I planted eight 6pks of different cross seeds. All have sprouted except the 10 Rosamond x L'Amour seeds which I had peeled before planting so I dug them out and looked with a magnifying glass to see what the trouble was. Inside the bean was tiny white worms which had ate the inside of the bean.I hope this will help us to learn when the bug got inside and maybe what it is.Hope Bug Guy will take a look.
how long were your seeds planted before you gave up??? I hate winter, it's hard to know when it too long and when isn't long enough.
Could you tell if they were alive?
I am sitting here wondering if we should be isolating these seeds if we have planted them, in an effort to stop potential spread into the soil or to other seeds/plants.
tiG, All the seeds were planted 12/1. Most are about two" tall already except for the Butterfly x EP seeds. I checked them and they are just starting to sprout under the soil.Putting them all under lights tonight.
Tonny, they looked white with dark heads. They were very tiny. I used the macro on my camera.
RA, I had these seeds in a tray with my other seeds and the other crosses all sprouted so I don't think they come out of the soil but I don't know what they turn into so I took those two 6 pks and put them out in the snow. Figure if I freeze the little buggers they'll die.
We have a kind of worms looking much like the ones you found. They are living in the garden soil and almost always close to plants or plant roots. These can be to 1 mm in diametre and to 20 mm long.
Its nice to see how many seeds germinated for you and that your trays are getting full of seedlings. It must be the right time to sow now to get the first bloom before the end of the new season. I have got a few sprouts here myself. Ì know its recommended to peel the seedcoats off before planting, but mine have their coats on and are in moist sand. I have two different rose hybrid x unknown showing root tips and one wild aurea that is close to coming up. Here`s not the wildest amoung of winter space for small plants, so I didn`t plant too many seeds, but it is nice to see new life coming and even if its winter outside it feels like spring is not far away.
Tonny, I sprout these next to the woodstove. It keeps the soil nice and warm. I only peeled the Rosamond x L'Amour seeds. The rest were not peeled.
I planted my Rosamond X L'Amour seeds the day they came in the mail and nothing has sprouted yet. I looked into the planting pot and most seem to be just disappearing into the sunset. Will leave them for a while longer and then I'm going to go digging again. I had peeled one and it was a little mushy in the bean and thought I saw something that looked like a worm under my magnifying glass. Just white with a dark spot that was on what I thought was the head. I now think what I saw was the worm. Am hoping that they weren't in all of the 40 seeds I planted.
S.
Just went back and looked closer at your picture, and I hate to say it, but "I have worms too!!" :-(
This message was edited Thursday, Dec 26th 4:23 PM
Shirley, I think my seeds are in the same condition.....they are just disappearing in the soil. Those lil worms are starting to aggrevate me. lol Am going to put that particular soil in the garbage can.....dont even want it on my property!
Owen
I just sifted through my 40 Rosamond X L'Amour seeds and found about six of them. I opened them up and all had worms inside. One had as many as six worms in the one seed. I'm guessing that I won't get a single seedling from this batch. I used new soil from ProMix. Just imagine that the little worms were already there (in the seeds) when I planted because the seed did look okay. Going to check my others now.
Just checked some seeds I planted in Schultz potting soil and they are gone........All of a sudden I'm going to have more room than I thought. Does anyone think that these worms grow in the soil as well? After the seeds are gone, they have to go someplace, don't they? I think I better buy stock in Bayer before everyone starts buying it this spring. :-)
This message was edited Thursday, Dec 26th 4:54 PM
Fungus Gnat larvae are white tiny worms that eat seeds and seedlings right after they germinate.They arrive in Peat moss mix soils.the adults are tiny dark gnats that fly around during the day. If you see the tiny gnats start serilizing your potting soil...even fresh new soil ..in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes at full power (high Power) let the soil cool and keep the remaining soil either outdoors till needed or keep in a closed bag.Even soils you buy cxan have these varmits in them.Very prevelant when sowing and germinating seeds in greenhouses or home. :-)
Is the consensus then that the worms/larvae are in the soil we are using then, rather than in the seeds we are planting? (trying to understand and get a handle on this so please forgive this newbie)
Kyle, I use ProMix which is Spaghnum mix. I mix it in a big bucket and used it for all the six packs. The only worms were in the Rosamond x L' Amour seeds. The other crosses all sprouted and I can see no worms in the soil when I dug around in them.I had peeled these seeds before planting and the worms were inside of the bean.Just trying to figure out how and when they are getting in so we can stop them. These are really good crosses that are being ruined.
also, the soil wouldn't answer the question of the empty seeds either. but I'm keeping a close eye out for fungus gnats. Maybe the aphids are eating them :(
RA49, they are in the seeds. wouldn't have empty pods from the soil from several different states, especially with other seeds coming up in the same soil. I am told it is a kind of fly larvae.... that's all i know.
There's lots of pictures on the web of fungus gnat larvae
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/greenhs/pics/fgsfpics4.JPG
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/fldcrops/fungnat.gif
http://www.naturalworlds.org/goliathus/manual/Goliathus_breeding_8.htm
http://ipmofalaska.homestead.com/files/fgnathypoaspis.jpg
They do look like them. A couple of years ago I had a terrible problem with them. Some of my house plants were infested. I gave the plants a good soaking with soapy water and it brought the gnats up to the surface of the soil where I could see them. They didn't really look white to me... more like the body was transparent. They're attracted to the decaying matter in moist soil. If they are fungus gnats... my guess is that they are attracted to the rotting seed (which may not have been viable to begin with) and feeding on it. If you have fungus gnats you'll see the little fruit type flies around the your plants.
I don't think this is fungus gnats. As Poppysue said, the fungus gnats havea transparent body. Not white like the above picture.
I only had 3 Rosamond seeds that had a bean inside. They've been planted for a few weeks now but no sprouts. I have the pots sealed in a zip lock baggie so no fungus gnats can get at the soil. I'll dig through and see if I can find the seeds in there.
HI to all of you:
I'm reading all of this with great interest.
I'm a novice at all of this.
I was introduced to Dave's by Ruby42.
Eclipse do you put all your potting ingredients in the mic?
I have a lot of seeds that you wonderful people have sent me and I don't want to lose what I have
And I'm going to be ordering seeds and bulbs. I know that I'll lose a lot but, I'd like to try not too!
I found them. They look okay ... swelled up but not sprouted. I squished one (oops) and there wasn't anything inside that I could see. The embryo still looked like it was intact. I put the other two back hoping they'll sprout.
This thread is really getting interesting! I just dug up four pots of seeds, planted 15-20 seeds in the four pots, about a month ago, only have 3 seeds. Spread the top couple inches of dirt out on a newspaper, so I could spot any seeds. Used magnifying glass!
Thought I'd add that the worms in the seeds that I opened were extremely thin and they would stretch out like a night crawler did. I'm guessing, but think they would be a little over a quarter of an inch long when stretched out. I hope someone can come along and tell us what will kill them and hope that we can get that job done before we get ready to plant next year. I had fungus knats much worse last year, to the point of making me want to move out, and this year I just see one now and then. Last year I didn't have this kind of trouble. I lost some seeds, but then planted Kyle's seeds and they were fine. I guess what I'm saying is that if it was the knats, I should never have had 100% germination with his seeds last year. I still think that these empty seeds are because they have been eaten out by the worms, even before we get them picked in some cases. JMHO!!
76, I put my finished mixed soil in the microwave and sterilize it all together.should be slightly moist to the touch and let sit over night to cool..will make the house smell like dirt cookies..but it clears out quickly.Works on fungus,insects and eggs, and most soil borne anythings...LOL
I'm going to go to the greenhouse tomorrow and get the seed starter and warm it up to try the next seeds. Will have to wait and see what happens. I'm sure getting tired of fighting to get a seedling or two though.
But, if the eggs were laid in the pods, at the base of the seeds, this will not get them. I put fruit spray(powder) mixed with seed mixture, then planted seed in middle of this. The fruit spray powder should take care of larvae, and stop any worms, like spraying fruit trees to protect the apples, etc. It didn't!
Last year I also was over run with fungus knats. This year I haven't spotted one yet.When I peeled these seeds the little bean looked fine and I thought for sure they would sprout.
All the seeds I planted from my crosses have all sprouted in the same potting mix.This is sure turning into a mystery.
maybe we should try raising dandelions. lot easier:)
That's too easy.........nobody wants them. Can I send you two, Owen?
If anyone has some of these 'seeds in question left unplanted, maybe cut a few open and check.
If that is the case I wonder if it's worth trying this, while soaking seeds, soak them in water with insecticide. Just a thought.......
Just a thought for those plagued by knats.
Apparently you should place a drop of cooking oil in all your sink traps at night. The Knats like to breed there and if you are treating your plants and soil for them but still seem to be getting them, this could be your source.
Who would ever think to do this. :)
It is a tip given by a TV garden show host here in Canada.
I found this:
Fungus Knats: In the soil, the immature, l/8 inch long maggots eat the roots. The old remedy was to soak the soil weekly, 3 times, with a solution of the chemical malathion. The new safe control is Gnatrol, a new formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis Israeliensis, which is the same ecologically safe material used for mosquito control in our swamps. This particular BT (there are many varieties) was discovered in 1976 by an Israeli scientist, Yoel Margolit, who noticed that mosquito larvae were dying in a particular farm pond. He isolated the insecticide, which is now used worldwide to kill mosquitoes, black flies and flies that cause river blindness in Africa. Yoel Margolit, who was born in Europe, spent his childhood from age 5 to 12 in a Nazi concentration camp, and went to Israel as an orphan
I was wondering if they were nematodes. I've never seen them, but...
I have never seen nematodes, either, but did see something flicking in and out of the soil, when I started losing P. Flws. etc., so started working the powder(fruit spray), into the dirt, and have not seen any since. They were like small black ants, only moved in and out very fast!
