tips for seeding and growing

[Dutchy]

Now the gardening season is upon us again I thought useful tips for either growing from seeds or cuttings or dividing plants might be welcome.
I'll start off with one that was offered to me.

Sowing seeds indoors.
We all have had the shock of a lovely seed tray full of goodies suddenly gone the wrong green.
Fungi. They grow fast, faster than some seeds, under warm and humid conditions.
Of course we should have cleaned the pots, used special compost for seeding and we should have been more lenient in giving water.
Well we erred, so what to do to safe some of our preciousssss.
Fight the fungus with Superol. It cleans the throat but works as well in dealing with fungus in your seed tray.
Superol is a Dutch brand but any throat tablets containing at least 2 mg of Oxychinolinesulfate will do. The extras do not matter.
You need to dissolve 5 tablets into one Liter of water and consequently mist / spray it on your fungus infested seeds in the tray.
Beware that you do not use too much as this might influence the growing power of your babies.
When the fungus reappears later you can treat it again.
As said minimalism is the key so do not soak just a mild English fog will do.

Next useful idea / tip any one ?

[andy]

The best thing to use in the UK for damping off is chesunt compound....a mild fungicide that deals with the fungus that caused seedlings to die.

Mind you, it's been so long since i've been "in the scene" when it comes to glasshouse chemicals that there's probably something much better out now !!!

[skarloey]

I used Cheshunt compound last year for something or other. My tip is for goodness sakes, don't breath it in!!!! ;D ;D ;D

[Dutchy]

Why, do you go green in the face or is it causing permanent damage?

[roxann57]

Its got lots of ammonium in it <coughcoughsplutter> make you wonder though if diluted urine would do the same

[Cheerypeabrain]

it IS very pongy. My sister gave me some to use but it all went runny even tho I kept it in an airtight plastic box.

[mickthecactus]

On my cactus board some members swear by Cheshunt compund (including me) and some swear AT it. One guy said he couldn't understand how anything would germinate with it. I have always used it and 95% of my collection came from seed.

[Dutchy]

With the trials on their way.
Is any one willing to give some good tips on here about how to deal with things going leggy?

[Chuckles]

Good idea Dutchy ;D

[Cheerypeabrain]

Turn the seed trays to ensure even light distribution...If using a windowsill the reflective oojamaflip recommended on another thread works ;D
(sorry...brain not working)

best of all DON'T SOW TOO EARLY (like I did )

[Dutchy]

Ah drttt too late.
I sowed the cosmos too early so I had to pot them on real deep.

Now as to your other suggestion..... what is a oooohjamaflipthingy

[TeeGee]

Is any one willing to give some good tips on here about how to deal with things going leggy?

Get the seedlings moved as soon as possible after germination to a place that is about 10°F less than the germination temperature and gets maximum light but not direct sunlight!

[mickthecactus]

I know TeeGee but I had to go away and they had to wait in their little plastic bags.

They are getting better now though.

[andy]

One tip for seedlings of vigorous plants. If you've sown something like marigolds in mid Feb and finding they're romping away, you can control their growth by limiting their water....just giving them enough to survive until you want them to put on a growth spurt.
Obviously we don't want them dying of drought so maybe give them only half of the usual amount of water.....just keep them ticking over for a while.

It's a natural way of "bonsai'ing" plants and works really well

[oldmoleskins]

well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs... talk about nothing new under the sun, just found this in a delightful little book "new shoots, old tips":

'take the round treddles of a goat, and make in every one of them a little round hole, putting therein the seed either of leeks, rocket, lettuce, parsley, endive, or garden cresses, and close them up, and so put them in the ground'

Kinda predates peat modules and jiffy sevens - it's from a geezer called Pliny, sometime in the first century a.d.

Now, who do we know that has a plentiful supply of treddles...?

OM.

[4pygmies]

Treddles? What FAB word! Now I do have a humungously & constant supply of treddles but really? Did this Pliny geezer have lots of time on his hands (as well as rather a goodly amount of goat treddles...)...? Personally I can think of LOTS of things I'd rather do wth my precious gardening time that sit hunched over a pile of poo pushing seeds in them...have you seen the size of pygmy treddles?



;D

NB If dairy goat's produce Poo, do pygmy goats do Poodles?

[oldmoleskins]

4pygmies said:

Treddles?...have you seen the size of pygmy treddles?

to paraphrase 'Calendar Girls': "we'll be needing considerably bigger treddles, then..."

OM.

[Chuckles]

I think we should do a trial on that OM and 4P

[Dutchy]

This old banter still makes me grin ;D

Are there any good tips on seeding etc. etc. for the winter trials?

[Ladygardener]

anyone got any more hints and tips?

[Dutchy]

They have gone all quiet on us LN.

Maybe this will work.

HELP. HOW DO I SOW THINGS IN THE BEST POSIBLE WAY

ahum.

[andy]

Jan 30, 2008 18:09:23 GMT Dutchy said:

They have gone all quiet on us LN.

Maybe this will work.

HELP. HOW DO I SOW THINGS IN THE BEST POSIBLE WAY

ahum.

That's not an easy one because most seeds require different conditions to germinate....some need light, some need dark, some need sowing on the surface, some 3" deep, some need stratifying and some need fire to germinate.

Even members of the same family usually require different contitions.

So what do you want to sow Dutchy ?

[Dutchy]

Andy wow that was quick

I want to sow root parsley and flat leaved parsley and the curly parsley.

I heard somewhere that root parsley is very much like Parsnips and you can pre sow.

Only thing is when and how ?
Got information on the other ways of sowing so that is the one I am looking at now.

Any help will be welcome

[Dutchy]

And while you have your thinking cap on.
Which seeds are the ones that need sowing on the surface?
Is there a list ?
Sometimes the package tells things but sometimes it says sow then and then but not how deep if at all.

[Dutchy]

;D
Your quick reaction got me greedy

[Ladygardener]

anyone know what could be sown now inside on the windowledge in an unheated propagator? I'm so impatient ;D

[isabella]

Here are my tips on seed sowing - they work for me

If the seed packet says sow Jan - Mar I would sow in the middle -ish probably end Feb.

The smaller the seeds the earlier they can be sown (as general rule )

Read the seed pkt instructions!

I find my seeds germinate better when covered with a layer of vermiculite rather than compost - especially Busy Lizzies.

When sowing Lobelia mix a few pinches of silver or playpit sand with the seed - the seedlings will come up more evenly.

Don't sow Morning Glories until the first week of April!

Don't sow Marigolds until the last week in March!

Sow Tomato seeds for growing outside about 6 weeks before they can go out - usually the end of March.

Try not to sow seeds too thickly as they will get drawn and there will be an increased risk of damping off

I will shut up for now ;D

[Ladygardener]

thanks for that info Isabella good advice, I do read the instructions on pks of seeds which I have ;D trouble is I've harvested quite a few seeds myself from the garden last year and with them it's a bit hit and miss. ;D are calendula the same as marigolds? I have seeds from the big ones yellow and orange should I wait until march to sow them?

[Dutchy]

I like the vermiculate and playpit sand advise
I am trying Angelica archangelica and it is doing nothing.
I will at some time try the other six seeds I have left and use vermiculite/sand instead of compost.
It is a fickle one that I am likely to fail with.
Never tried etc etc.
So any tips on those will be welcome too.

[isabella]

I was thinking more of French and African Marigolds ladynovicegardener but I would sow the what I call Pot Marigolds in March also.
What have you harvested? If they are Perennials you could sow them now

Dutchy - I love that name Angelica archangelica I have never tried growing these from seed - I have only ever bought a small plant - sorry not much help am I