes ,,
Soo I guess that is a Yuck to Yucca , lol ^_^

I set this gizmo over a tire , I am going to warm it up for watermelons , soil temperature dropped from 66 yesterday to 56 today ? UH ? Wrong way inside a solar cooker frame ,,lol
Well it will still be a while I guess ...

Ju, clever idea. But how could the temp inside drop?! The nerve!

Kathy, I also use annuals to fill in an area while waiting for perennials to mature. It makes a big difference, not just because there are fewer empty spaces. For me, I t's a way of seeing if the design works as well as it did in my imagination-- or maybe it's a big oops, and everything gets moved yet again in the fall, lol.

I do feel that the overall design has improved tremendously, especially in the last couple of years ,as my inventory of varieties and the number of plants of each has increased. So funny, though, the first border, the one I've been struggling with for 7 years so far, is still too much of a hodge podge as far as I'm concerned. Sigh...

But I really have nothing to complain about. The process is the most interesting and fun, and every year I learn more and get farther ahead :-)

Lupine #9 is picking up its head out of the dirt, and many of the annual Salvias are beginning to show. I just love annuals, they're so predictable!

I have a lot of zinnias sprouting today. And basils.

Juhur....are you starting your watermelons already???? Yikes, my last frost for z6a is not til May!!! Will you be covering them and aren't you worried about snow yet?

Celene...what's your zone? Was wondering if too early on Zinnias....mine have never done all that great in pots...I usually direct sow.

Robin, so what's sprouting for you? anything new for ou this year... Still haven't tried that winter sowing in jugs yet...who knows maybe next year...

Ya, ya, Pam...sure..... almost done filling the borders, huh...lol. Why is it I don't believe you...lol!!!!! Too many nifty plants (seeds) out there yet to try.... And besides, we have to keep trading things.... Ok, later all...Kathy

I'm in Z6a. You need to give them decent size pots, so I'll have about three flats of smallish pots by mid-May.

Kathy I have not even started Tomato seeds yet . Probably be May for the Watermelons if I direct sow . They seem to do a little better sown out in the Garden ...
Only trying to warm the Soil . When it gets up to 70 degrees and stays there a while I will sow the Watermelons .
Asters are Growing near that , they are getting big since sprouting the other day , (wild)
My zinnia a little stringy , only a few for early start .. marigolds , peppers , doing okay , only not what I would call an overwhelming success so far .

You're right, lol... As usual I have 3 times the plants I need for some spots... I'll need a shoehorn to get them all in. Even so, I'm sure there will be some big holes. Somehow I always need more even if I don't think so now.

I have teeny tiny bits of green coming up in all the annuals- Snaps, Petunias, Salvias, Torenias. Yay!

The coolest is the Petunias. Last fall I collected seeds from the Easy Waves and, to be on the safe side, bought pelleted seeds from Swallowtail as well. And they're all coming up at the same time! Tomorrow I'll open the cover part way, and take it off on Saturday.

Here's seedlings today ;
Their growing ^_^

Oops first pic is wrong fuzzy pic of zinnia seedling , sorry about that ..

This message was edited Mar 20, 2014 10:30 PM

Looks great!

Somebody so very kindly put Mongolian Giant Sunflower seeds in the robin, somebody else, very kindly gave me some Italian White and Cinnamon Sun Sunflower seeds...all were sown 03/15 in flats with a dome and set on top of my fridge (which isn't really warm. warm air comes out of the back and wafts about the seed tray though). Two days ago the Mongolians sprouted and I excitedly begged a grow light from my husband...he even cleaned it up for me! 4 out of 4...yahoo!

This morning I have 1 Italian out of 4 (I went real big and planted 4 of each) 4 out of 4 Ukrainian Purple and 1 Italian Heirloom Tomatoes. Still waiting on some Tomatoes and Peppers...it's torture.

I had to uncover them and put them under the lights in the basement before they got leggy and/or damped off. Now I'm worried the reign of sprouting is over because of the cooler temps downstairs. What a roller-coaster ride. Who knew I could be a new parent all over again. I'm stressed.

I've also tried to impart the very important measure of using a heat mat to my DH. If I had one of those, I think all would be well. What was I thinking, starting a new family without being properly prepared. Heck, I don't even have any fish emulsion. I think I'm gonna starve next year.

I had the Italian White and Cinnamon Sun seeds... Sounds like they're not doing too well- sorry! I had great plans for them, then changed my mind. I hope they're not too old, 2011 I think?

Maybe it would be worth trying a few more seeds in case germination % is low? And for sun lovers, I think heat really helps get them going, light isn't so important as long as there's at least some. Once they're up they don't mind if it's cooler but really need the best light you can give them. I try to keep seed types in separate containers so I can move the ones that are ready, and leave the laggards until they do something.

I've been doing the Deno method and resting the baggies (only for tropicals and other heat lovers) on top of the light fixture so they get the warmth from the bulb.

Sounds like everything else is doing great! Congrats!

I am not a huge sunflower fan, but I saw a cultivar, Strawberry Blonde, I'm growing this year.

Yes you are the 'one' Pam. They are a huge gift. The seeds are not 'old' and don't you dare be sorry (take that apology back). It's something I did wrong...and I bet I planted them upside down (pointed end up). I'm going to Deno some. At least with Deno I can tell which end is up, I hope.

Great advice for resting on top of the fixture for heat. I also really like your setup, using lots of natural light too. Yes, I so learned about planting different varieties in separate containers.

Strawberry Blonde sounds cool too Celene. I grow them...well, the birds usually plant them for food and when I saw the newer varieties, that really got me going. I can't wait to see them in bloom!

Evelyn, how long did it take for your peppers to come up?

I just started the Petunias, annual Salvias, Torenias and Snapdragons on March 17, 4 days ago. I'm so surprised to see them all up so fast.

I finally got the tomatoes started this morning, clustered in a 4" pot. I didn't have time to fuss, but they actually like being moved as they grow and this was,quick and easy.

Thanks Ev, so sorry to hear about the 3 mat catastrophe...bummer.

WWK; Kathy Back to your question , April 15 , AVG frost free date here ..
Almost made it to 78 degrees under my mini cold frame today .. Won't be long ..