Ok, thanks for the correct name, Suzy. : ) All that is on the little paper that came with the seeds, was Geranium 'Orchid Blue; Z3-9, 24-36", Sun, part shade, WZ seed.
Lucy
Join Us! Seed Swap Seed Starting & Conversation #3
Found some sowing instructions for the Geranium Bohemicum 'Orchid Blue' here>
http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/1807/1
Thanks for everyone's help. : ) Oink, Oink.
Today, Bluespiral's Angelonia germinated, along with Starlight's Gazania 'Sunshine Mix'. I still have a lot of pots that have not germinated, plus all the Wsd stuff outside, but I love the little babies!
Suzy
I transplanted some babies today, about 50 maltese cross babies. Every single one of those things came up. lol I have about 25 Lady in Red salvias up, too. Nastys, zinnas, morning glories, false yucca,...oh I can't think...6 or 7 more things showing their heads.
Morning all,
Every day about 6 new kinds of babies are born. So lovely!
Good Morning! When can you set out your plants? (When is your last frost date?) I would be in a world of hurt if I had 6 things germinating a day -- not enough lights or sun inside the house!!!
Suzy
Hi Suzy,
They're on the windowsill and doing fine. It's a very light room!
Officially the last chance of frost will be over on May 15th. But in fact we have our last frosts in March (due to global warming no doubt), so by the end of that month the first batch can go outside, in a cute little mini-greenhouse. Only the tender ones may stay inside. I sound like a ruthless mother, but it does work out like very well (usually)!
I have a 72 cell tray with half of the seedlings coming up. When can I take those seedlings out and put into their own individual pots? I really need to be able to put the plastic top back on so the others can germinate. I don't think I like those long cell trays for mixing different seeds that many cells just becuase of this very problem.
Hi Cordele, you can start pricking seedlings out as soon as they're big enough to handle. In case of emergency (and that's what it sounds like) you can prick them out right away!
Now you know why you better sow each species individually, like on the picture. You can use the cell trays to pot the seedlings up.
Tuink, I've got a mess with this huge tray. Help!
Cordele,
The long, leggy babies on the right should be pricked out right away! This is certainly an emergency!
Fill some flowerpots with potting compost. Use a toothpicker or something similar and carefully work the little ones out of their cell. Then use the picker again to make holes in the new compost. Gently let the seedlings in until you can only see the leaves. Gently push the compost and water from below. Put them on a windowsill but take care they don't get too warm. Too little light and too much heat makes you babies lanky.
BTW, what are them?
Thanks! I'm rushing around now trying to fix it. The majority of these are Asclepias currassvica but not all. I just finished punching drainage holes in my clear plastic cups like you use. I've also just finished adding seed starting mix and watered all those in well. They are now draining. I'm making a cup of coffee to calm my nerves and when the water drains from the cups I'll start the surgery and transplant. Whew! I don't want to lose too many.
C-Dawg, Did you notice Tuink said to plant them really deep? So the leaves are resting on top of the soil. That's how I do it, too, although I have gotten flack from it on the perennials forum, I swear it works, and I'm really happy Tuink has suggested it.
I cannot stand starting seedling in those trays because they are so hard to work with.
It's good to plant them so deep. As long as you take care the leaves just don't touch the soil. They will develop roots al along the burried stems, making their rootsystem bigger and stronger!
Be careful to hold the seedlings by the leaves, not the stems! Don't worry girl, you can do it!
You'll have to keep your babies inside until all chance of frost has disappeared. After that you must put them outside as soon as possible!
Yes, I read that, Suzy. What I ended up having to do was dump out about 3/4 of the soil from the cup, make a little well for the seedling (which had long roots with that goose neck stem) then replace soil around the seedling to fill the cup back up.
So far, look! I've got three done. What about the snack ziplock I put over them. How long do I keep those on?
Ah, lots better. Now you must make holes in the ziplocks (cut off the corners) so the plants can breathe. Better still, take them off completely, stand them in a plastic tray and water them from below. You can water them with water or with Chamomille tea, which is supposed to keep from damping off.
Thanks and a (((big bear hug))) to you! I do use the tea and water from the bottom so that part I am doing right. The next thing I'll probably do is throw away that large 72 cell tray unless I only use it all for the same kind of seed. Suzy doesn't like those things either.
I'll go back in the kitchen and cut holes in the corners of the baggies. I'll take them off in a day or two when they look like they are adjusting to being moved out of the cell tray.
I'm so glad I couldn't sleep again tonight and decided to play on Daves. Thanks again!
Deborah
You're welcome! Your babies will do fine!
and so ends another episode of seed starting 911
enjoyed it, learned as always...glad it had a happy ending :)
That was a sticky situation Dr. Tuink! I really wish I could remember all the great info here at Dave's, but this thread is a tagger for sure.
That's funny wind-I started my post before yours, but stopped while getting my son off to school, but the posts fit together quite nicely in the order they ended up!
Me too, Wind! Oh by the way, none were actually A. currassavica. They were (may not all be spelled correctly):
Passiflora quadvangularis
Alyssum montanum
Hubiscus moscheutos
Rumex sanguineus
Asclepias hallii
A. incarnata
A. purpurascens
A. fruiticosa
A. speciosa
It really pays to ask questions if you're not sure of something, doesn't it!
Sure does! Just ask and Saint Tuinkabouter comes to the rescue....
One more tip, if you really want to sow in seed trays. Don't sow seeds with a long germination time in the same tray as the ones with a short germination time!
cord, You're going to have a heck of a butterfly garden with all those "A.'s" (asclepias?) in the works!
Do you have a big light set-up?
Good luck! It sounds like you have the system down.
Don't think I am bad or tell on me, but when I ran out of 6 packs for planting I took the styro coffe cups from work(only 20) until I can get some more-it was an emergency-my seeds needed to be sown right away!!;).....hehehe-JK I did ask 1st, I was just trying to look like the rebel!!LOL....I punched holes in the bottom, wrote on the side and then got them in there-they are working VERY well!!! I need to look up when to plant certain annuals-got all the info off the annual forum that was there, now off to look to see when to start inside B4 the last frost and start in groups!!!
Hurray for the coffee cups! Where would we be without them!
Hey there, T. I have an under-the-counter kitchen light that is standing on end long ways leaning against the seedling shelf in my sunroom. The shelf and light could be better rigged if I knew how to hang it. The shelf has three platforms but I'm only using the top shelf since that's were the light and the heating mat is sitting. Actually, all this milkweed I'm growing from seed is for a fellow DGer who hates growing from seeds. I plan to give it to her at our April round up. I guess that's why I was in such a panic to do it right since the plants are for someone else. I'll start some milkweed soon for me once I get all my ducks in a row.
They are just about the perfect size and you can start more than 1 seed in each 1!! I don't know if this is bad or not, but I have been putting about a dozen or so seeds in each 1??? I figure they won't all germinate & if they do I can thin them out-is this OK??
Fairy--Here's the handy 'seed starting calculator' FYI:
http://www.chestnut-sw.com/growform.htm
I think it's kind of neat!
Cord--I was wondering if you were going to trade some at your RU! Maybe I'll make a trip!
It sure is!! What a neat calculator! I didn't know there was such a thing! T, we'd love to have you at our Southeast Ga round up! I'd be turning back flips!
Fairy, I'm no expert, (can ya tell?) but I wouldn't sow more than a dozen in one cup, more like 5 but that's just me. You see the mess I made with so many in one cell. They start to get tangled up. I'd go with the assumption that all five seeds will germinate.
I sow about 12 seeds in a coffee cup. Unless I have my doubts about viability. In that case I put in more. About 9 will germinate, of which I'll choose the 6 strongest to be pricked out. The rest I will put out of their misery.....
Tabasco that is a fun site for the veggie garden!
Hi I was reading the seedling emergency and I just wanted to share how I use the 72 cell trays. I don't know if you have inserts or not. I buy the inserts and try to put seeds with similar germination times, but if I do have some seedlings come up before others I just move them to a tray under lights. Then I can add another pack to the tray with germination dome if needed. Works good for me.
Where do you buy the inserts, Meredith? I just bought this tray for about $6 without the soil and could use the whole tray for nothing but Asclepias if I had inserts. That's a great idea!
It would be neat if DG could have a little calculator like that and we could put different flowers in it! Tab, do you know Dave well enough to ask him to do it for us? I'm sure it's a simple calcuation and would not take him long.
I sow 1 and 2 dozen seeds in a 3" round pot and transplant them to private quarters when they have 2 sets of leaves, or maybe leave them a little longer, as you'll see if Dryad brings a camera when she comes today. If they are small, like the Primula, I will put them in cell packs, and if they seem to be bigger, I'll put them right in a 3 or 4" pot. I just had some Dutchman's Pipevine germinate and they seemed large, so they went into a big pot. I have issues with room under the lights, so I have to worry about too many things germinating at once.
I also have the lights above the heat mat very close to the pots -- 2", and they are on all the time so as soon as seeds germinate they have light and don't need to stretch.
Suzy
well id say I got enough seeds from last swap I am still in awe!!!!
James
Last year I bought them from here http://www.novoselenterprises.com/ if you have a decent order the shippings free. (Good prices too) I had some leftover that I started with, and when I ran out I got more at a local place called the farmers exchange. They were only 75 cents a sheet there. I saw them at lowes too but I think they were overpriced about $2 or $3 a sheet. I get the ones that are perforated and I pull them apart prior to filling and sowing them. I just reuse my trays and domes. If you buy the kits initially it's less exspensive and then the next season you should just need inserts.
Added - Come to think of it I think it was the trays that were 2 or 3 $ - the inserts I think were more like a $1 & some change - sorry brain fart!
This message was edited Feb 21, 2008 9:53 AM
Suzy, Doesn't it get very hot with both a heat mat ánd the lights?
Meredith, that looks really clever!
This message was edited Feb 21, 2008 1:53 PM
Yes, that 'Grow Guide for Vegetable Gardening' (the seed starting calculator) is fun and handy.
I wish they had the calculator set up for flowers, too, but they do have a nice list for quick access flower seed info and also herb seed info, which I use.
I don't know Dave, but I could ask him if it's possible here.
I'm learning a lot of seed sowing info right from this thread. Thanks for all the good pics!
My set up isn't like yours, Tuink. You get all the heat from the sun in that window, but for me, everything is in the basement, but I also have walk up steps to the outside, and it's quite cold outside at 10F. We have a piece of styrofoam in the passageway, but the cold air can still come down the steps.
I use fluorescent lights and only the ends, where the ballasts are, get warm. It's 60 degrees with the heat mat and lights, but the bulb of the thermometer is about 2" off the heat mat, so it's warmer than 60 degrees for the seedlings...hard to describe, but things are coming along. Some thing that prefers cooler temperatures, like Lobelia, is in the vicinity (because of the 24 hours lighting), but not on the heat mat.
Once they germinate, they are off the heat mat and another batch goes on. I bought a cheap heat mat, but they are also fairly expensive to run.
Suzy