What can I germinate now?

If I have any luck w/ these, I'll be planting them in a southern exposure and mulch heavily in the winter.
My pansies sprouted today. Well, most of the Historic Florist Pansies mix did but I'm still waiting for the Bowles' Black to come up. Eight days for germination so far. I ended up putting them in my closet because it's cooler in there-we heat w/ woodstove so it can get pretty warm in here. My DH is so patient w/ me. By planting time, there are plants and pots spread everywhere!

same here the house is a jungle in the winter to start with since I keep some of my plants like geraniums have 15 of those growing and also double impatient since the do not seed I just cut the plant a the gown and bring them in they are now doing great nice and big healthy and will go back out in may and of course the tropical trees that is what kills him the bougainvillia and the hibiscus and I started a blade of grass the ones that are planted in the middle of large pots for hight well mine is now 5 feet tall what a blade of grass it is also the regular house plants and now I am up to seven flats already and about 12 more to go hahahha at the begining of april all the perennial flats will move to the garage since they will go outside during the day and in at night but then it is the time to start the vegies so it is just kicking some out to start more hahhahahah every surface will be covered by mid march

Hey saanansandy! I tried chilling my rose seeds in a moist coffee filter placed in a ziplock baggie - then placed in a fridge for 3 months.

Anyway, I have planted a whole bunch of rose seeds now - waiting to see what will germinate.

But - I didn't have room to plant all the rugosa rose seeds - so some were left in the coffee filter in the baggie on the table. Well, after almost a month, some of these have germinated! Just little roots -but I have put them in potting soil and vermiculum mix and we will see how they do . .

argh....time to truck the pansy seeds to the basement so they're cooler....

hope you see them sprouting soon, dryad.

I planted them(rose seeds) in a moist potting mix, covered them w/ plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. Hope it works! I think I have some more in a ziplock bag in the back of the fridge maybe I'll try those in a moist coffee filter. What determined little seeds! They weren't going to be left behind!

I'm really chuckling at myself today - I don't seem to remember having nearly this much trouble last year with seeds starting, and swearing at them seems to have NO effect whatsoever :-) Can't blame cats, don't have them anymore, and the dogs aren't allowed in my office, where the plant stand is..... After the pansies head downstairs I'm going to gather up some baggies and coffee filters and give the Deno method a whirl, I mean - what the heck?? Then a small fan in the office to keep the air moving....and if I hold my tongue *just so* when putting the seeds in the coffee filters...wait, I also have to check the moon phases....

coffee filters are expensive I use one facial tissue in a snack bag get those 100 for a dollar at giant tiger the tissue is 69 cents for 150 makes it pretty cheap that way

That's a great idea - we have many more facial tissues than we do coffee filters - thank you!

your welcome I have tree seeds done that way sitting in the cheese drawer of the fridge since the beer fridge down stairs in full hahhahahah so cheese is now with the cold cuts and soon the vegies and fruits will become very close hahahah

LOL! I so wish I could trust the garage fridge to not randomly freeze in various parts of the interior....it SO limits how much food I can move out there to keep seeds in here!

but with the seeds even its that cold it wont matter they will come up when you bring the flat back in

oooooo.......OK, now I've gotta go start more seeds......aren't you glad you came over here? We are all enablers....

my hardy perennials I just put the tray in the garage its like -26C and leave them on the work bench for a couple of weeks and then just bring them back in its worked with delphiniums, columbine, astilbe, heuchera, anything that is hardy to zone 3 to 6 no worries cold is cold

Hey! Guess what? I started some rugosa rose seeds in a coffee filter and chilled them for three months in the fridge, then I sowed most of them in seed sowing mix - but I had too many, so I just left the remainder in the coffee filter (still in the ziplock baggie) on the table in the little eating area off the kitchen. Average room temperature is probably 55 degrees. Anyway, some of those seeds have sprouted itty bitty roots, so I sowed those today. Gosh, maybe I will get little bitty rose bushes by July . . .

that is good, roots are always good I guess that is how it all starts roots fist and they little ity bity babies enjoy

That is cool. I'd be curious to see if they come true.

That is cool. I sowed the last of the slow germinators yesterday
vibernum lantoides (hobble bush)
chaenomeles japonica (flowering quince)
I also sowed what are supposed to be red delphs but I suspect they will be dark pink.

Well, I expect it will take two or three years before the roses have flowers . . . maybe I will be lucky and have that one-in-a-million genetic mutation that becomes just the best rose ever . . . . hahahahah. Probably have a better chance at winner the lottery.

I contacted the seller before I bought mine and they assured me they are red not pink we will see right

Seander, are the rugosa rootstock able to grow in zones 5/6? I'm thinking I probably should have researched abit on naturally hardy roses for sowing the seeds.
Fingers crossed that you have the next award winning new rose! :-) Wouldn't that be exciting.

what to germinate well this week is good time for daturas and brugs also good for any
perennial with really samll seeds since they take longer to get to blooming time

I've got some perennial dianthus I'm thinking about starting. I believe they can take frosts well. I haven't tried daturas or brugs-what type do you have?

saanansandy what dianthus do you have? I luv dianthus so just wonderin ^_^

Dianthus Deltiodes, Shrimp Maiden Pink
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/90026/

I love them too. I sowed some last year and darned if I can think of the name! I love how they bloom all summer and into the fall. They even have winter interest w/ the leaves staying their bluish green color. Here's a pic I just took from my south-facing bed:

Ooooo luvly. I have hot pink and dark red deltoids mixed together and I'm seeding some more dark red because the hot pinks are taking over. I had beautiful coral deltoides too that all died one winter and I've never been able to find seed again :( This is one of favorite dianthus that I grew from seed. Outstanding http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/features/perenplantsofyear/2006Dianthus/dianthusPPA06.htm

had them at my last house didnt bring any but have lots of seeds not planting any this year maybe next year running out of space in the house have 17 flats planted now and many things in plastic cups on winder sills lol DH wont let me putt them in the master bedroom so loosing two windows hahahah

O sigh I just saw a couple of threads in the south (zone 8-10) where they already have veggie seedlings :( I dream of fresh veggies. Too early for me to seed though

cant seed vegies here either no yet not even peppers lol next month peppers and tomatoes maybe last week of february
diantus firewitch is something like the ones I have seeds for but mine are more compact and when they are in bloom so many from a distance it looks like a deep hot pink ball

Oh don't get me started on the veggies! When the Wall O Waters first came out I used them on my tomatoes but that was many years ago. I'm thinking about trying them again so I can put out a couple tomato, eggplant, and peppers earlier than usual. heehee That would mean I could start them pretty soon!
scicciarella, Valentines day is this Saturday maybe he'd let you use the two windows as a valentines present!

no way there in the kitchen dining room living room family room laundry room and in the basement he said no way dear forget about it hahahahah
cant blame the guy

Does anyone know what a good time would be to start tomatos indoors in zone 5? i never know when the last frost is. What is "pricking off"? I've started some seeds for the first time in many years to try to save some money so I'm hopeful I'll get some good results. Does one soak tomato seeds?
I dread the whole hardening off process and also getting my houseplants used to being outside and at the smae time I can't wait to get them outside! They are just so much happier.

10 weeks to last frost at the earliest

I don't soak my tomato seeds. I'm on the southern coast of RI and it's rare to get a frost past Memorial Day. You can always keep a few five gallon buckets handy in case of a frosty night this way you can cover them overnight.

Maureen here's a site that should be able to help you determine your last frost date.
[HYPERLINK@www.victoryseeds.com]

As far as 'pricking off' are you sure you don't mean 'pricking out?' Pricking out simply means thinning your seedlings so they're not in competition with each other.

Unless you have a really good spot for the seedlings, I think you might want
to start them no more than 6-8wks before last frost. I think you'd be better
off waiting until sometime between 4/1 to 4/15.

mine are just about ready to bloom when I put them out but dont forget to early and you will have to polinate by hand since the bees wont be active enough to polinate your plants

ooo...bees....we actually saw more honey bees here last year than the year before - I was so happy about that. If we weren't in a very urban setting I'd consider finding a honey farmer and asking if he'd put a hive in our front yard - LOL! THAT would keep folks from watering their dogs in my cottage garden!

its easy do it yourself just get info on the net and get a suit and you can be the bee lady

maureen1952

I used to live in Gt. Barrington, MA before moving to NE, then WY. I lived in Barrington for 20 year with a family of 6. I had a huge garden there since I did a lot of canning, especially tomatoes. I always started my own tomato plants---my favorite was Earliana. Can't get that anymore. Anyway, I always started the plants in mid-March and planted a few out May 20, with protection. I had ripe tomatoes in July. Earliana is an early variety but a mideum size.

It doesn't matter when you start tomtoes as long as they are large enough to plant out. The days stated regarding the lenght of days that you can expect tomatoes, isn't counted from seeding, but from the time you plant them in the garden. I personally like my plants to be tall so that I can plant them deeper. Tomatoes will root all along the stem that is buried.

I found the best protection against frost are the gallon plastic milk jugs. I cut the bottom off, then on the side cut out a door, leaving one side uncut to act like a hinge. To keep the jug from blowing away, I stuck a 2ft wood rod in the soil by the plant and just thread the jug through the top. I like them better than metal cans because they allow light and air in and can be left on for as long as needed. I don't have to run out to remove them when it's sunny like you would have to do with cans, which if left on would cook the plants. The jugs are also great for hardening off the young plants.

wow you are in zone 4 that is colder than me I usually put tomatoes out by the long weekend with no protection, I have them on the deck which is south side by the end of april and just cover with plastic sheet at night

I usually have to hand pollinate the first few flowers since the bees are not active yet and I to like tomatoes by july

the plastics jugs are a great idea works like a bell keeps in the heat but allows hair to circulate