Hi gang
1. does any of you here have a few seeds to send me via sase of some veg or flowers?
2. Best time to start seeds under lights here.
3. best time to get them out to the greenhouse (not heated and small)
4. best recomendations for fertilizer, recipes appreciated
Thanks
sheri
when is it time to start seeds under lights here?
generally i try to wait to the end of FEB or the start of March to start seeds inside then by late march or early April i have plants ready to go out in the GH with a lil added night time heater
Look at the seed packs and see what the germination time is and the days to grow
some things say start inside 8wks before planting.
Remember if you plant them in the garden before memorial day you may have to cover them at some
point because Michigan likes to have a nice frost usually around the beginning of May-but it can be later!
Fertilizer-I use Messenger of all kinds(co-op starting for this)and last year i got a case of Peters fertilizer that
i mix in the water and then water the plants!
I will be going through my seeds soon and if i have any extras i will let you know sheri
go to seed trading and ask there to-thats how i got some of mine! :)
im so itching to starts some seeds since i have lights on in the basement for the plants i moved for the Christmas tree!
good luck!
I can hardly wait to start some seeds just to see something green and growing I started mine a little early last year my first year so I think I'll hold off for a while as I don't have a green house wish I did wish I did WISH I DID ;0)
Gloria
thanks dori.
i send out all sorts of questions for seeds, most people never even
answer me! LOL.
yeah, if you have any extras, I will send you a sase for them.
Thank you for thinking of me.
Thanks for the advice also, since we live in such a irritable climate zone.
"wait 5 minutes and it will be different".
I will wait till the end of feb and then do the lights thing.
what do you recommend as a nighttime heater in a 6 by 8 greenhouse?
sher
I just use a small electric one to keep it from freezing during the cold SPRING nites
im not even sure what kind it is! i got a new one of the hot water ones so will try it this spring!
Anything to just keep it from freezing!
we used it inside here for the boys rooms but they got that new eden pure!
I plan to start my seeds around the first of April. I don't have a greenhouse either but do have a bunkhouse that is 10 x 16. I have my grow lights set up out there. There are 12 four foot lights and they put out a lot of heat on their own so I'm hoping I won't have to run a space heater as well. I'll monitor the temps before I put the seeds out there. I don't want to lose them.
Hey Dori...where did you buy your case of Peters? I love that stuff, but find it expensive to by by the little box. I need to get out my garden journal and see when I started stuff last year. I have grow lights that I leave up all year in my bedroom!! LOL real romantic!
Sue it was from hortmark last year he had a pallet of them that had gotten wet-10.00 a case
I had half that had got wet and half that was still dry
going to add it to water anyway-figured it was a deal
Jazzy got a case of something else he had there too!!!
I cant wait till april to start things=i like my mators big and budding
and i need DIRT way before april lol
well it will take me till April to clean this room out !!!I need to go out to the shed and see if I have any dirt (soil) I need to repot some house plants I think I might need some pots also I think I'll go check tonight after work be for the snow gets to deep again
Gloria
Sheri - you can send me a sasbe for some extra seeds of mine
Have you thought about wintersowing seeds? DG has a Winter Sowing forum with some very helpful folks. I find this link very helpful, also - http://www.wintersown.org/ Wintersowing works fine from Alaska to Florida - you just need to time sowing your seeds with respect to whatever your last spring frost is.
Actually, anything that is hardy to your zone (DG PlantFiles has this information for many plants) can be wintersown anytime from now to that period of spring where you still need to wear a coat. This goes for plants that are known to self-sow in your zone, too. This subject is explained at greater length by the above 2 sources on wintersowing.
The wintersowing technique can be adapted to spring and summer sowing, too - which are also explained in the above 2 sources.
However, even though some tender summer annuals can be wintersown, they tend to be so much later than those started indoors - especially for more northern folks - that that's where starting indoors can be an advantage. There's a lot to wade through, but those Piggie Swaps in the Cottage Gardening forum are rich with specifics in this area - well worth researching.
I think Illoquin was trying to ascertain how long some flowers need to be started before last spring frost - it might be worthwhile to click on her member page and check out the threads she started - not sure if her research can be dug up that way or if she posted within someone else's threads - but she could really round up information. Critterologist has written some great articles that might be helpful here, too, so be sure to click on her member page, also.
To anyone reading this, if you have any extra poppy seed, that would great to send to Sheri - I always try to grow some but Maryland heat and humidity, combined with shade, inhibit my poppy-growing powers.
Ditto zinnias.
Good luck, Sheri. Hope to see ya in a future piggy swap over on the Cottage Garden forum - there will be another one, I think, before winter is over. Doesn't matter wacha send in - just send whatever in, and what you get back will give ya a leg up on your seed situation.
ps - Dryad57 posted that link to Loon's thread on dwindling open-pollinated/heirloom seed variety - thanks to you-know-who - and that is how I found your forum. Loon - what a timely, critical subject to write about - thank you so much!
ps - free seeds are sometimes available from the DG Seed Trading forum - not sure how regular that is - you might check with Lorraine. This site always has free seeds for newbies: http://www.wintersown.org/
DG also has forums on seed saving, germination, propagation, etc., and the following are great references/how-tos:
http://tomclothier.hort.net/index.html
http://www.theseedsite.co.uk/index.html
Check out the DG Morning Glory sticky index - much of the gardening information referenced there applies to other plants, and the GERMINATION section has a useful, step-by-step guide to germinating with the coffee filter/baggie method. Morning glories aren't the only seeds needing warmth during germination. I use the bottom shelf of a kitchen cabinet that is directly over where a light fixture is attached to light a dark corner. Tops of water heaters and refrigerators are said to work, as well.
In some cases, it's useful to substitute a pot inside a baggie for the coffee filter paper.
Hey Blue
Thanks for all the information on those web sites. i have used Toms but had not used the others
and I am always grateful to people like you who go the extra mile to help those who are growing challenged like myself!!! I appreciate your thoroughness and your great help!!
Thank You and i am sure others here will be likewise thanking you!!
Julie
{pawing ground] Aw shucks - yer welcome
Some people can't help being GREAT PEOPLE!!!!
So blush again Blue!!
bluespriral thank you so much for your offersI
will send an envelope tomorrow, if we can
get to the mailbox! LOL....supposed to be a blizzard
here tomorrow....but, we will send you an envelope!
do you need a large envelope or just a business
sized envelope?
Regards,]
sheri
How about whatever the next size up is from a business-size envelope? I do have some things saved from my garden to share with you, but will wait until I get the piggy swap envie back from Starlight to see if there's anything else I could add. I'm on a hill with varying degrees of shade (not much sun); so there aren't any nice flat, sunny stretches of ground like you have - and which I suspect some seeds Star sends back to me will be happier than in my garden.