I leave my heat mat on 24/7 (night is the coldest time, so especially then). I have a thermostat so nothing gets too hot on warmer days. With your southern windows, you might need to turn off the mats during daylight hours so you don't fry your seeds.
There are some tips in my article on heat mats, so I won't try to retype everything here. :-) http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/556/
I've got bright southern windows too, but lights produce stockier seedlings. :-)
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #26
Thanks Jill.
OK -- I'm now browsing Clothier's site... many of the seedlings listed [i'm only in the A's] says that 'seedlings sensitive to damp-off '
Could i also read that as, best Winter Sown ... as you dont have damp off issues??
tcs. Youc an have damping of issues even with outisde winter sowing , anytiem if the soil doesn't drian well enough or ya get too much rain on tiny seedlings. There only very few seedling that like wet feet.
gotcha.... i'll make sure i have enough drain holes in my containers.
OK, now I've got a question on those clear plastic tops that so many starting trays come with. I usually keep them on until the first seed starts sprouting, and then off they come - too much water builds up on them. I've tried propping them, etc., but that doesn't seem to make much difference, and I haven't noticed a huge difference in how the seedlings do if they don't have the plastic top on them. I use a heat mat and have lights on about 16 hours a day. Once the babies have a few sets of real leaves they get transplanted, and depending on the seedling will either go back on a heat mat for a little while longer (those plants that like it warm) or off to another shelf with 16 hours of light.
What's the general consensus on those plastic domes?
Regarding the plastic domes (or plastic bags etc.), I do the same as you, dryad, and remove them after germination. I always lost my seedlings to damp-off before I learned to remove the plastic domes after germination. Personally, I think leaving them on too long is one of the biggest reasons people fail with seedlings.
Kelly - I just gotta say your spreadsheet is marvelous!
Let me qualitfy this firstly by saying this is just my experience. (regarding the dome issue.) Robin if I'm reading your question right you're asking if they're necessary at all? In my situation I think they do help. The air temp is probably a little cooler than most seedlings would like so the domes help keep it warmer in their chamber. Plus some seeds like more moisture to germinate and without the domes I have a hard time regulating that. I find that if I keep the trays domed and bottom water them once a day they get about the right amount of moisture, and I can gauge it pretty well by just looking at the mist on the cover. But without the dome it's too hit and miss and I tend to either over-water or let them dry out.
And I too remove the dome once I see a little action inside.
*Spelling? Naw let's blame it on a typo.
This message was edited Jan 27, 2009 1:02 PM
I like the domes, but I poke at least 20 little holes in the with a hot skewer. That gives me a little puff of mist on the inside of the dome rather than big drops of water -- for me, that means my moisture and humidity levels are just perfect. I generally keep them on until the plants get too tall, or until another tray needs the dome more (I just have a couple).
I'd read about folks poking holes in them, but wasn't sure what the end result was. Thanks for your opinions/advice - off to poke some holes in domes :-)
Tuink, I posted a couple of pictures on the piggy seed swap frenzy threads, but I don't remember which one. I will post a couple of photos. I couldn't find the ones previously, posted, so camera in hand I braved the cold (58 degrees) and the wind (brrr!), and gimped into the greenhouse. I searched the usual areas and only found two ginseng that haven't died back. They get southern exposure. Here is a close up of the first plant.
WIB,
SW
Here is the second.
WIB,
SW
Last photo for today, but only because someone mentioned Kalanchoe and how theirs don't bloom. I bought this one in a 4" flower pot, and transplanted it in the southern corner of the greenhouse. I pretty much ignore it, and it does get condensation, and maybe a little drip water. Look at how happy it is now! I hope it brings you some beauty today!
WIB,
SW
Now that is one happy Kalanchoe! I guess they like to be ignored, eh?
Last one, I promise. Just had to show a close up of the Kalanchoe flowers.
WIB,
SW
SW,
Could it be Leaf Ginseng (Talinum fruticosum)?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/137492/
Pretty Kalanchoe by the way! :)
dryad,
Well, I guess this one does. Sorry we crossed posts again.
WIB,
SW
This message was edited Jan 27, 2009 5:13 PM
Danita,
It could be. The only difference I see is that the fairy flowers (as I like to call them), are generally on long spikes that shoot above the foilage between 1-2 feet. I remember my blossoms being a lighter shade of pinkish lavender.
I just asked EB#1 what kind it was, and he wasn't sure himself as a Hippie Dude (the same guy who gave me the Tecoma Stans), gave him a start. It is a temperate zone seasonal plant, which will dies back with the frost, but comes back from the roots in the spring. People generally harvest the root after 7 years. None of the photos showed the pretty pinkish seed balls either, so it seems likely, but EB#1 and I just aren't positive.
The growing/sowing instructions should be the same.
I guess I'll have to go back and search those Piggy threads for the other photos I took while collecting the seed.
Hope this helps all of you how received Ginseng from me.
WIB,
SW
Hmm, I see Talinum paniculatum listed as Akar Ginseng in some places.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/777/
It looks very Talinum like.
I'm soaking some Cuphea seeds and got to see the weird seed coat rehydrate. It looks hairy!
I read about it on Front Range Seed Analysts website. http://www.frsa.org/1994sf8/8-3CrazyCuphea.htm
"Cuphea's seedcoat is a strange variation on the usual mucilaginous seed coat. The outer layer of cells contain coiled up spiral hairs which are extruded with as little time as 10-20 minutes of imbibition. The hairs are sticky, spiral, long, elastic, and generally serve to cement the seed to the germination substrate. The hairs have fooled more than one analyst into mistaking them for fungal hyphae!"
If I hadn't read about it I would have thought it was fungus too!
Crazy Seeds!
Danita, you nailed it! It is absolutely a Talinum paniculatum. Or aka Jewels of Opar, or Fame Flower, although I'll probably keep calling it a Fairy Flower. The picture Dave himself has posted on the link is what convinced me. I forgot that the seed balls start out a pretty pinkish color and turn yellow as they ripen. Now I need to update my journal, and get the name right. Thanks for the help there!
I made the mistake of going to Lowe's with DH and now I have some fruit trees to get planted (I'll make the kids do the digging), and some Gladiolus for me! : )
WIB,
SW
Thanks again, Star, for the Piggy swap! I did get my seeds the end of last week and I felt like it was Christmas, for sure!
After gleaming through the thread, I am realizing that I don't have anything started just yet! Ugh! And thank you all that had promised and sent seeds to me, also. I have some very great stuff in that box. Not a whole lot to need to buy this year, at all.
I did get my bale of Seed starting mix and this week will be a busy one...dirt flying in all directions...
I need to organize my seed collection a bit. I am so motivated by hearing from others.
If I save the Germination Google sheet under Favorites, will I be able to bring up the current version each time? There is a lot of collective energy going into that document...what a valuable resource!
Welcome back RatherB! I hope all's going well. I've got this list of things that I need to pull out and get started, and every time I start some it seems the list keeps getting longer. In addition to Kelly's spreadsheet, I keep referring back to a couple threads that Illoquin started last year, of What To Start In January, and What To Start In February. Perhaps I should get my act together and compare those threads to the spreadsheet.....now that we just got a bunch of snow I certainly can't see myself running errands, or WSing tomorrow!
I use Firefox and have Bookmarked the spreadsheet - whenever I pull it up it's the current version. I'm presuming if you save it as a Favorite on Internet Explorer it should bring up the current version as well.
Jewels of Opar!?!? I got some of those in the trade and just started them - TINY little seeds. I would almost have thought the seedlings were Snaps, but they produced their cotyledons way shorter than Snaps did. Now I'm in a flat panic to make sure that I do the right thing to keep them alive and growing!
dryad, deadhead and you won't have a problem. The seedlings are easy to identify, and easy to pull. I'd sacrifice a few flowers on the stalk just to prevent the seed pods from forming. No seed being produced, no problem. You should try one in a pot, and see if you like it. You can always use a bag to collect seed from one stalk if you decide you like it. They may not be hardy enough to survive in your Zone.
It occurs to me that someone who gets more water than I do would probably enjoy them as a low border plant. EB#1 said it was crucial that they don't grow dry. I only get 10 " of rain a year, so I have to supplement. Except in my greenhouse which is my luxury. You should be able to control them by deadheading them though.
WIB,
SW
Thank you, guys, for finding out about the ginseng. You saves me a lot of time!
SW, Maybe you have a different variety of Jewels of Opar than I do. I have mine in a pot and they got a good 2 feet tall including the long whispy flower stalks. I guess, since the stalks are so whispy it would make a good border, but I wouldn't necessarily call it low. I do enjoy the plant, it was a $1 garage sale find and it took me a while to identify it, too. I must confess, I didn't look too closely at your pics of it because I knew I didn't have any kind of ginseng so figured I had no info to offer! I will say the seeds on this plant are very easy to gather, and your right, even though it reseeds so freely, it is easy to pull up the baby plants if they start anywhere that you don't want them.
I've finally got all my piggy seeds organized and in my spreadsheet...now documenting sowing methods for each seed - glad I will only have to do this once and then just add to it from time to time.
Mygypsyrose - I have your south african foxglove and can't remember which method is the best to sow. Should I winter sow, direct sow or start them inside? Thanks!!!
I was a little behind on the thread, so jumping back to SingingWolf braving the 58 degrees brrr - LOL It is 23 degrees here and has been snowing all morningand supposed to keep going until later tonight!! Brrrrrr BTW the Kalanchoe is very nice, I wish I had some beautiful flowers like that here. : )
Boy this has been a quiet thread today. Everybody must be busy planting seeds!
Seriously, I hope all are well in the winter storm. Heard it's pretty rough in some parts of the country.
Tonya
There alot who are without power righ tnow that had power earlier. Worrie dfor them all too.
I been goen for today and just getting back hoem and caught up. Gotta get my hibiscus seeds sowed tonight, forgot I had them soakign with so much going on.
We have had rain and temps droppign all day and cold wind and that ran may freeze tonight. Gott adrip pipes again. Gonna hate to se what my water bill gona be this month.
I so far behidn on sowing. I did throw some poppies out ther eto see what would happen. Won't do that again. had little biries goign crazy eatign the seed. LOL I gotta do them in some sort of containers.
I was wondering where folks were too - but then I realized we've got a lot of folks who may be without power. We're very lucky, all we got was the 12" of snow and no ice. My sis is about 35 miles north of Louisville, and she called a little after 1:00 pm to tell me they were OK (foot of snow and half inch of ice) and they had just lost power. I'm pretty sure LeBug is without power, her county was one that was listed as being knocked out, and she's in a fairly small town, like sis - and you know those places are pretty far down on the "must have" list for some power companies.
I was a good girl and went and turned off all the "electric vampires" I could find in the house to do our bit to help reduce the drain on power. I did NOT, however, turn off all my heat mats, but I did manage to reduce the light strips I have on by one (it was mostly for things that really don't need light to sprout...don't ask, I have a weird way of doing things sometimes) and turned off a couple of the heat mats. Those were under seedlings that have already sprouted, so I figured they could handle a day or two with just the lights. The thing that really twisted my knickers is the spin cycle on our washer busted last night, so I've got a laundry tub full of, well - water-logged clothes. And they aren't plowing the side streets here yet, so I'm hesitant to call a repairman to be told they'll charge me extra because they have to drive through bad streets.
The good news is with all this snow I can trudge out there to put WS seeds directly in the garden and then just cover them back up with a foot of snow - no birds are gonna get them!
Star - we crossed. I hope you don't get hit with bad temps!
Wish I had some snow to hide my seeds. But just onyl logn enough for the seeds to benefit then the sun has to come back out.
Weather crazy, we was way above normals last week and this week we way below normals.
I have some questions about the pepper seeds....
I got Red Jalapeno
Orange Habanero smokemaster
Puya chile
Habanero arbol
and California chile
I can't find any info on planting and I also have questions on how hot these are. I did google these names but really didn't get any helpful info.
Thank you for any help!
caren
I got some of those too, and plan to treat them all as I do other peppers - I'm waiting to start them until a Feb. as I know they won't want to go outside until it's a bit warmer. When I do start them it will be on a heat mat, that's for sure. Last year I didn't start my peppers until March 4, and while I did get peppers from them it took them longer to produce than I wanted, so I'm moving that up a few weeks this year.
heavenscent... it best to dmail smokemaster, Mike and ask him about them. He the pepper master and the person who supplied them. He'll also be tickled I sure ot hear from one of our surviors abotu gettign the seeds.
Ya know, Star, that's a MUCH better idea than mine - I nearly always forget to look at what zone the person is in before dumping all my opinions on them - LOL