Broccoli - 3 days after sowing!

A little less than 72 hours ago, I sowed 16 DeCicco Broccoli seeds. Today, nearly half have shown their lil 'knuckles'. :)

Okay, so I'm amazed! First of all, these Ferry-Morse seeds were packaged for 2004 and simply stored at room temperature, though we do live in a fairly arid climate. Secondly, the germination rates were predicted in the 10-14 day range.

Does 'germination rate' mean something in addition to 'popping out of the soil'? Does it assume direct sowing in the garden versus startup in a more controlled environment?

Donna

P.S. I sowed two seeds per Jiffy Pellet which was moistened with an H2O2 mixture (2.5-3 teaspoons of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide/1 gallon of water). Our typical room temperature for winter is 70-75 degrees F.

Germination rates are relative. 10-14 days is about right for direct seeded or cold frame broccoli. Soaking and the high temps expedited the process.

Thank you, FarmerDill. :)

Boy, that was fast. I can bring some cheese sauce.

LOL at makshi... naw, it'll be a while yet. :)

I didn't actually soak the seeds, just plopped them directly from the seed packet into the moist Jiffy Pellets. Also have spotted two more 'knuckles' since my first post, so I now have 9.

Okay, I think I'm gonna have to work on putting these close to the grow lights! The first pellet has the two seedlings featured in the previous photo; while not the focus of the pic, they are now 1.5" tall after almost 36 hours. Yikes!

(I mostly took the pic for the second pellet to help me learn to identify the seedlings and leaves.)

Question 1: Is it time to pot up the first pellet?
I was going to wait until it had two sets of true leaves, as it only has two sets of leaves of which one I assume comprises the cotyledons, but the seedling seems way too tall!

Question 2: When I do transplant this seedling or any of its cousins, should most of the stem be under dirt?

Donna I can't tell from your pic but it seems to me your starts need more light and less heat. I don't use those little pellets nor peat pots but if those were mine I would put them deep and in a cold frame in bright light they grow to fast when grown in the house to suit me. Not saying some won't claim you are on the right track but me I prefer cold and light from above and lots of it Ernie

The cold frame should happen very soon, Ernie, 'cause I think SO1 has all the shtuff for it. Just had these at room temp (70-75 degrees F) and *MOSTLY* away from light... danged those stinkers for finding the light! LOL

Thanks for popping in, Ernie! :)

I sowed broccoli direct in the soil yesterday - it will be fascinating to see how quickly they appear - assuming they do ;)
Yes, a cold frame will be a good place for yours - they look as if they're trying to break all the records :)

No more pics of the 'broccoli on steroids', even though some hit 3" today and I'm gonna let them go a bit longer... lol

I'm fully convinced we need a cold frame, especially since I didn't understand the low temp/high light requirements. We do happen to have all the materials on hand, and enough time on our side to build and use it this season. I also have more seeds, and raising them under 'proper' conditions might even beat the 60% germ rate I've experienced.

Thanks to everyone who peeked in. This is gonna be a GREAT growing season, I just know it!!!

Enjoying the lessons,
Donna

60 percent is a tad sad you will improve later Ernie

PSST... Ernie, that's a cauliflower!

Got those and cabbage in my future, too. Shall I start those in the cold frame, too? :)

eweed, is that a side plate or a dinner plate your 'curds' are sitting on??

What causes broccolli to be so leggy, long like that when they first sprout , mine do that too, then they fall over, is it not enough sun light, seems like when I sow them outside they aren't like that at all. stronger plants I guess, And sowing them in teh greenhouse is like sowing them in the house, I don't like to do that either. cause their still not getting enough light, I really like the cold frame idea, bu t wouldn't have any ideas when to start seeds in the cold frame, cause cold frames don't protect from freezing weathers do they? if their made of wood and a glass door to see in with? just wondering here.

I sow broccoli in cold frames as soon as the ground thaws and transplant as soon as the ground warms up enough to germinate weeds. The brassicas are cold resistant and do not mind frosts, just have to avoid hard freezes. useing the cold frame translates to about 8 weeks from sowing to transplanting.

Farmerdill, you are so smart! If we all followed your advice, how simple it would be. Gonna build myself a cold frame some how for next year's spring crops.
I have used 6 bales of hay covered with two layers of plastic and that worked. We had salad greens all winter, even under ice and snow. Maybe I can make another one and use it for seedlings next winter.

Not me. I am a depression baby, had to make do or do without. Never outgrew it.

WE'd all do well to be depression babies,

kathy

Ok, now I know what my problem is. I guess I had to learn the hard way. I thought my bathroom would be a good place to start seeds. I thought the light was fairly strong. But strong light high up just made my little guys reach for the sun. Maybe I'll just direct seed and see what happens until I can get a proper seed starting thing going. This was great info!

Phenomel that is a dinner plate.

Donna you are right it is C not B lol I grow stuff way better than I retrieve the pics back out of the voodo machine Storage.

Judy direct seeding works here I don't do it much because it is a pain to weed much eaiser for me to do a nicw start and plant it in time to get with the program.This may work well for you though.

This is the pic I was after from a late august planting from seed and harvested early Nov. Fall Brassicas to me are sweeter than spring ones. I got territorial seed for some that matured in Dec and March and they were kind of fun to grow no weeding or watering and no bugs. Not sure you could grow these though because they were bred for the pacific Northwest maritime climate. Ernie