What can I germinate now?

I LOVE starting seeds - what can I start in December and January?

I have racks in the basement, heat pads and lights. The basement is pretty cool - so anything that needs temperatures above 85 degrees isn't likely to germinate.

Anyway, if there are others like me - what have you successfully started at this time of year?

When can you plant out seandor? That's the marker for what you can start. Also how cool is 'pretty cool'. You can get away with 65F for alot of warm germinators. Slow growing perennials or slow germinators can be started now. Whatcha thinkin about? I'm antsy too ^_^

Hi Seandor!
I started some basil a couple weeks ago. The main purpose was to see what plants came from the seeds I harvested-I had planted several varieties next to each other this past summer. So I had taken seeds from each plant and labeled them separately, now I waiting to see how true they are from the parent. The next reason is I just have to be growing something to get me through the cold winter!!

O look those luvly, little things. I want to be seeding too :(

I started in november, Goji berries, Kei apple, Pepinos, from seeds, all with reasonable results.
Also cuttings from Goji berries, Cranberries, foxberries with quite beautiful results, here in Flanders in my nieuw struweel.
Made heated propagators with Sherwood rootrainers in Ohler, Pit 8 boxes, electrical selfregulating tracing cable 10W/m.
Plexi dome from non heated propagators on top. Works marvellous.
Hope you got some inspiration?
Eloy was here.

Well, I started some Aconitum carmichaelii (monkshood) and some Acanthus mollis (bear's breeches) and some lilies.

I hope to start some lisianthus, some cineraria, and maybe some tuberous begonias this weekend.

O definitely the lisianthus could be started now. Do you have seeds or tubers for the begonias? For seeds now for sure. I start my tubers in late March for June blooms.

Seeds for the begonias . . . . there are tubers for lisianthus????? Darn! I have bought these plants each year assuming they were annuals, and I might have dug up their tubers like dahlias???

O sorry. Lisianthus is herbaceous but you can definitely store tubers from the begonias.

Right, of course! I just read you message incorrectly . . . .^_^

I started cannas on Dec 6th and 3 are already up. One is 3 inches tall. Will I be able to keep them in the aquarium until plant in May? Or will I lose them because they grow so fast? Thanks Bev

Heck,I'm in zone 8 and I'm already antsy too.

I've sewn and gotten germination on half of my foxgloves seeds...put those out into my unheated lean-to until late Feb. to be dibbled out and put into their own pots. Sewn about half my columbines but they're not up yet. Inside under lights on heat mat I've sewn hardy gloxinias, a tender var.aristolochia and episicia seeds.

Also have a nice pot of lemon grass babies started from seed.Three varieties onions and giant chinese chives started back in Nov. that have been moved to the lean-to to be harden off so I can plant them out in the garden about mid Feb.

After Christmas,I'm going thur my seeds to see what I can get going now.....perennial herbs and ornamental perennials mostly.

Feb is when the lights and heat mat goes into high gear on starting tomatoes,peppers,eggplants and lots of herbs....*SIGH* I'm dreaming of a "Green New Year".

Every year I say I'm ready for my winter break from the garden and greenhouse only to get cabin fever just a few weeks in.

Peggy

Im getting ready to start corn,chives,basil,eggplant,tomatoes,greenbeans,onions and a huge assortment of wild flowers.
I grow in my basement under led grow lights and have a small issue with temp that i resolved during my "lights on". Small heater that is attached to my timer. Lights off...heat off. Its worked excellent.
I have to say this....with the world as crazy as its been lately....its almost like meditation during the winter to be tending to Nature. :)
Have a great Holiday everyone!!
Brad
brad@igrowwithleds.com
www.igrowwithleds.com

I agree . . .when the going gets tough, the tough get growing!

Igrow what's your last frost date for planting out? Just wondering cuz you could have an indoor jungle if you start now with a late
'out' date. Been there/done that. Not to say that I haven't been perusing the seed fridge..... and perusing....

Starting your own seeds is the best way to go for a good harvest. But you must time it just right for optimum harvest. I just figure out when I can plant outside. I count back the days to get them to optimum transplant size, add the germination time, a few days for shock from re potting and mark that date and try to get the seeds in at that time. My standard is as follows, for broccoli 6 weeks to place out side, plus 3 days germination, 3days re potting shock. So you see it is @7 weeks too much time they may head up before they have time to grow enough resulting in small heads some times just button size heads. Cabbage cauliflower are also 7 weeks. Tomatoes 8 to 10 weeks, peppers 8 to 10 weeks. Eggplant 12 weeks. Cauliflower and peppers seem to be the plants that are affected by holding too long before planting out in field or larger containers. Cauliflower will make small button size heads and peppers will loose their first flowers if held back too long. Other plants are not affected too much but do expirance some effects. Squash cucumbers and watermelon should planted 1 week after seed comes up. Starting pots should be 2 1/2 to 3 in deep to allow for good root formation.

I can't say how many times I've started plants too early. But sometimes you just have to sit on your hands and control that urge to play in the dirt!!

My DH set-up a plant stand for me. We are using a shelving system from H.D. and shop lights. I've always used fluorescent bulbs but if any burn out I'm going to look for the broad spectrum plant light bulbs.

I just have my basil under them right now. I was using the window sill for light but we've had too many cloudy days and they were getting leggy. I'd like to use the space efficiently so I was thinking about starting lettuce. Has anyone grown lettuce under the lights(not to be planted outside)? I've never started onions from seed so I didn't know if that might be a good use for the empty space.

I think you could grow the lettuce if the room is cool enough.

Well.....we run a woodstove in the basement and the first floor, where the plant stand is located, is usually around 75ish. Then the lights give off some heat too!

My lettuce likes it cold but then I grow cold hardy varieties. Not much help here LOL.

Hi dahlianut!
I figure what the hay-won't hurt to give it a try!

Well ya know saanansandy although my montra has been.. I will NOT seed this early... I will NOT seed this early... Too funny, well perusing the seed fridge I heard some seeds rustling in their seed packs which probably means IMHO they totally need to get started. I think I should do this purely for seeditarian purposes of course. I wouldn't want anyone to think that I was perchance starting innocent seeds too early.

Funny, dahlianut . . . .sometimes it seems like my seeds are getting restless too . . . ^_^

I'm thinking violias and other dark warm germinators, that way I won't have to fire up the dahlia op. Just a couple of trays. Well maybe a few trays.

Well, I am trying lisanthus . . . and some begonias. I have heat pads and lights.

lol!

Well, I too am getting itchy growing fingers to start the seeds I've been collecting all winter. My drawer if full of them LOL!
But, I'm going to force myself to wait. Last year I started seeds way too early and without a light system. Boy was that a big mistake! This year is going to be different. I'm getting my heat pad and spectrum light out of storage and setting it up on my birthday. I gave myself a birthday present by taking five paid days off including two week-ends. And so the beginning of February I will begin starting seed. Where will I put the little darlings after they take off? I've got two chickens with top notch hairdo's living in my greenhouse, mingling around the potted plants I neglected to put into the ground so there isn't a whole lot of room. LOL! But where there's a will there is a way....yada yada.
The weather in Oregon has been bitter cold this year! The worst I've seen in a long, time! Never-the-less, I will put a few plants into the ground so I can make room for the new ones.

That being said, today I will go outside and prune my white concord grape covering my four posted grape arbor as well the two seedless grapes behind my house and then go have another cup of Hawaiian Kona coffee.

You know something?
I think we have the growing bug.....really bad...............................^^^^^^^

I hope there is no cure.

Last weekend I seeded

astrantia 'ruby cloud'
anemone sylvestris
armeria maritima 'sea pink'
helleborus nigra
verbena hastata
sedum album
viola x williamsii
viola sylettas
viola cucullata

Its so nice to be amongst kindred spirits. I start onions and pansies in Jan.
Last year I couldn't help myself and started sweetpea too. It actually worked out
well so I'm doing that again too. I have a little over two flats of pansies
germinating now.

It's so nice to find others who....just.....can't......wait......

I've got some violas and pansies going, and some bachelor's buttons, straw flowers, creeping thyme, forget-me-nots, and some phlox that have all peeped up.

dahlianut - thanks for reminding me about the hellebores, verbena and anemone!

I have really good germination on the pansies & viola's. I hope to have good sized plants
to put out in late Mar/early Apr when it gets warm enough & I just can't take the garden fever
any longer. lol

Tam

I bought Bowles' Black Pansy and Historic Florist Pansies mix from Baker Creek this year. The germination hints say not to place plants out until after danger of frost. I've bought pansies as plants before and have planted them w/out thinking about the frost. Should I be starting them now or do as they suggest!?

Sue, I got the exact same seeds from them. They guaranteed at least 20 seeds per pack, but I was happy to see that I got over 40, so I'm starting some indoors now (no light). I'm going to hedge my bets and put some of the seeds out right after last frost and see how they do. I started some pansy and viola seeds this early last year and they were fine for putting out when the weather was ready.

Robin

Thanks Robin. That sounds like a good plan for me, too. We made a small homemade greenhouse for the front porch last year. Maybe after they sprout, I'll put them out there on sunny days...it's on the south side of the house and gets pretty warm even during these cold days.

I've got more seeds germinating than I've got good sense. I've got petunias, verbena, pentas, rudbeckia, coleus, Crossandra, Browallia, torenia, Heliotrope, Cineraria, corkscrew vine, Abutilon, and Mimulus already sprouting. Started but not yet germinated are Asarina, phlox, impatiens, lobelia, and cuphea.

Robin, did you cover your phlox? I've never had much luck with them but I don't remember covering the flat in the past. I did this year but I'm getting impatient to see growth - which I know is a bad trait in a gardener.

Lala - I barely covered them, they're on a heat mat under lights. I'll probably move them off the mat when they get their first true set of leaves. You do have a lot of stuff going!! Where are the pics??

Saanansandy - You can plant out the pansies early just be sure you harden them off.
I am always holding off too long and the plants are tiny little things when I could be planting.
So I definitely am comfortable starting them in the earliest of Jan to plant out in late Mar/ early
Apr. But again - only after hardening off. I set them out for a few hours on a nice calm sunny
day and gradually increase the time outdoors til they are out all day. Then when my itchy
fingers can't wait another moment, I start planting the biggest ones.

Tam

I can't tell you how many plants I've sun scalded or outright killed because I was too impatient to properly harden off! I've been getting better w/ it since making the little greenhouse. I take the top right off of it when the outside temps are in the fifties. Inside will be in the 70's. It's just greenhouse panels attatched to 2x4's. I'd say it's 5' long by 4' wide and 2' tall.
Looks like I'm getting potting soil under my nails today! Yea!

I get so nervous about hardening off that I sometimes leave them in their little cups/pots too long and they start looking all straggly. I've got to do a better job of getting that production line schedule going this spring to make sure that they get in the ground (at my place or someone else's!).

I've had tomato plants in gallon pots that stood a good 24" before they were planted in the garden. But I've been really trying to sit on my hands and not start the plants too early! I've been working on a calendar of when things will be planted outside and working backwards as to when I can start them from seed.

A question on the pansies, do you cover lightly or leave them on top of the potting soil?