...long story short, my seeds have been soaking 24 hours, and the rockwool I was going to use was apparently disposed of when we had some recent repairs. So, I do have some rockwool, which I have decided to half, but I still won't have enough rockwool to plant all the seeds. Should I get seed planting kits?? I REALLY like rockwool, and I've never had great luck with other inside seeds, and I tend to water too much. Also, my seed window, on the south side, receives LOTS of HOT sun, when the sun is shining. How will I know when I have too much sun, before the seeds sprout?? I don't want to cook them. They will be in tinfoil loaf pans with plastic tops. TIA!!!
It's always something...
I add holes to my rockwool so it is really crowded with seeds, Sherry. Lots of people just put the seeds on top of wet soil and press them in and they grow great. Put in a humid environment like a plastic bag.
I doubt it could get hot enough in December thru a window to cook them. If it does get that hot, I would think tin would hold the heat even more. I have the best luck when I use plastic bags to totally enclose my cheap tupperwear like containers. I prefer that over any dome like container.
Good Luck Sherry!
Thanks so much Kell!! I just got those dudes planted, I'm worn out!!! Sadly lacking rockwool, I put a layer of potting soil on the bottom, rockwool in the middle, filled with seeds and then, I used additional rockwool on top, followed by a smidgen more potting soil. I don't know how it will turn out but one very exciting thing did happen. I had to plant today because they had been soaking for over 48 hours. Well, as I started removing them from their soaking cups, I found that 1/4th or more seeds were already sprouting. I planted the largest seeds last, and I found that when I snipped off the ends, that they are really sprouting. Just about every Arborea seed has sprouted to the point that they are teeny, tiny seedlings, I really considered planting them in individual cups, but the day just wasn't long enough. Many of all of the large seeds are sprouting, so I supposed their stay in my frig could have been worse. Now, if I don't find some other way to kill them, I might be off to a better start than I ever thought possible. I appreciate your post and your encouragement Kell!
Did you put the seeds in a sandwich of rockwool, with soil for mayo?
Judy, that is so funny that you said that because that's what we've been saying all afternoon - great minds, ya know!! LOL
Sherry -- PLEASE post a picture of what you did. I'm not sure we totally understand your planting method... Gretchen
Gretchen, this is a terribly dull photo, very little to see, just tin loaf pans with plastic tops. They are under a shop light. Cross your fingers that they take off. When should the Messengers be used???
Can you get the lights closer to the seed pans? I believe that brug seeds like light to germinate. I don't know how deep your seeds are. It sounded light they could be fairly deep from the way you described it. I actually leave my seed exposed to the light for germination. I hope you have good luck the way you did it. I've never tried it the way you have explained.
Sherry, you have mail.
Judy
Brugie, they are not planted deep, hardly covered. I'm concerned about the light too, but when the sun is out, despite being freezing, it is hot as holy heck on that window ledge. But when it's cloudy, it's very cold. I'm using the plastic on top, to hopefully hold in heat when it is sooooooo cold, or prevent sunburn when the sun it out. I've never started seeds inside, so please do not hesitate to point out improvements, I'm open to all suggestions!!!
I would just watch them when the sun is bright and they are beginning to grow so it doesn't dry them out or cook them. If the ledge is really cold at night, you might want to move them into the room a ways where they would stay warmer and then back during the sunny part of the day. They don't need light during the night. I have to tell you that your seed pans look so neat. You don't even want to see what mine look like. I'd be embarrassed.
Thanks, Shirley!!! I had no choice re the pans, I had zero that would work and these are cheap and I'll be able to use them over and over. I'm just sick I didn't have the rockwool when I needed it, we cannot imagine what happened to it. Okay, I'm off 8:30 is really late tonight, it's been a very long weekend, fun, but long...
When I grow up, I'm going to invent a grow mat for seeds. It will come in several sizes, 6 inches x 2 feet and 18 inches X 3 feet, etc. It will lay flat on window ledges or other plant growing spaces. If you need a narrow one, 8 feet long, you will purchase 4 mats which will plug into each other, with a low, med, warm dial. You would think, as popular a gardening is, that there would already be something like that - I've seen warming mats but I've never seen a size that would work for my tiny little seed farm...
where do you buy rockwool?
I bought mine online at Worm's Way. I like it because I tend to over water and once I put the seeds in the rockwool, the only watering the seeds needed was an occasional mist...
I'm glad you started this thread Sherry! I got some seeds from a fellow DGer several months ago and I have been scared to start them. I don't know why, it's not like the Brug police will come arrest me if I kill them, but I just don't want the disappointment of killing them! I too have problems growing seeds indoors. Now I know that "damping off" is the issue, I just didn't know there was a name. And it's because I plant too many seeds together and I don't move them to bigger containers (or thin out the seedlings) so they grow fine, then become limp, then dead. Nice.
So, here is my plan for the brug seeds. I want to put dirt in an egg container and put one seed per "cell" in the container. By "dirt" I mean a mixture of potting mix and vermiculite. I did this for my Brug cuttings and it worked great. I use the cactus and succulent mix b/c I think its better as far as not getting soggy. Then I was just going to press the seeds into the wet mix as described above. Next I want to put the whole thing into a large plastic bag and use broken bamboo sticks to create a tent effect. This would go in the window sill of my sunroom. Here's the deal. The sunroom is also my laundry room and "cat room" so I don't have tons of space. That means no lights on top. Just the window. But the room has one solid wall and the other 3 are solid windows- 10 to be exact. The house is old so the room is drafty. My backyard is also shady so it doesn't get real direct light. That's why I want to keep them in plastic! The room is very bright, just not a "sunny" sunroom. Ha. My other thought was to put the containers on heating pads set on low just until they germinate. For some reason I have about 5 heating pads. I can't leave them on all day while at work b/c I am scared about burning the house down! Anyway, I plan on misting them daily and also putting holes in the bottom of each cell to eliminate any possibility of standing water in the container. Once they have their first set of "true leaves" I will move them to the containers I saved from my 3 inch annual/perennial pots. My other thought was, I have 3 big windows in my kitchen, so I was thinking I could start seeds on top of the fridge. It’s warm up there so it’s a free heating mat. Plus, it’s up there with the vents from the heater, and if you mist regularly, I am thinking that creates a great humid condition for the seeds to germinate. I guess my main question is this- is it really necessary to use overhead shop lights if you have a bright enough room to put them in? I told DH no workout equipment is allowed in my house because it looks awful, so he will freak if I decide its okay to turn it into a full on greenhouse! LOL!
Any thoughts? Am I setting myself up for failure? Feel free to offer any suggestions!!!
Jamie
My source for RockWool
http://www.bghydro.com/new/home.html
and for other potting needs for many years.
Prices are fair ....... discounts for quantity usually negate the s&h charges or come close.
Customer service is beyond par.
http://www.novoselenterprises.com/default.asp?page=1492
This message was edited Dec 27, 2004 12:52 PM
Yes...it IS always something...and if it's not one thing, it's your mother! :~{ )
Good info here. Thanks all.
texas garden: If you were starting your seeds in the Spring or Summer, you wouldn't need the lights. The lights help mimic the sun's intensity and length of available sunlight to the seeds, kind of tricking them into "believing" its Spring and germinating. The need more sunlight than what's availble in the Winter. You can probably grow them with sunlight, but they will end up being long and leggy. The closer the light source is to the seedling, the stronger the plant. Also, a heeating pad would cook them. The ideal germination temp is around 70 degrees. A heating pad feels warm to the touch and our bodies are 98.6 degrees..... Don't cover the seeds. They need light to germinate. Don't let them get chilled... You could set up a little shop light in your laundry room. Very easy with a few pieces of PVC pipe to construct a small light stand and set it on your washer...
Sherry: you don't need the rockwool and soil. One or the other will suffice, and you don't want to have the seeds buried. Just lay them across the top of the soil, lightly pressed in, and as Shirley mentioned, get them close to your light source. You should do fine!
Jamie, the first year I grew brug seeds I germinated them in wet paper towels in plastic bags hanging from my computer for warmth. Then moved them to McDonald salad cups with their plastic dome cover and put them on my window sills, none in direct light. I got a fair number of plants growing that way! I do not think they are hard to get going. I peel all mine but do not soak them.
My fear is your card board egg container will mold when kept wet for so long. I think light hitting the seed is more important than bottom heat.
I have never used bottom heat and now I have it down to a science and get almost 100% germination. I just potted up 38 germinated bruglings in rockwool from one 4 inch by 4 inch Tupperware container late last night, that were already 4 inches tall for I naughtily had waited and waited to plant them up. . They were packed in. I just finished telling Brugie why I wanted 38 RK x BF bruglings will be forever a mystery to me.
These are not the ones I did last night, but see how close I pack them.
PS AloyhaHoya........LOL!!! Too funny and so true.
Kell, you are out of control! What are you going to do with all those seedlings?! Ha!
I think I will just do them in a couple of larger containers and get myself another grow light. I have one, but it's up here at work as I try to get my darn African Violets to bloom. I need to just give it up and take them home- they did great at my old job where they sat in a window, but this artificial light here just isn't cutting it. Anyway, I digress. Thanks guys for the advice. I will re-think it. Oh, I thought you had to soak them to peel off that outer part. Can I just peel off the outer layer of a dry seed with a fingernail? I wasn't going to attempt peeling but maybe I will with a few just to see what happens.
I am addicted to peeling seeds. I do 50 at a clip. They must be dry or they are too slimy. You just peel with your thumb nails. I remember a few years ago I couldn't peel a seed for the life of me. Susie took pity on me and would send me already peeled seeds. True love! LOL
I use 1 cool and 1 warm fluorescent 36 inch bulb. The fixture is a shoplight and costs $8. And they love it!
I am out of control, what was your first clue? LOL
Here is my dining room table last night at about 2 AM when I finally got down to repotting the RK X BF bruglings from rockwool. My husband gets so mad at me.
Ready for a dumb question guys? What is the difference between a "cool" and a "warm" bulb, I mean besides the obvious. I buy this shop fixture, then what? What exactly am I looking for on the box when I buy the bulbs? I sort of thought that just refered to "cool" being a regular florescent bulb and "warm" being a grow light that is specifically for plants. I have my small grow lamp here and the bulb gets much hotter than a standard lamp bulb. Is that what y'all are talking about when you say warm vs cool? Sorry, I warned you it was dumb!
Kell, I am teasing you for being out of control because I am the same way! I don't do anything just a little bit. I absorb myself in whatever it is until I know everything there is to know. Admittedly I often lose interest after that, so gardening has been a great hobby for me. You NEVER learn everything there is to know!!!!
I've been blessed with 2 sets of brug seeds over the last 2 months. The first batch was a set of 5 and the last a set of 15.
The first set I peeled and soaked for the night. The next morning I planted them in a microwave meal bowl filled with potting soil placed in a ziplock bag. Then it all went under a shop light with a cool and a warm bulb. 3 weeks later 3 seedlings which had sprouted were moved into 4" pots and went back under the lights.
I peeled the second batch of seeds the other night (unfortunately 6 of them had molded). I planted the remaining 9 as I did the first 5 and now wait patiently for them to sprout.
texas -- the warm and cool tubes have to do with the color spectrum emitted by them. Aquarium and plant lights emit all the colors needed for plants and aquatic life to thrive and bloom. If you combine one cool and one warm in your shop light, it mimics the plant tube and is much less expensive. I've read in numerous articles that a cool light is all that's needed for seedlings, but I have not tried it myself... Hope this is helpful :) Gretchen
I have no clue but they are much cheaper than a grow light. I think it refers to the color they emit. But together they have all the color spectrum a plant needs. Mine are glossy green under them. I get the loose bulbs, not boxed, they are cheaper. One was about $2 and the other $6.
So how do you know which bulbs to buy and how do you know which is "cool" and which is "warm?" If you go to the store knowing you are there to buy new bulbs for your shop light, how do you select the bulbs I guess is what I am asking. Is there a spectrum that you look for?
The light tubes are labeled warm or cool.
Oh, so much fun stuff here!!! I just adore you guys and enjoy reading all this insane stuff - you know, of course, that if this thread gets into the wrong hands that we all might be certified and I don't mean for a specialty skill, LOL!!
Yesterday, I sent the pic of the planted seeds. I jumped outta bed before daylight and attacked my seedling cottages akc the tinfoil loaf cake pans. I knew I had too much and too many layers of soil/rockwool. Turns out it was really easy, because I just scooped off the top layer of potting soil and the top layer of rockwool. That leaves a thin bottom layer of soil, then the rockwool on top, with the seeds punched in and a teeny tiny smidgen of soil, because the rockwool is not as thick as the cubes or sheets of rockwool. Okay, last night, it was in the teens, about 17 degrees. Today, it was 60 degrees and should be around 32 degrees tonight, with 50s, 60s for a week-ish. Now, see the attached pic.....................it was hot as blue blazes on the window ledge today. Can you see all the moisture on the plastic lids??? They are dripping wet. Won't the seeds rot with all that water??? I'm thinking I should take off the domes, and use saran wrap and, of course, lower the light, closer to the pans. Waddayathink??
Jamie - I totally understand your 'fear' of your seeds. I 'feared' planting my newly rooted brugs, I almost waited too late for them to bloom, but they did.
Kell, I too LOVE peeling the seeds, the large ones for sure, without having a clue, I did just as you described and was excited each time I saw a 'live' bean/seed, not sure what it's called at that stage. There were some too little to peel and some that seemed to be 'empty', but it looked like the majority will germinate, assuming I don't over water or cook them. Mind you the entire batch had all been in the frig, so they might already be doomed. If so, I'll be in the market for more seeds to start over, the seeds are so exciting and even if they never bloom, I REALLY enjoy them, such fun!!
And, the plants grown from seed, seem oh so much more healthy and bloom more and longer...
Sherry, they have window sill propagation mats
http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=FGP300
Thanks dstartz and scooterbug. That's what I was getting at- does it actually have the word "cool" or "warm" printed on the bulb? So, since the answer to that is a resounding "yes," then I will get myself a shop light set up ASAP. DH is gonna LOVE this one. Not. Ha!
So I've been torturing myself trying to peel wet seeds for the last couple of years for nothing! I will definitely try dry peeling this year!
The bulbs will be labeled warm or cool, and the warm ones are a little bit more expensive. Last year I bought the cheapest cool bulbs, won't do that again! I didn't really save that much money, and they burned out a lot faster than the other ones. You can easily see the difference in the warm and cool bulbs when they're burning, completely different colors. My light garden is a big metal rack in the kitchen, when I replaced the bulbs last time, I made sure to put the warm ones in the back. The light reflection on the wall isn't that yucky green color anymore.
Jamie, I asked the same cool/warm question. None of our local stores knew there were cool/warm until I inquired. I'm sure it's not that way in your area. Look on the very end of the light tube and cool or warm will be written there. I cannot tell the difference in the lights, I'm taking everyone's word...
MaryInLa, have you tried the mats?? I've been told I don't need the light or mats, but I'm an instant gratification girl and if it speeds things up, I'd love it. Actually, I'm thinking it might keep the seeds dry and maybe prevent mold/rot, etc, might that be the case?? Thanks for the info, Mary!
I hope this isn't the gazillionth time this has been asked...but i have sprouted seedlings which are just putting out their first set of REAL leaves. Do y'all transplant them then, or wait for a couple more sets of leaves. I did mine in seed trays, one per "hole" and used a mixture of coir and perlite ...have them out in the sun...they are going like mad...one at a blessed time. Fresh seeds from my own tree took half the time to sprout...
Ooooh, this is so much fun!!!
Sherry, I didn't look at the heat mats, but if you do buy one, I'd make sure it has a thermostat on it. Some seeds can't take the amount of heat that a mat without thermostat puts out. Since brug seeds only need 68 degrees to germinate, I don't use my mat unless it is kicking on at night and I don't know it. LOL! I did say that seeds don't need light at NIGHT. Even plants/seeds like to rest. They do need light during the day and bright or even light. You don't want your seeds to be dry. If you water too much, that can cause the damp off, but a lightly blowing fan will generally keep that from happening and it will help make your seedlings stronger too. This is just my opinion, but I think you would be wasting money to get a mat for them. I'm almost sure that if you did an experiment with a mat and without a mat...you wouldn't see enough difference to justify paying the $$ for the heat mat. Once those seeds germinate, the growth rate really takes off. It's all a personal choice. If you would feel comfortable with the heat mats, by all means...go for it. All I'm saying is...mats aren't necessary for good germination. Have fun!! Growing seeds is fun and exciting. I love it.
I let them get their first "true" leaves before I transplant most of them, but if some in the pot are just popping through, they get transplanted also and do just fine.
One more thing, Jamie - at my house, cats and seeds don't mix, my cats turned over my first seeds and I'm considering some kind of duct tape to keep them away from my new seeds. I shudder to think of my seedling cottages being tossed around...