2014 Seed Starting, part 2

Considering the pitfalls still to come, you might end up with a manageable crop Becky. It's easier to protect against bunnies than grasshoppers I suspect. Although, bunnies loved my green beans to death last year.

Wow, 87...is your spring over?

Oh, yikes, chores upon chores. I'm dying to get my hands on all those little sprouts that need separating so badly, and start more...

But nooooooooo... I have to do paperwork... Booooooooooooooring! ;-)

Man I sure do hope you're right Robin! And yes the grasshoppers royally suck, but I've heard that this winter was icy enough to kill a lot of them!! Hooray for that! Spring never really did start here. We had a never ending winter and were still wearing sweatshirts 2 weeks ago. Now I hear tomorrow they're calling for almost 90! Just got a letter in the mail saying we are in stage 3 drought. No outside watering at all! Thank god we have a well!

Got all my peppers and tomatoes outside hardening off. Time to start some tropicals and other pretties next :)

Pam, I sure feel for you...bad timing on that paperwork...I hate paperwork!

Becky, that's good news and a good tradeoff for icy temps! After receiving the robin...I've got lots of pretties to get started, can't wait to see totally new sprouts (green is my favorite color).

The look of these poppies.
out of practice with the camera . From snow to this ,, practice time ,,,lol

Pam...nope, haven't started Zinnias yet. Won't until mid to late April. Was going to do potting on today but got sidetracked...my brother and his son stopped in for a while....ok, will do it tomorrow...LOL.

Got 6" of snow!!! Yeah!!!! Just finished up around noon today. A good wet one and will melt off quickly so things should be greening up real soon now.... Gotta get some of my annuals seeded in out there before the next round if I can. More snow is due early next week.

I'm working today, a free-lance job, but had a couple of hours this morning to do a little potting. Each little cup of Lobelia made 9 small clumps of seedlings in cell packs. I did the 3 blues today, tomorrow maybe I can get to the whites, and some of the others that are really bursting out.

Also today, I separated Petunia Easy Wave seedlings from seed I harvested. They germinated at the same time as the pelleted commercial seeds, but are smaller because they've been so crowded. I only kept the 9 biggest.

And I sowed more. It turns out I have one seedling of Salvia Indigo Spires. Also S Coral Nymph germinated very sparsely and I want more. I really packed both cups with seeds, I hope I get at least a few this time. With the Coral, I had a packet of commercial seed, so I sowed that, too. I'd like a couple of dozen, so far I have 8 from 2 batches.
I also started Ammi visagna green. I'm still waiting for Stachys macrantha and Agastache Golden Jubilee. Everything else that didn't do, I tossed.

My daughter took a flat the other day so I have a little room again. Everything needs to be re-arranged again by height, maybe tonight...

And the best news of all: the plumber got the water going! There is still a lot of snow, but at least the well thawed. So we're going up Saturday morning early, even though we have to be back in the city by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Yippee!!!

I almost forgot to brag...lol. Got pix of the day yesterday....... OK....I'll be nice..lol. And people can't figure out why I take closeups of flowers... (humble me is keeping head down now...) Actually Mother Nature made it, I only captured a pix......

Congrats Kathy! Where's the pic? Congrats Pam...you finished your paperwork and on to playing...you're such a good girl!

Congratulations, Kathy!

Humble? Hmmmmm.... Worth bragging about, I think ;-)

Man guys I sure am having a hard time staying organized.. I've let my pepper sprouts completely dry up. Twice. Luckily I still have a dozen or so but wow I feel like such an idiot! And with all the other chores needing done both in the garden and inside the house I am way behind on everything but I just have to keep reminding myself I am way ahead compared to last year. Success measured by minor improvement rather than perfection! I'm a little OCD sometimes so the imperfections reeaally bug me 😁 Lol

Wow Pam congrats on everything! And looks like you had great results with the lobelia! I think I have coral nymph salvia seed I'm not using if you need some. I (think I) have 2 packs of them from 2 separate trades. I wintersowed them and they did great. In fact all three of the salvias did great with that method, S. Azurea, S. Coccinea 'coral nymph' and a red NOID salvia. I also cleared a lot of room on my indoor light rack. Most all my veggies are out and I have 2 full shelves of space.

Kathy I swear you motivate me. Not to catch up, just not to be left in the dust. Lol I'm not real sure what to sow next though. The tropicals are calling me but I really would like to do more "bed filler" type perennials unless anyone thinks I may still have time to sow annuals?? It gets real hot here in about 2 months..

Anywho more pics from wintersown jugs. Peephole shots through the top of the jug w iphone. Lol. Pic 1 is impatiens balsamina, 2 salvia azurea, 3 portulaca grandiflora white double, 4 ipomoea quamoclit, 5 is a perennial mix, wonder what the heck they are!!

Becky, by the look of things, you're doing great! Your Winter Sows look wonderful! What's a few peppers here and there, lol.

I figure every year the disappointments are fewer, and the successes increase. But I still never win 100% of the time, that's just how life is. Avid I learned a long time ago that watering every five minutes is not my thing, and started using self- watering setups. Made a huge difference! Of course if I forget to check the trays to make sure they haven't run dry, oops!!!

Perennials take a year or two to come into their own. The first year they are really skimpy in the garden. I get them started ASAP, usually from December to February, so they are big enough to survive the garden. I know Kathy has a holding bed, where they grow on for a season or two. Then it doesn't matter so much if they're small, they don't have to compete for light and air and they won't get swamped by mature plants.

Annuals rarely need more than a few weeks to get going, so I start them later. They grow much faster since they have to flower and set seed before killing frosts.

Robin..scroll down on your home page to pix of the day...click to go back a few days.. But if you can't find it I think this is it...

Start them any time you like , if you have a good bright , hot place, to grow them .
If not start them with May or June in a good hot place , If I want seeds from any of them June 18 th , is as Late as I can start them (plant date)..
I have 6 stringy ones , more to come .. May is the best time for me to start them .
Yes I should say I am typing about Zinnia ,
I plan on a 6 x 4 planting of them this year .. maybe more ?

Thanks Ju, you can safely bet I want seeds! I'm a seed monger.

Kathy, your Centaurea is a beauty. I agree with Pam...worthy of bragging rights indeed.

I was thinking it was Centaurea Montana .
oh well, My desire to look at green wild became this ,, a mossed hope , The little things are Snapdragons or Tall parsley , reused soil ... oh well again ..lol

Need to type still , missed the punch line ,, lol Bad when you cannot tell your own humor ,lol

This message was edited Apr 4, 2014 8:54 PM

For some there could be an interesting lesson there in the pic, The white hairs everyone usually presumes is mold is often the moss in the mixes , readjusting itself, the white strands are hair fibers like roots or stems , not always mold , If you let it set a little while it does not bother seeds or plants ,only makes more moss in the mix ,, With shade plants this okay , of course if this happens with sun plants , to shady, to wet ,, time for more light ,

I came back to say , I know most on this thread are aware of this and are much better at many things than myself , The sets from you all here are Incredible !!!
Some times I start to say some of you could take over as Mother Nature , !!! ^_^
Only trying not to aggravate or insult anybody ,,
Okay back to small plant corner ,, (to be green with envy ) lol ^_^ It's meant well ...




This message was edited Apr 4, 2014 10:05 PM

Good to know that fuzz doesn't hurt the plants. Sometimes I sprinkle a little cinnamon under the dome if it's starying to smell musty. It's not a fungicide, but it does seem to keep everything fresh and healthy.

BTW, I've had problems with fungus gnats for years, and cinnamon has been a huge help in keeping it to a minimum. This year I started out as usual with MG Seed Starting mix, and using lots of cinnamon right from the beginning. I ended up ordering a special mix from Gardener's Supply, formulated for self-watering containers. Somewhere along the line, I stopped using the cinnamon at all. Usually I get more diligent when I start seeing the gnats, but this year there have been none, and I just forgot about it until today when I used it only to freshen the cups under plastic.

The odd thing is that all the stuff I've been using has little sticks in it, but doesn't attract the gnats. So from my experience, I have to agree with everyone who says the MG Potting Mix is the worst for that. I also switched to the GS Germinating Mix, and got better results with a few tricky plants- it has trace minerals, etc, and is also much lighter than the MG. It's worth paying the shipping charges to get a better quality and eliminate the hassle.

Yes juhur, it is Centaurea montana, (mountain bluet or perennial corflower). I just love the blue!!!! It was one of the first plants I started gardening with all those years ago.... It's also a indicator plant, when it gets a bit wilty it's telling me it's time to water the whole garden. I cut mine back after a few cycles of bloom and let it regrow a new flush of leaves and flowers, hence, it's an all summer bloomer for me....It's one that the deer don't ever touch, they hate the fuzzy leaves.

Pix is Centaurea montana 'Amethyst in Snow', this one reseeds more than the blue. Also got another new one which is a darker blue they call 'Blackie', sure hope I get some bloom from it this year, I don't remember it blooming last summer but it's still there.... I still want to locate one of the pink flowering plants but have only seen it available in Europe so far...(darn)...

It's an interesting lesson to me. I laid a patio in the shade and love my natural moss in between the stones. Ju, everybody has something to teach...and everybody has something to learn. It's a blessing we can do both.

I think I'm gonna have to get out the cinnamon, it must have fungicidal properties Pam, it also helps prevent damp-off. Miracle Grow was my rookie mistake. Is 'GS Germinating Mix' Gardener Supply?

I know sometimes that white hair can start out parasitic , it will and can kill . Once the green appears it is okay , (no longer kills everything )
This also , knats and several things do not like the moss when it is green .

I am aware of the cinnamon , only most of it , is sawdust , Not real cinnamon anymore , sawdust and drops of cinnamon oil most of it ..
As long as it works though ,right ?

The only perennial Centaurea I have , is a knapweed , Finally got one of Scabiosa Centaurea to grow , it is up this spring . looks okay ,so far ,
Remember last year , the germination . I lost the pic of the Americana i had blooming ,,nice cornflower

Yes, Gardener's Supply Germinating Mix. I'm potting up seedlings now, and so far the roots look good. The campanulas are very glad to be moving up to bigger pots. They were very potbound, and the roots were starting to look mushy. They were in MG Seed Starting Mix, which felt soggy. Now they'll be in a coarser potting soil, I hope they like it better.

And I agree about the cinnamon. I do use it to combat mustiness as well as fungus gnats, and I've never needed a real fungicide. I haven't had any damp-off problems since I started using enough heat and light, and cinnamon. And peroxide. I don't know at this point exactly what to credit, I started using everything after the first miserable failures in the damp, cold bay window at the house, which only gets direct light for a short time during the day, and it's filtered,by trees. Yuck!

My little plants look so much happier now- the one full flat that I brought out now nearly fills 2 oversized trays. I went to extra large pots for the Lupines, Salvias (perenns) and Alcea so hopefully by the time they get planted out they'll be extra hefty. And they'll be going outside the soonest as well, in just a few weeks, to make room for annuals.

Still lots of snow and ice around the house. My new path near the house, that is meant to showcase early bulbs and flowers, is still covered. I guess those plants won't be so early after all, lol.

Nice little plant set there , looks comfy , relaxing ,, The ice and snow , Well. It looks like a ski or fall on down here ,,


Here's few today around the yard , daff's, tulips, some sedum trying to return . and of course Daylily and some iris

Juhur you are too funny, between you Pam and Kathy, Mother Nature could def take a vacation while y'all hold down the fort!

Pam, the fungus gnats are terrible aren't they!? It's true, watering less really deters them but it's hard to keep everything dry at the same time without killing them! When my infestation was at its worst, I was waiting until my plants were just about to droop, then water with diluted hydrogen peroxide. It supposedly kills the larvae on contact and I believe it. 2 or 3 times and I almost got rid of them. I still have a few here and there but nothing like before. The cinnamon worked well for my damp off problem also. Well either that, or it's like you said.. After some miserable failures trying a multitude of things and alas, some or all of them worked.. But which one to credit? Lol! Either way, I just love the tricks of the trade you guys share :)

Since we're sharing, some of the blooming things around here. Pics 1 & 4 are unknown wildflowers (or weeds?? Matter of opinion, methinks), 2 is skullcap, 3 is Drummond's onion, all natives. Except for #5, my mainacht salvia. She is my only non native blooming already, I just love her!

Trust me you guys,

Y'all got weeds, an infestation to be totally honest with ya.
Pack them up and send them to me, I'll dispose of them all properly...free of charge of course (we're friends, right?)

I put my first trays of perennials outside today to harden off. My babies are growing up!

(And I have extra space under the lights)

In what zone???

Lol !!! Mipii (Robin ) Thing is , most of mine really are weeds!!! lol , Okay , a semi -truck full
ASAP .....
Kind of cool here today

Ju, I'm banking on most things are, or were at some point considered weeds...until someone found a use for them.

We're not ready here to harden off perennials yet, probably another week or two.

And I'm a few weeks behind all of you. But that's OK, at least I have room again to pot up...now all I need is the time!

I put my trays outside, and surprise shower washed almost of my savories, and lavenders. I'm hoping lavenders could survive.

Salvia Indigo Spires- I now have 2 seedlings. The first one was the only one to germinate in a 6-pack of cells. The 2nd batch was heavily sown in a small cup, only 1 came up so far (3 days). Germination is very sparse, but at least the seeds are not completely sterile. :-)

from seed as before Salvia did well ,
Sunflower , this was a surprise ,,

Quick question: I need some seeds that will germinate quickly for an Easter display. (April 20.) So they don't have to be hings I love when they're grown up, just cute tiny seedlings. Any ideas? I remember some book my mother used to read me had mustard and cress as being fast germinaters but I've never grown either of those so I don't know.

Didn't Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle use radish seeds?

This message was edited Apr 10, 2014 3:11 PM

Cosmos, Zinnia, Radish, Lettuce (must be this year's seed), Spinach. These I'm sure of, especially under a dome and with heat. They should be showing in just a couple of days. I find lettuce seed becomes much less viable the 2nd year, so I try to buy fresh each season.

I forgot where Mipii and some of us talked about this ,,but ,,
Robin (Mipii ) just for you ! Ju's Charmin seed starters ..
That's right , the Charmin method ,, By Ju ... lol ^_^

Thank you, Pam!