Ok trying to start from herbs from seed again (this will make my third time) the last times I've ended up with something that looked like bean sprouts and never saw anything that looked like herbs and ended up breaking down and buying herbs and potting them up. This time by golly I'm gonna do it or spend a small fortune in trying! LOL
Anyone have any hints? Went to wally world today so have plenty of jiffy pods, jiffy mix, seeds for the normal run of the mill herbs chives, cilantro, basil(several), parsley (both) dill (both) Oregano, several others. I have a heat mat as well as a light set up so please feel free to hint away...heck don't hint just hit me over the head with it. BTW if all turns out well these will be placed in square 5 gallon planters outside when the weather turns nice around March.
Trying my luck starting Herbs again..
araness, I've just planted about a gazillion jiffy pots with herbs and stuff. My experience is VERY limited -- but I would tell you not to overwater (just mist them in the pots) but when you've potted them be sure they don't dry out. And make sure they have SHADE -- it's brutal down here for herbs. And when you transplant them, tear that little cloth from the jiffy thing, either tear it off or at least gouge it. I've had several that the roots won't go through. And don't hesitate to harvest them -- they just get happier and bushier.
Oregano and basil grew like crazy for me, and chives did well. Still trying with the cilantro and the dill.
Good luck and post your results.
All our cilantro bolts early...and I don't see being able to plant out early this year. We've always bought but had great luck with breaking up the dill and repotting. Grew like crazy...thanks for the info..I've started my jiffy pods and stuck them on the rack to germinate...wish me luck.
Saint, here's a thread I wrote with a bunch of Tom DeBaggio's advice... I would try his "clump transplanting" method on everything you mentioned... works great with my basils! And Dmail me if you want some basil varieties to try.... :-)
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/589725/
Thanks for the info critter...great info and I'll look for the book mentioned on amazon.
araness - you might want to check out the culantro thread...
Criiter:
Thanks f0or posting that thread. I too am trying to start herbs indoors on a larger basis this year and there appears to be some good info there.
Araness:
Please post on your progress so we can compare notes.
The only thing I've started is lavender. I'm waiting for an order of 3 1/2 pots and trays before planting. We planted basil in those last year and had very good results.
What are your starting from seed?
BB
Critter:
In that thread, you post about soaking pepper seeds before seeding in the flats.
I didn't know this and I just planted a lot of peppers. How much does not soaking ruin your germination rate
BB
BB I purchased a book at Amazon from the guy Critter mentioned they had several copies used might want to check him out.
Thanks
BB
NP and I'll post pictures as soon as I have something showing...didn't do many peppers just a sweet pepper since DH and I are wimps.
BB - I've never soaked my peppers and get great germination in jiffy pots with a bottom seed warming mat.
some of my seed packets say to soak and then same type of herb different company doesn't say to...guess it's just up to the person.
FWIW, I've started a bunch of herbs from seed this year too. So far I have lots of Basil, Parsley, Marjoram, Thyme and Oregano, but only a few Sage seedlings came up and absolutely none of the Rosemary. I read on another thread here that Rosemary is pretty tough to germinate from seed and that it actually prefers a cold (55 degrees) and dark place to germinate. So I'm experimenting by trying some more seed in our unheated garage. I also soaked half the seeds in water overnight this time.
I also read here that Rosemary and some of the others are pretty easy to start from cuttings in the spring and I've got a Rosemary plant doing pretty well I planted in the back yard last summer so I'm going to try that as well.
Jeff
LOL hey 55 and cold is NOT a problem..I got a downstairs bathroom that has SAGE just written all over it!
My problem is I'm running out of flats...tupperware that will fit in plastic bags etc..lol I mean how do people do enough seedlings to generate enough for a large enough plant? Or am I just an herb hog?
I didn't always soak my pepper seeds, but I gave it a try and thought I saw quicker germination... Not soaking won't change your percentage of germination, I don't think, but soaking may make them come up a couple days sooner... I think the thing that makes the biggest difference to germination time is using the heat mats, as kmom said. I set my the thermostat on my seedling heat mats to 79 or 80 degrees -- and stand back!
I've never done anything but plant the seeds, and my peppers have done fine. Just my 2 cents.
ok I need to pop up the heat on my mats just as soon as I get a few straggler tomato seeds off it...I gotta stop orderin tomato seeds *sigh*
I do have a mat.
Do pepper seeds take longer to germinate than tomatoes?
My first seeds are germinating and they are tomatoes that I planted after the peppers.
Should pepper seeds be germinated in the dark? I currently have them under lights on a heat mat.
BB
Pepper seeds do not need to germinate in the dark, and I have had them take up to 2 weeks I think to germinate.
The moment you see the first tomato seed germinate, take them off the mat. Otherwise, they'll get leggy faster than you'd believe possible.
yeppers...they will...I have a revolving door so to speak right now...third shelf is the heat mat, second shelf is the lights...so I take them from the third shelf (it get's checked twice a day) and put it on the second shelf as soon as I see it pop up...problem is now I need more flats...another heat mat...couple more lights. lol I could spend a fortune on what I want
BB,
My seeds are doing about the same as yours. I had a bunch of tomato seedlings pop up at about 5-7 days but no peppers either sweet or hot. I'm at about day 9-10 now and just starting to see the first few peppers come up. I didn't use bottom heat on either but I've started some more tomatoes on a heat mat and they started popping up around day 4.
Jeff
If you want fantastic results try terra foods organic soil amender. If you can't grow with this nothing will work. Best on the market. Does well in pots to. From seed is great to. You will see results faster to.
Thanks Jeff:
I am going to invest in a new seed mat. The one I have has this copper probe that you are supposed to put into the soil and the thermostat will kick off. Only problem is that the room where I start my seeds is very warm and the probe doesn't kick off.
I have to fool it by sticking it in a bucket with soil and ice.
I think I brought the wrong type of mat
BB
BB, can you test your probe/thermostat by putting a thermometer down into the soil along with the probe? Or, as you suggested, put the probe in a cup of warm water and see if the thermostat kicks off then. Wait, you said you fool it by sticking it into ice... Does your heat mat not turn on when it should, or does it not kick off when it should?
If you're starting seeds in a warm room, you might want to have a heat mat with a thermostat where you set the target temperature.... Most heat mats will raise the temperature 10 to 15 degrees above ambient temperature, and if you're starting with a room temperature of 75 degrees you could easily get above the 84-86 degrees at which seeds are killed.
If you've got seeds coming up, though, you're clearly doing it right! :-)
Okay, where's the best place to get a heat mat without spending an arm and a leg. I don't think my DH will be too happy if I start saying I want I want I want again. sigh ... but it took my maters every bit of 10 days to come up and I've got 4 that didn't make it at all. I know this isn't the mater forum ... but then again neither is it the pepper forum grin and I'm following cause I plan to do some herbs from seed. :-)
Elaine, I think a heat mat would go very nicely in your new little greenhouse! When I got mine, the best price I found was at Park's. They offer a combo deal with one double size heat mat (fits 2 nursery flats) and a thermostat... I think it's called "heat make a difference collection."
Since the temperature in my basement varies, I wanted a thermostat so I wouldn't accidentally fry my seeds if the ambient temperature got much above 70. Without a thermostat, I think those seeding heat mats will raise the temperatue 10 to 15 degrees above ambient temp, but a thermostat control will give you much more even heat.
There are less expensive ways to get the same effect, but please don't use an old heating pad or electric blanket -- that's a fire hazard, as they're not designed to be used 24/7 or to be placed underneath things or to be used around water.
Some people construct a light box, basically an enclosed space heated by one or two 40 watt incandescent bulbs, connected to a thermostatic switch. I've also seen heating cables for sale that are designed to be embedded in a flat of sand (or I think I saw where one person used kitty litter), and then the plant trays are placed on top of the warm sand. That sort of setup should be cheaper than a heat mat, especially if you need heat under more than a couple of flats. If you have a metal shelf, you can put one or two 40 watt incandescent bulbs just below the shelf, and that will provide bottom heat... that's what I did for a couple of years, but I have to say that the heating mats seemed to work even better.
It seems to me there was a thread on the propagation forum about inexpensive alternatives to seedling heat mats... I'll see if I can find it.
Here's a thread about building a heat box, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/182057/
And here's another with some good discussion of alternatives to heat mats, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/491902/. I especially loved the heat shelves that mysticwill's DH built for her... Elaine, your DH is very "handy," and I'll bet he could do something similar for you...
Hey Critter:
Thanks for the info.
Actually I don't have any seeds yet and the room is most definitely above the temp range you recommended. I called home to have it unplugged but I don't think I fried the seeds.
BB
Yeah, it's a balancing act, isn't it... 80 degrees is fabulous for germinating many kinds of seeds, but I've been told that seeds will die at 84 or 86 degrees.... It took me a day or two to figure out how to get the right temperature the time I germinated some Vigna caracalla seeds in my oven (using just the electric oven light and propping the door open *just* the right amount by sticking a towel in it).
I bought mine from Park's...and I checked around it really was the best deal I could find at the time. And unlike the others some talked about here the lill gauge you stick in the dirt to check the temp is covered in a harder plastic.
Cilantro always bolts. You have to grow it kind of like arugula. You plant a row then 3 weeks later plant another. I don't think one can stop it from bolting, but it definitely bolts faster in hot weather. Cilantro does best in spring and fall.