Nasturtiums

I am soaking a Nasturtium seed as I type this, hopefully I can plant it tomorrow, It is a Dwarf Alaska seed and I am pretty sure it is a bush. If anyone has any advice or help on how to take care of this plant as I am going to put it in a container inside the house.

Indoors I would give it as much light as possible.

They are edible, peppery taste. Nice decoration on a salad.

Yes, " as much light as possible" indoors is really no comparison to full sun conditions outdoors, so don't expect it to look as good. That's why house plants tend to be tropical understory plants that are naturally adapted to low light conditions.
Flowers, leaves, green seed pods - they all taste great!

No fertilizer if you want it to bloom. They like poor soil.

Mine reseed themselves and thrive on the poorest of soil conditions, when I planted the seeds several years ago, O actually added grit and sand etc to the panting area, in full sun BUT there were other plants growing in front to give some shelter from winter cold when the plants died down, BUT found seedlings several feet away and left them to fend for themselves.
Not sure how watering etc will be regulated inside as they really are plants that will take little water BUT not dried to a frazzle. Enjoy and have fun, in salads add the flowers and leaves a) to make a nice display and change from the norm, and b) they give a little nippy flavour when eaten as mentioned above.
For festive drinks, pop a flower into the ice maker cubes and when added to drinks as ice cubes it also makes a nice little change out of season.
best Regards.
WeeNel.

WeeNel, do they germinate better in darkness or light? One page says cover with a newspaper because they germinate better in darkness, right now I have a baggie over the seedlings and the flourescent lamp on them. Which way is the right way?

A baggie might cause mold or damping off due to too much humidity.

Do you have only one seed ?

Do you have a place outside you can put it till you get forst or freeze ?

Nasturtiums are very easy to grow: you may be over thinking.

:)

Dwarf Alaska is not going to be a large plant, even in the ground.
In a pot will keep it even smaller.

Good luck with your plany ! How did you obtain the seed ?

I cover them with soil, about 1/4" deep. Enough to keep the moisture next to the seed, yet allow oxygen to get in, too.

I got the seeds at the Dollar Store when they marked them down to $.15 a package! I have 30 kinds of seeds thanks to my hubby, I am glad that Dwarf Alaska won't be a big plant, that way I can keep it on my desk and it won't crowd it. right now I have a newspaper on it so it has total darkness. Do I keep the newspaper on it and keep checking it then when the seedlings come up then I put them under the lamp? I have 3 seeds in a pot and they are covered with soil and I guess we will just see what happens, I never tried to grow a plant that germinates in total darkness, all the other plants I grew required light. Here is a picture of my Coleus so far. Also is a picture of my Alyssum too. 1.Coleus 2.Alyssum

Very rough guide:
Seeds are often planted approximately their own depth under the soil. So the really fine seeds might be barely dusted with a little peat moss or fine sand. Or left exposed.
Larger seeds get buried a bit deeper.
Many weed seeds do need the light to germinate, which is why mulch discourages weeds.

My own view is, your trying to push nature way to far ahead of the seeds growing season, here in UK, I never start these seeds off (INDOORS) till January earliest, or prefer Feb / March, Have you looked on the seed packets for planting time and temps etc, these are normally the best guide for planting seeds.
It's easy to germinate seeds indoors with a little bit of care, heat, light etc, BUT it's more difficult to keep ANNUAL seedling alive inside given there natural requirements are good light (FROM SUN) poor soil and good drainage, the later easy but the sunlight and poor growing medium is more difficult because after germination and a few more weeks of proper care, is the time these plants are normally set outdoors to grow on in natural conditions. Some annual seeds are great for inside and out of season BUT I fear the one's your dealing with could be a struggle.

I never use lights for germination, I like to use more natural light where I personally feel more in control of the germination, so I cant offer you any help with that, as for the Baggie, If it's plastic, ditch that as it will increase the humidity that will bring on mould, IT can also cause the seedlings to grow way too tall and than suddenly keel over, that's called damping off and once the seedlings drop over, there is no recovery. news paper is OK so long as it is removed SOON as the seedlings show some greenery, cant see the sense in the lights then news paper, the paper is to block out light so on a windowsill would be better and turn the pots around each morning so the light reaches ALL the seedlings, this gives a more even growth rate.
Soon as your seedlings develop their second set of leaves, that's when you need to prick them out and either set them into a seed tray that takes maybe 25 seedling with good space between them or into very small individual pots, you need to re-pot them soon as they outgrow the pot size they are in.

Hope everyone's info gives you more ideas re seed growing especially when pushing their natural growing seasons as you are, BUT Nothing is impossible.
Good luck
Kindest Regards
WeeNel.

Here is the Nasturtiums as of today, September 19,2014, and they are all 3 up and growing. I was very surprised as to how quick they sprouted, should I separate them or just let them grow together? I have limited space and containers.

Annuals in general, take less time to germinate, as a class
of plant, because they are annuals with a sort life span, and
need to accomplish as much as they can in one season.

If you can get some pollinated blooms, you will be able to
collect seeds, about the size of a largish peppercorn, which
are edible.

ongratulations on your new babies !

Thanks BajaBlue, I was wondering though, could I just move them a little so they won't be side by side? I read that they don't like to be transplanted and I was just going to move them around in the same pot but give them more room between each plantlet, would that be alright?

Won't make any difference. They will crowd each other in the same pot whether you move them or not. And the possible damage from moving them would also suggest leaving them.

I would leave them, they will meander up or along the place wherever you allow them to grow, the last thing you want to do is kill them with kindness as these plants have survived for centuries without any great help from us gardeners. All the need is a larger pot (AFTER they have grown about a foot) same soil conditions as before, Sand, small gravel etc added for good drainage, water when you stick your finger into the soil and it feels dryish, don't feed, give good light BUT not directly against Glass or they could scorch.
When the flowers begin to wild and die, remove them and this encourages more flowers to be produced over a longer period. Remember Annuals Like yours have to germinate, flower, set seeds all in the space of several months so by dead-heading the flowers as they die, your tricking the plants into thinking they still have to make seeds, they therefore make MORE flowers to get the seeds.
IF I wanted to collect seeds for the following year after these plants are done, I deadhead until I feel the plants have decided or the cooler temp decides it's time to call it a day, normally after a few months of flowering. I use the LAST flush of flowers to allow to set seeds.
Always remember, plants use a lot of energy to make flowers, so letting every flower grow into seed capsules weakens a plant.

Hope this helps you understand a little more about plants reproduction, believe me, there is more to learn and you will as you go along, it becomes your life LOL.
Take good care and enjoy.
WeeNel.

Thank you WeeNel, I really appreciate your advice, I sure did not want to kill them after getting them to grow so well. I do that sometimes, over analyze the plants, is there enough water,light and fertilizer. I love flowers so much it is a challenge to me to see if I can get some or all of these to actually flower.

Your welcome, I still remember when I first germinated my first seeds, I think I killed them after about 3 days, I was about 10 years old and over watered, over poked them to see IF they had roots and probably killed them just trying to be kind, BUT you learn that Most seedlings are tougher than you think, AND if they can survive the wild, they really do just need some soil, water and good light AFTER germination.
Just look at them every other day and check IF the soil is too dry, if it is, give water and allow any excess to drain away, don't allow the plants to sit in water for more than half hour after watering and the residue is laying in the saucer. Also don't keep moving them around the place they are in, if close to windo, while still small, make sure you rotate the pot every day to allow even spread of light,
Once large enough to grow on on larger pot, you will be able to tell IF water is required be looking at the plants, they will start to look a bit limp around the leaves and sometimes the flowers look a bit soft and limp. give water. I try to water my indoor plants in the evening when the temp is cooler and the plant will be able to take up any moisture given, in strong heat, the plants may close down and a defence mechanism this saves energy in drought, but it's not good to allow that to happen too often..
Hope this helps you out, try relax, don't over analyze, it's not needed, like I said, plants / seedlings are tougher than we think. and all you can loose is a few seedling, you can always plant more later in fresh soil once you work out what went wrong,
Best of luck, try relax and enjoy.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel. .

I repotted my nasturtiums in a bigger pot, I was amazed at how much the roots had grown in the little plastic tub. Here it is in it's new home.

Here are my Nastutiums they are over a foot tall. How tall will they get before they bloom?

They are way too tall. They are not getting enough light.
If you want to keep them where they are you will have to get a special plant light that has the wavelengths that plants use.
I do not think they are going to bloom as they are.

I think I am going to have to admit defeat, the Nasturtims are dying, the leaves are turning yellow and while there is still some that are growing, I think I am going to throw them out and try either something else or leave that pot alone for awhile. I did grow them, so that much was a success, but I did not read and do the right things to it. Gardening indoors in the winter is a gamble anyway, my Coleus is doing great so is my Snake plant, I neglect it and it likes it! But anyway just thought I would update my Nasturtiums and let you know what I was planning to do, as of this typing I have not thrown it away yet, let me know if you fine folks think that is the right thing to do, and I would appreciate it.

If you had a window with some direct sun, I think that would help, or else a light to supply the wavelengths they need.

Hi, I am looking for some suggestions....

This is my first year planting from seed, and I think I planted my Nasturtiums way too early and now they are going crazy! Everything i read said it would be 7-14 days to germinate. They popped up in 5 days, and now I have 1"-3" tall seedlings. They are in a 72 cell tray, i have 2 trays with approx 30ish in each one. Some did not sprout. I keep them close to the lights so they don't grow too tall, but already chopped one off because it was growing up into the light. The others in the tray are not ready to be moved down further away from the light yet. Each plant has a root coming out the bottom of the pot they are in. The soil is fairly moist, I try not to get them soaked. They keep growing, and I was not planning on re-potting them into hanging baskets until April. I heard they don't like to be transplanted so would prefer to only do it once. They surely cant be root-bound yet. I planted them on Feb 4, and they sprouted on Feb 9. They seem very happy where they are. I don't really know what to do with them. Maybe this is normal?

Do I need to worry about that root?
Will I need to transplant them into something larger?

Any info appreciated,
lilmiss44

I would fill your hanging baskets with your Nasturtiums NOW because they are growing way too fast to transplant into baskets come April.
hang the baskets up indoors somewhere light NUT as yet, NOT in a place too cold, Close to a bright window would be ideal. Don't hang them against the window where sun beats through as the tender plants will get sun burn, shrivel up / die from the magnified sun /heat from the sun beating onto the plants through the glass. Please remember to place the plants outside for a couple of hours each day before they are hung outdoors for the summer, you lengthen the outdoor time every few days (weather permitting and temps) you will kill the plants IF they go outside where it's controlled heat / light before they have been slowly introduced to the new environment outdoors.

It is always best to plant your seeds when the instructions on the packet tell you, keeping in mind the planting times are really a guideline and is the reason they give wide planting time (say Feb-April) and it all depends on where you live, the temps at planting time and the light,
Using lights and heat replicates the natural planting times and is wonderful BUT, doing that gives you the bigger problem of, "what do I do with all those germinated seedling" you cant put outside?.

I think every new gardener does exactly what you have managed to achieve but nature really does know best hence the reason ALL seeds dont really germinate outdoors till conditions are right, even weed seeds have a germination slot in the calender so IF your stuck for planting seeds time, look to see IF you have any NEW germinated weed seedlings, then you know your seeds will be growing happy, healthy and at the time they should.

Hope this helps you understand how we all create more problems for ourselves IF we try push nature when it's out of season, I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying you have to prepare for the after germination to a more nurturing time than when nature does it for you at the natural time.

Good Luck and Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

Ditto WeeNel:
Transplant them into their hanging baskets sooner rather than later and try to give them as much light as possible. Way too cold for them to go outside, but a bright window, even direct sun would be good. As the temperature gets milder you can start moving them outside into a protected area for a short time, increasing the time they are outside as the weather warms.

Thanks for the information!

Unfortunately I am going to try and sell some mixed hanging baskets this spring/summer so timing is going to be a learning curve for me. I definitely planted these about 2-3 weeks maybe even 4 wks, too early and will wait longer next year. lesson learned for them!

I guess it wont be a deal breaker to have baskets filled with just nasturtiums. At least I have 2 diff colors. I have them in my garage under lights, and dont have much of a good light situation in my house for that many baskets. I will try setting up another florescent light and try to get them transplanted into some baskets. Hope that will be enough until i can begin getting them hardened off to go outside.

Thanks so much!
lilmiss44

Get the special kind of bulbs for plants.
If you can, Home Depot has a T-8 fixture that looks like it is made from diamond plate, and is highly reflective. With T-8 bulbs labeled 6,500K or Daylight, these fixtures are a very good substitute for sunlight. Yes, they are expensive. But the difference is worth it!

I just researched and bought two 4-bulb T8 shoplight (takes 4 foot bulbs) from Home Depot (about $49 each, already fuylly aassembled, with chains fore suspending it)) :it's called a heavy duty one(Lithonia Lighting??), with a protective wire grid over the bulbs. For bulbs, I bought Sylvania Daylight flourescent bulbs (the 10-pack, cheaper than individual bulbs): 6500 K, 2870 lumens.

The chains are adequate and somewhat flimsy, so I've opted to buy sturdier, longer chains.

Bulbs: Daylight Deluxe also were 6500K, but only 2780 lumens.

I also bought a programmable heavy duty timer (about $10-20, sorry I can't be more specific: I bought ALOT that trip!!) for indoor use, that features a 3-prong plug (for electrixcity) . . .and my choice of either 1 or 2 3-prong plug-ins (for the shoplights): that way, I don't have to remember to turn them on/off OR interrupt my precious sleep to get up and do it manually!

continued Lowes had a similar price T8 shoplight, but it required assembly.

Bulbs for it were also similar, but more expensive as they were only available in much smaller packages (like 1 or 2 or 4 bulbs per). It's ALWAYS good to have at least ONE spare bulb!!! (another feature of the shoplight I bought: it came set up so that even just one bulb on either outer pair of sockets- that bulb would work).

NOW I'm really finished!! LOL

Hope this is helpful . . .

Looks like a good set up.
If you did not glue the uprights in the PVC you can swap them out for longer ones as the plants grow.

I transplanted my nasturtiums today. Had very little root loss considering how root bound they were with roots coming out the bottom of the cells. I tried to be very careful with them. I hope they will do well. Got 7 baskets with enough for 1 more. They will be orange and cream mix. Ran out of potting soil. Also got 2 cupid pink sweet pea baskets as well.

Looking good! Nice, compact growth.

Nasturtiums today after transplanting first week in march. hardening off now on nice days. They love it outside. Lost a few baskets because some died, but got about 5 that will make it I think. I did put them in organic soil. Hopefully they will bloom!

I like those variegated leaves!

Yes! I love them too

new pic of one of my nasturtiums.. this one is getting big! It seems like a very tender plant. breaks easy. Anyone know, is that normal for them?

Very Proud of you for sticking with it after the bad start you got off to last year.
These plants look great, dont know about your way, here in UK we still get very cool / cold nights, especially dangerous for young tender plants when they have perhaps enjoyed good sun during the day. The sudden fall in temp can cause the tender plants to go into shock or even die back,
Because they are Annuals, (germinate, grow, flower all in one season) a real cold section of there day can entice them into thinking their season is over and stop growing / die off. their tender leaves also can get burned with real cold just as much as hot sun because they are immature still.

Hope the display outshines everything you hoped for, thats all gardeners can ask for LOL.
Best of Luck.
WeeNel.

Dunno what happened to emptyeyes in OH, but lilmiss in OR ought to have started a new thread. Such similar problems, though!

Thanks WeeNel, yes i have hung in there with these plants. They are growing on me, most likely will plant more next year, a little later in the season tho. I have read more about them and seems they are easily broken and a somewhat dainty plant. Have a bud starting to open on one, so for my first year, i call that a success. And, yes in OR we still have cool nights. I put them out on days when it is sunny (still only in the 60's here during the day, low-mid 40's at night) and then i have a make-shift greenhouse i keep them in at night. ;)

Diana_K suggestions always helpful to newbies on the forum, next time I will.