Castor Bean

OK, here's a newbie question...first time sowing castor beans. I soaked them over night. They started sprouting. Should the sprouted end face up or down when I sow it (you can stop laughing now :~)?

Denise

sprouted end ( the leaf) goes up, and the roots go down lol...ok I have stopped laughing.
I don;t know anyone who hasn't asked a stupid question...and its not stupid if you don't know the answer
Good luck

I should add that castor beans are extremely poisonous-the plant if eaten

And what will happen if I've already planted them and I put them in upside down? Only one end of the bean was starting to open and I don't know which end it was LOL!

Denise

Not to worry, pretty much the leaf end will migrate up and the root end will migrate down- it may take a tiny bit longer to sprout above ground as they right themselves. Lots of folks have done that with bulbs and seeds alike so if you hear laughing we are not lauging at you exclusively, but at ourselves as well!

Thank you! It makes me feel better to know I didn't mess up my first attempt at starting seeds indoors for our garden LOL :~) I was so suprised to see the castor beans already sprouting after soaking them over night!

Denise

Here's a castor bean story for you.... I had read that the plant will deter gopher/moles/voles ~ whichever it is raiding my beds. So, I went online and found a really nice seed source. Found the castor beans, as well as $80 worth of other seeds!! I just had to have them! So, I (im)patiently waited for the mail to come for my packet of seeds. Got them all, except the castor bean seeds ~ not available. :o( but I have lots of others!!

Sanna

Well, good news! The castor bean sprouts are already breaking ground! These grow fast...I hope they don't outgrow their container before last frost LOL.

Sanna...I've had the same thing happen to me with other seeds!

Denise

Denise,
I started mine about 4 weeks ago. I bought those little flat peat pellets that you put water on and they plump up. I didn't even soak them, just potted them in the pellets. The sprouted in about 3 days. I transfered each to a plastic cup. These babies are now about 10 - 12 in tall and need to go outside. I think April 6th is supposed to be our last frost date. Zone 6 - St. Louis. They are so easy to grow. I saw them at a nursery last year and they were huge. Just love them.

Good luck.

Crystal

Thanks for the info, Crystal. I'm not sure on the last frost date (we're zone 6, too). For some reason I was thinking around the middle of May. Of course, this has not been a typical winter for us. I've sown my hardy annual seeds outside. And I'm thinking of planting some things out early with a backup plan if the temp drops.

Denise

If you really think that question is funny, it's obvious you haven't seen someone plant aspargus crowns upside-down(and with the roots tufted above ground)!

The general rule is: if you don't know, plant on its side.

Leftwood,

Thanks for the tip! That's good to know!

Denise

Zville
Dont worry about asking, doing something stupid is a nother thing.
A friend of mine a couple of years ago planted some tulips .that same fall she was up to my place when i was planting some of my own so she help me do mine i noticed she was putting the pointy end down ,so i ask her what she was doing planting tulips she said ,will i said thay are upside down,found out she planted all hers that way,i never laugh so hard in my life ,she had to go and dig them up and replant them,i still get a good chuckle just thing about it.

Well, most of my seeds have germinated (my DH says they look like little aliens LOL)! The others are either slower or a no-go. For others who have grown CB and started them inside...did you wait until they were a certain height before transplanting them outside? Any idea on the lowest temp they can handle and survive and be healthy?

Thanks, Denise

Denise,
Good question. Mine are about 12 - 14 inches tall right now, grown in cups. Sure wish I could put them outside. I've got a mini-greenhouse that I am going to put my daylily seedlings in today. Just might put one of the Castor bean plants in it and see how it does with the night temps.

Oh, one thing that I did notice about them growing is the leaves. The first ones that pop out are rounded. The second set of leaves become pointy. I found that a bit interesting.

Crystal

the first leaves are call seed leaves thay arn't true leaves ,the second ones are.
Zville you need to harden you plant off befor you put them outside .
Im not sure if you know about this but this is how i do it first day put your plants out not in full sun thay will burn,put them out for a couple hours then take them in keep doing this for about a week or so leaving them out longer every day untail you feal its ok to plant them i do this for about a week to two weeks ,
And thay do fine, hope this helps

Thanks for the info! I'm looking forward to seeing these babies grow outside! My husband is even interested in seeing how they grow. With the strange weather we've been having, I'm going to have to fight the urge to plant things out to early LOL. Because as soon as I do...WHAMO...we'll get a freeze. I'm going to have to recheck the last frost date here. I'm thinking it was around the middle of May.

Denise

I need some advice on the castor beans that I started in the house.

They are growning very quickly, but have still not gotten their first set of true leaves. The problem is......it is not safe up here in Zone 4 to put anything in the ground until the end of May. Can I pinch these back after they get more leaves? How am I going to keep these under the lights in the house for another 6 weeks?

Marie

That's a good question, Marie. Hopefully, someone with more experience will have an answer for us :~)

Denise

Marie i wouldnt pinch them back ,thay are getting leggy not enough daylight ,get a growlight and put then under it .And if you can make a old fram and put them in it even if it's only for the day time if you think its to cold for them put a trouble light in the frame with them to keep the temp up,thay should be just fine.
Hope this is of some help to you.

digging_dirt....I do have them under grow lights. In fact I've had to raise the lights because the leaves were about to grow into the fixture. My sister told me to throw them out and replant later. Geez! Unfortunately, I'm having an even bigger problem with my morning glories, and I did finally pinch them back.....all 50 of them. Very soon I'll need to put them into bigger pots. Poor planning on my part I guess.....and very vigorous plants.

I am worried about putting them outside, even in a cold frame, and the temps are still below freezing nearly every night. I am trying to rig up my mom and dad's old 'home-made' green house that they attached to their garage each spring. My dad and I are trying to figure out a way to attach in to my house. And....it's an hour away from me, and dad's not well right now.

Thanks for all of your suggestions......I'm sure I'll get something figured out soon.......or I'll have to start over.

Marie

Oh gees your in zone4 yes it would be to cold i the nights.
You may have to do what your sister said and start over you museent
be able to plant out your plants until the last of may if so it will be to late
for the ones you have growing now.
Good - luck

Kind of crossing my fingers right now, I put mine in the ground today. Zone 6 - hope all will be okay, our weather is so wacky. I've got more in my little greenhouse and planted more seeds in cups, just in case.

Crystal

Crystal,

Please keep us updated on how your CB is doing outside. I'm in zone 6, too, and am going to have to plant mine out in the next month or I don't know what I'm going to do LOL. Didn't realize they would grow this fast!

Denise

I've started pinching my CB's back. Might as well see what happens. What have I got to loose? I can always buy more seeds and start over if these don't make it.

Marie,

Please keep us updated on your CB (& your MG). If nothing else, we'll all learn what to do/not to do for the future LOL. While I try to read what I can on what I'm growing, gardening for me is a lot of trial and error. It's definitely a learning process, being a new gardener. But I really enjoy it, successes and failures all :~) I'm repotting my CB into separate containers today to give them a little more room. Then I'll have to cross my fingers and hope it starts staying around 50 degrees at night soon LOL! Otherwise, they'll go outside and hope they make it. I've got a couple more seeds to try again if these croak. Luckily, someone gave me these seeds. I was looking on a seed website yesterday and noticed they were kinda expensive. Anyone know a good source for CB seeds?

Denise

Denise,
Go over to the seed trading forum and just ask if anyone has CB's for postage. Not too long ago someone had them - doesn't hurt to ask.

Crystal

I have plenty of the red castor bean seeds for SASBE if you need them.
Jan...

Well, my CB plants that I started inside croaked :~( Luckily, I had a few more seeds to try again. This time, I'm planting them directly outside (and hope for the best LOL). I hope they don't break ground and get cut down by a late frost. I still have a few seeds left to try a third time but then I'm SOL. This weather this year has been very weird. Hard to predict. So far, the only plants that I started indoors that are thriving are my tomato plants, moon vine and 4 o'clocks (and I'm knocking on wood now). I have others that are slowly coming along. I lost a bunch of morning glories, too (direct seeding after that).

Well, being a new gardener, I'm bound to have casualties. Luckily, I learn best from experience :~)

Denise

I've started them indoors before and don't have any problem. They will be thin and leggy if they don't get alot of light, Mine will free sow outdoors if I don't snip of the pods in time.
I just tossed out like 500 pods and have another bush full so if you need some more, just
let me know and I will be happy to zip them off to you.
Jan...

Denise,

So sorry to hear that your CB's croaked. Mine are still doing just fine, and the growth rate has slowed down. I really need to get them into bigger pots.

Someone refresh my memory please. After these are in the ground and doing their 'jack in the beanstalk' thing......do they need support, or are they just fine on their own as they reach for the heavens? This is my first time with CB's.

Marie

They get very leggy and will bend over from the top weight with seed pods. Best to trim them back one they get to 8 ft or so and they will fill out on the bottom more.
Jan...

Jan,

We'll see how it goes LOL. I might have to take you up on your generous offer. They're forcasting a frost Wednesday night. So far, the seeds I planted haven't broken ground. But I'm sure it's not long before they do.

Denise

budgielover.....so.....to clarify, CB's don't need to be staked or have anything else done to them until they near 8 feet, and they just need a trim. I think that I'm going to love this plant.

Marie