Seed starting MAF April !st 2014 Part 2

We'll have to be sure not to touch ours. Thanks for the info. Just talked to David and he did not recall any odor, but our patches are not where we would normally be walking.

thanks, Ecnalg--that is good to know, also!

I had to satisfy my curiosity, so I did a little googling and found this: "The foliage, when crushed in the hand, will produce a skunk-like smell."
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/waxy_ruex.htm

This has got to be the plants' defense against deer and other browsers. As defense mechanisms go, it's not bad from a human's standpoint: all we have to do is avoid touching the undersides of the leaves or crushing them.

Thanks for hunting this down, Muddy--very interesting! I love this sentence: "Because the foliage has a foul scent, it probably is not a preferred food source for mammalian herbivores." LOL--sorry, deer! ;-) I'll also refrain from breaking off leaves and breathing deeply as though they were tasty herbs! :-D

Corydalis lutea is one to consider if you want weird smelling foliage. It's one for naturalizing though, I think. It is annual or biennial and moves around, seeming to prefer 'between rocks' for seeds to sprout. Maybe other corydalis would be deer safe?

thanks, Sally! I had picked up the T. revolutum seeds at the seed swap because it was labeled 'meadow rue' and of course I love meadow rue! LOL! I didn't know about the smell till I looked it up. So, this is probably enough weird smelling plant for me! :-)

Speedie, Your Veronica Spicata 'Red Fox' germinated for me in just a few days, just like you said! Looking forward to seeing them grow up. Thanks!

It's really time for me to pot up my Dahlia 'Redskin Mix'. Also the zinnias are getting a little leggy. I haven't been trying to harden anything off, I know myself too well: I will forget things outside overnight.

I didn't sow any garden peas. I regret that. Might do it anyway even though it's kind of late. Maybe it'll continue to be a very cool Spring. I have a few Sweet Peas that did germinate and they're thinking about growing.

Seeing lots of sunflower seeds germinating out where they fell on the ground last year. Yay!

Contemplating which tomatoes to grow this year. In my experience direct sown and and early started tomatoes seem to produce fruit at about the same time, so I don't want to waste the space this year.

well, I took today off from work and was finally able to make some progress on sowing all the seeds I got at the swap! Muddy, Gita, Greenthumb, Critter -- lots of your seeds sown here today! :-) Lots more left still. Just taking a break now and then I'll be back out again still working on it!

My daughter's away at a friend's, off from work-- and it's such a luxury to have a whole day to spend in the garden!!

Typ, YAY!!! I'm so glad those Veronica are germinated already.. got pics yet? (heeheehee) You could always direct sow your tomato seeds like I did: Accidentally sprinkling them ALL at once all over one side of the bed. < =D (oh NOES!!)

Oooh Catmint, that sounds like pure Heaven!! So, which all seeds did you get sown??

Last Sunday I got EVERYONE's seeds (from the Swap) sown, so thank you a TON everybody!! I can't wait to see the little babies start coming up. Warning: They were sown randomly in my Big Bed: Sprinkle and Pray. Watered in well, then God watered them for me 2 days later. (thank you Lord!) Oh boy oh boy OH BOY, I can't wait to see that bed smothered in pretties!!

congrats, Speedie, for getting all those seeds sown--you are way ahead of me!

Well.... I got to thinking after I hit "send"... there's still all the Asclepias that I haven't sown yet... I forgot. I still have to prep the driveway-side bed for those, and I want to wait til it's a bit warmer, to be sure they'll "do something", so I think you're ahead of me! =) But, the important thing is: Are we having fun yet?? YES WE ARE!! < =D

Oh man. I'm sooooooo behind.................

I need to at least get my $#!+ out of the way to make room for all the flats. I have so much cooking to do this weekend!

[quote="CatMint20906"]Thanks for hunting this down, Muddy--very interesting! I love this sentence: "Because the foliage has a foul scent, it probably is not a preferred food source for mammalian herbivores." LOL--sorry, deer! ;-)

I didn't even notice that sentence; I just skimmed through the article!

I'm starting to direct sow seeds in my backyard. It seems we have a risk of frost until early May, however, so I might limit it to what I can cover up if we get freezing weather after they come up.

I also planted swamp milkweed and NOID goldenrod seeds in the forest today, along with the last 2 of 5 Euonymus Americanus seedlings I potted up last fall. Euonymus Americanus is deer candy, so I decided to plant it 2-3 feet into raspberry or blackberry patches. I'm hoping that the thorns will keep them from venturing in to eat them. If they don't destroy them, they should be able to eat the berries off the outer side, leaving the rest for birds.

I just read that the last frost date

Muddy, you are so good to that forest, and I know all the pollinators and birds will appreciate it! :-) Clever idea about the Euonymous--hope the deer stay away from it!

Speedie, yes it was such a lovely day! I have most of tomorrow free and dedicated to the garden as well. So nice!!

SSG, I can only imagine... all those flats!! :-o

I have to pick up the garage a bit, so I can get my flats cart out and put it to use so I have enough space in the GH to plant more seed. Some of the marigolds can probably be moved up there already. The cool nights may even check the growth a bit. I haven't even started my herbs yet.

Hey Ric, I knew you were a macho guy, but isn't that garage a bit heavy to be picking up? Snort, snort...

haha!!

I'm considering planting my baby lettuce out today, if tomorrrow's rain forecast holds.

I would have said red up, but everyone would have thought I was painting. I can move anything I put my mind to, with a big enough lever. LOL
My onions are up and growing as well as my first row of lettuce. Not one of my snow peas has come up, I planted them about 2 1/2 weeks ago.

LOL Aspen, you read my mind!! < =D Ric, where I grew up, "red up" was about as common as the word "the"... and, come to think of it, I grew up in PA. =)

Anyone ever grow Pride of Barbados? I hope our cats don't eat the one and only seedling we have growing. It seems to be doing fine so far. Got the seed from a DG swap

Wind, no I have never grown Pride of Barbados, and didn't even know what it was - had to look it up LOL. Your seedling looks very healthy!

This evening I carried all the seedlings from the light shelves in the basement to the garage. Tomorrow I will start bringing them outside for the day. The tomato seedlings were starting to look a light yellow green instead of a healthy deep green, so I'm hoping the real sunlight is what they are needing. I've only grown tomatoes from seeds one other time a few years ago, and I seem to remember they did the same thing then too.

I also have hollyhocks, nigella, five spot, viola, datura, and platycodon seedlings doing ok. The only thing that didn't germinate were the cleomes. Now, on to the next hurdle in getting them past the seedling stage :)

Terri--
Since Cleomies self-germinate outside--maybe they do not do so well
seeded indoors in spring.

If you ever had one--I guarantee you will see seedlings all over under it.
They are easy to spot--as the seedling leaves look just like the mature plant's.

G.

>> I used seed starting soil

If the bag really said SOIL, I would have urged you to find one that said seed starting MIX or soilless mix. An airy, fast-draining soilless mix.

Anything soil-based is likely to be too dense and soggy for seed starting.

And I'm suspicious about anyone's ability to really sterilize soil, although many people do it with steam or chemicals or microwaves or baking.

>> covered Burpee self-watering tray

That sounds sure to keep the humidity plenty high - perhaps too high. If you can remove the cover and maybe add a small fan to keep air moving, you might discourage the mold.

BTW, since you have a bottom-watering system, try to deliver LESS water to the soil. Reduce the size of the wick, or raise up the tray with soil, or let the water level get as low as possible, and even run dry for a day or so to help the soil be less waterlogged.

Since I always over-water myself, I always suggest that other people try to keep their soil less moist. Like, barely damp. Remember that if the soilless mix retains enough water to fill the tiny capillary gaps, no air can diffuse in. Air needs open channels to diffuse through (channels filled with air, not water).

You could set the tray with the cells on a dry towel, and wick away some of the excess water. Then, when you return it to the self-watering tray, maybe it won't draw up enough water to make the soil really soggy.

I would scrape the mold and cover with some coarse Perlite, grit, or my favorite: pine bark nuggets screened down to around BB-size or fine gravel size. That surface will stay dry and discourage surface mold.

However, best way to deal with mold is to prevent it.

if you have other plants, you might not want to be culturing such a fine crop of mold or fungus nearby. Is it too late to start the seeds over, and get the fungusy soil out of your house?

If not, maybe combine hydrogen peroxide with the cinnamon therapy: when you HAVE to water more, water with 0.1% or 0.2% hydrogen peroxide. Start with 3% "drugstore hydrogen peroxide" add 1-2 ounces of that to a quart of water, and spray on the surface or bottom-water with it.

This is how I bottom-water seedling trays. Like the Burpee system, but without elevating the seed-tray. Also, I NEVER have standing water in the reservoir - just a damp mat and add small amounts of water every few days if needed.

http://allthingsplants.com/ideas/view/RickCorey/646/Bottom-Watering-Seedling-Trays-with-Cotton-Flannel-Prevents-Water-Logging/

My idea is that the bottoms of the cells don't need to be awash, just damp. The surfaces should be as dry as practical to prevent mold (unless the seeds are surface-sown, and then you have a tradeoff.

I winter sowed and indoor sowed my cleomes, Terri. Only the ones outdoors are sprouting.

yes, I've recently learned cleome needs stratification

OK thanks for the info on the cleome - that explains it :) Do you think what I sowed is still salvageable if I just put the whole thing into the refridgerator for a while?

Probably, but I think that they might need to be in there for quite a while.

Surely--someone--must have baby Cleomies to share!

I just remembered some words of wisdom from critter - "well it DEFINITELY won't grow if you DON'T plant it" (or in this case throw it away) LOL. I'll go ahead and put the trays of non germinated cleome seedlings in the refridgerator and see what happens - if they germinate great, if not then it is the same result as if I just pitched them now. Plenty of room in the basement fridge.

Catmint, I have a million cockscomb seedlings from you, thank you! I love how celosia seedlings give a glimpse of the future flower. I have your yellow/orange, and a fuschia variety from a plant I got seeds from at Hershey Park. Also have Celosia 'Coral Garden Mix' growing. Can't see what colors they're going to be though.

Who was it that had started 'Purple Majesty' Millet, but got thwarted by their cat? I have 6 or 7 seedlings. I'll give one to that person if they are coming to the swap.

I've been a bad seed mommy, no one's getting any outside time because I'm afraid I'll forget about them overnight. The zinnias are not happy but everyone else seems to be okay with the (mis)treatment!

So ready for Mother's Day!

Typ, all of my seedlings are outside day and night now, except when it gets in the low 40s. Do I need to be bringing them indoors still?

I dunno. You're probably right. I know that tomatoes don't like cold at all so I just treat all the babies that way. They haven't been outside at all yet, that's what I feel guilty about.

Typ, I hope they grow for you!! :-)

None of my seedlings have been outside either.....of course, it depends on what
seedlings you grew. Mine are all tender....

took my Amaryllis outside today as well as my 2 big pots of Clivias.
Am working on (ahem) on planting some of the perennials I bought. not yet...

Planted my parsley (bought in pots) today. Still have 4 pots of Dill
waiting to be planted...Don't want to push things with my hand.....still recovering.
Need to shovel and dig over the beds for the veggies. Being sane about not
doing it just yet. Next weekend--everything goes!

G.

I have probably been pushing the envelope on getting things outside and/or in the ground. But so far everything seems fine...

Catmint, the only reason I've been pushing everything outside is because i'm so tired of rotating the various trays under the lights. There is a free light source outside! LOL

Come to think of it, most of the gardening decisions I make are because i want to do the *least amount of work possible.*

Heh heh, I am a lazy cheater: all of my seeds were direct-sown outside, so I have no moving about of seedlings to deal with. No actual seedlings yet either, mind you. ;) I think I'll water stuff when I get home from running amok today. =)

Cleomes, hmmm.... I grew some several years ago and spent the next few years trying to get rid of them from my garden. I will pot up some if more comes out this year.

They got.. uuhhh.. overly exuberant for you Donner??