Seed Swap & Chat # 52

Continue on with the conversations....

Sorry -- been MIA lately. Busy with house stuff. I will hopefully get some seed sown today.

We came from here... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1071397/

too few what's the tea thing? I sprayed some peroxide yesterday and it seemed to get rid of some early mold, but I need all the help I can get to let my babies grow.
going to the garden show tomorrow to hear Fergus Garrett talk about succession planting. should be awesome.

colchie.... did she mention chamomile tea?

I had read that the weak tea [chamomile] prevents damp off and or fungus and other nasties that kill indoor seedlings.

edited to add toofews comment in the tea...

Well I watred all of my seed trays with H202 before planting then the next time I watered them with a weaker solution of H202 and still got that darn mold!

Here's some notes I've kept for fungus knats:

get a few votive candle holders
apple cidar vinegar
dish soap
fill the candle holders half full with the vinegar, put a few drops of dish soap in there, place these around your plants. in a few days the gnats will be gone.

another one:

Danita’s advice
For the fungus gnat larvae in the soil, you can use Bacillus thuringensis israelensis. The israelensis strain is most commonly found in mosquito dunks. You can crumble them into a jug of water, let them soak a day or two, and then water your plants with the inoculated water. The bacteria will then be in your soil and will eat up any larva that hatch in the soil.

(Don't use Thuricide or another product containing Bacillus thuringensis kurstaki because it is a different subspecies and is for killing caterpillars. It will have no effect on gnat larva at all. )

Hope this helps, one year I had some regular vinegar sitting in a glass that had a water stain in it trying to get it out and had these fungus knats flying around in about two days all the knats were in the vinegar and it was just straight vinegar I wondered why they were gone all of a sudden lol

:) I use the vinegar for fruit flies in the summer. Put a cone of paper in the cup, open about 3/4" at the narrow end, and that helps to trap them so they can't get out! Tried it by my seed trays last year, but didn't seem to work as good on these little gnats...

gnats are attracted to vinegar? what about white flies... those teeeeeny tiny little bugs? i have those currently.

I don't know about white flies the nursery guy that sold me the dirt has white flies real bad in his greenhouse too and can't get rid of them he said the only thing that really helps are those yellow sticky traps there are directions to making those if you Google for them think there is one that you can paint a piece of cardboard yellow and put Vaseline on it? I think if I would have those I'd just throw up my hands those really worry me more than the gnats!

i actually have a spray bottle right by my Hibiscus. it's got soap and water in it.
but i noticed the white flies up in my bathroom on my Electric Blue [which by the way... i think is going to bloom!! ... i'm hiding it from Charlie...my luck he will eat it. ] I've been babying that plant all winter hoping to see a bloom on it.

ti's the only seed that germinated from the 21 i got from Summerhill last year. I was hoping it may be hardy in my south bed, as i can usually push the zone there.

Lea - hopefully I'll get more seedlings from the seeds you gave me.

I don't have any white flies, but I sprinkled cinnamon on the surface of the dirt of the ones I have planted inside & haven't seen any mold yet.

Nobody answered my question on the other thread, so asking again :)

Has anyone ever tried growing seeds from spices that you buy for cooking? Like Bay Laurel, Allspice, Star Anise, Peppercorns, etc.?

ants

Dang Terese! I can't believe you haven't gotton a bloom on that yet reminds me of the jungle gold impatients I had one year not a bloom until late fall about frost time! And I started those in the house early! Guess I'm going to have to go ahead and try to start mine.

You had that much trouble with SH seeds or were they just seed that are hard to start? I got 17 seeds from SH and a few packets of the annual geraniums I have trouble getting those to germinate for me anyway I'm getting ready to plant those so I hope they germinate!

ants... i read that question... but have never done it.

i've done Cilantro, basil, Rosemary, Parsley and Fennel -- the easy ones... and i dont use them all for culinary just grow them.

Lea -- I'd have to check my notes... but from memory - not much from SH germinated for me. zip on the Hollyhocks - though i have more seeds so i will try again. There was something else -i'd have to look it up, where i had very poor germination. A Morning Glory, that was supposed to be Blue.. i never even saw it bloom... but then i was not home much to see it... but NO seed pods. that was something like Blue Mist??

Aside from getting a ton in the piggy swap, above is why i did not order from them again ... I did grow some coleus... but once in the ground, it did not grow.... when i pulled them out in Oct, they were exactly the same size as when i planted them in June.

I think the blue mist was from me :) I'll have to get you some more seeds from this year won't be until fall though if I see any seedlings out there I'll send you one sometimes not very often for me my dirt isn't that good, they have one come up beside them. I've only had a couple to reseed for me and gave those away last year.

And you got your coleus seed from them too I think I got some coleus seeds too! Shoot I knew that site was too good to be true on their prices ;P

Terese you have me worried now lol This is what I ordered from SH!

slapiglossis royale chocolate
slapiglossis scarlet
dahlia decorative giants mixed
dahlia cactus mix
dahlia figaro red
geranium (2) ringo scarlet
geranium (2) black velvet red
geranium pinto salmons
petunia valentine
petunia denim
torenia deep blue
torenia burgundy
penstemon electric blue
crossandra
millet jester
millium aureum
rudbeckia tiger eye
rudbeckia maya
rudbeckia

If my slapiglossis don't germinate I'm gong to have a fit and Neal has some of those too!

here is what i got from them last year.... Seed Name + germination

Alecea rosea - Black Current Whirl -- Zip
Centaurea, Chocolate [annual] -- 5 but no idea where they went. never saw a bloom.
Ipomoea tricolor , Blue Star . 1, never saw a bloom, [on the fence where it was planted, all i ever saw was purple blooms] no seed pods.
Penstemon Electric Blue, 21 seeds, 1 seedling ... dig it up and brought it in the house.
Solenostemon sculellarioides , Giant Exhibition and Plaisandra. seedlings, but never really grew.
Zinnia -- Giant Cactus, Red Spider. maybe 2 seedlings, bunnies ate?? Though i have to admit, i didnt do well with Zinns last year... put them out too late, crappy weather.

Hi ^_^ wow, I sure have missed a lot of chatter! I had to keep clicking on the "new thread" links to find you all. I have a quick question. I'm F I N A L L Y trying to plant a few winter sow containers and I have seeds for Datura "Tatula"

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/48971/.

I'm not sure if I sure direct sow them in the spring or winter sow them now. Plant Files says seeds can be winter sown, but I'm in zone 6b and its hardiness zone starts at zone 9. Wouldn't I kill the seeds if I ws them?

sorry you guys had such poor luck with sh seeds. I ordered a bunch from them earlier in the coop and of course had to start all the warm things right away. the black velevet? geranium sprouted pretty well - took about 2 weeks under lights and with bottom heat. Incarvillea cheron sprouted fast, and tecoma stans mayan gold came up slowly (it's still in its baby leaf stage). The only ones that really didn't do anything were lantana camera, which I've never got to germinate at all, and passiflora (but then Tom C says it can take months for them to germinate).
The mocha begonias are almost visible now, too.
Keep the faith ladies. It will happen.

Diana... no... you wouldnt kill them, treat them like an annual which is what they are up here.

I have not had luck germinating any, though -- somehow, i had one 'pop' up in a pot and actually bloomed.

I'll be trying again this year... but wont do them until closer to April.

I'm sorry you all had bad luck with your SH seeds last year.

Last year I ordered: Abutilon Bella Mix, Asarina Scandens Sky Blue, Begonia Nonstop Mocca Mix, Dahlia Fireworks, Dahlia Harlequin, Dahlia Decorative Giants Mix, Devil's Trumpet Yellow Ballerina, Gloriosa Vine, Nigella Red Jewel, Jasmine madagascar white, Begonia Nonstop Mocca Pink Shades, Browallia Blue Bells, Vinca Mediteranean Punch, Crossandra Yellow Splash, Morning Glory Mt. Fuji, deep purple, Lobelia Fountain Blue, Geranium Tornado Orchid, Petunia Easy Wave Coral Reef, Verbena Tuscany Lavender Picotee, Verbena Tuscany Violet Eye (dk purple with white dot in middle), Zinnia Double Cherry Profusion, Dianthus spooky, Balloon Flower Astra Double Blue

The only ones that had germination issues were the yellow datura (which I've heard can be difficult...any suggestions?) and the Nigella Red jewel. Most of the others were stunning successes, and some of you have the second generation of them now from the piggy swap. I placed another big order this year, so hoping for the same results!

I planted 2 pots of Passiflora edulis (at least 50 seeds in each pot) November 14, 2009 & got 5 sprouts in January in one of the pots. Those 5 sprouts are now about 2 or 3 inches tall & still the only ones that have come up so far. I also planted one pot outside... Nothing out there yet either.

ants

yanno -- I do know Robin has a Guarantee for her seeds. with the real crappy spring we had last year... it's just possible that was the reason... i really dont know, but I wasn't gonna 'fight it'. It is what it is.

TCS, thanks, maybe I should wait then until April like you are. I'm planning on growing the datura in pots. I came home today and the weather was so nice I got the urge to hurry up and plant a few ws containers, but I missed my narrow window of opportunity! drats... The sun is now setting and we have a huge winter storm on the way lol...

did a quick google... seems they like it warm/hot and humid.

some commented they just put them in some soil and then in a sunny location. that's it.

Wind, those tatula reseed for me to the point I have to pull them out all of the time if you plant them close to the house warning here the trunks to them are like tree trunks lol I just saw mine off they are so hard to get out of the ground. You should be fine to WS those or put them in a pot put some wrap over the top of them and they will germinate for you really easy.

hmmm wonder how big those tatula would get in a pot you have me wondering there now Wind :) Those things are tall about 6' I can hardly reach the top to get seeds off of it to keept it from reseeding I have seeds that pop up yards away too once I had one pop up about a block away must have been compliments of the birdies the neighbors like it lol

KL - Nigella can take up to 33 days to germinate - so I hope you didn't give up on them & toss the tray.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that you can plant seed from the same package and the variation on the germination rate is enough to drive you nuts. I've given up on some seed and just put the tray aside only to have the "duds" sprout 2 months later than the rest of them did!

Forget who had mentioned using cinnamon to inhibit mold growth but it certainly seems to be working for me. No mold at all - I'm piggy dancing
with delight here.

Did I hear someone say they need/want hollyhock seeds? Please d-mail!
Joined the hollyhock swap last fall & I had thousands to begin with, now
I could store what I have in tupperware containers. Thank heaven they
have a long storage rate. Grew some seed that was 7 years old last year
& they actually came up.

Nigella WS very well :) Or it has for me.

Ok, question here fellow piggies ;)

I read on sowing Pentas and it said 40-42 for a couple of weeks then 60-68? I put them in a baggied in the cheese drawer is that good or bad sounds like it would work for me I've never sown them before I have some left to WS if you think they would be a good candidate? Maybe in early April?

Sorry Lea, never done Pentas... something to think about for next year ;-)

I want to plant MORE! Have Heliotrope, Salpiglossis, Browallia, and a few Geraniums up in less than a week! Hmm, guess I planted that Salpiglossis before someone said they planted it in April.. will be interesting to see how tall it gets. Only did the red so far... Kew Blue next batch. Was there someone asking about germinating it? Can't remember, but package said dark, and that worked great.

Have to figure out what I can plant that doesn't care about heat... not too cold here anyway, so maybe most things would be ok. I'm impatient!

I have been extremely lazy --- um, yesterday. [it feels like longer than that... but it was just Wed that I steam cleaned... ]

anyhoo -- 'the kid' brought home 8 jugs last night and 6 on Sunday, plus the 4 that are on top of the frig.... so i have no excuse to NOT do some sowing today.

Little Man [Charlie] was quite adventurous last night and found the cat grass i had hidden behind the curtains in the master bath [DH has decided that is HIS plant shelf now, and really doesnt want any of my plants there, though i used it the 2 yrs before.]

anyhoo... Little Man was behind the curtains, which isn't too easy to get back there ... so i gave him the grass... he was really devouring it... there is some left and I put it way back up on that top shelf in my room. I will have to grow him A LOT more. He wanted back in the bathroom so much, that DH shut the door. DH has his 3 Oak Trees growing back there. I think they are "sleeping" as they have not grown at all since being transplanted into bigger pots. Since Charlie ate the one, with the smaller leaves [it germinated about 2-3 months after the others] DH didn't want him near his tree-lings.

Lea -- I too have never done Pentas... so I'm no help either.

Hi all! ^_^

Sorry I disappeared for a while. I started a new medication that made me really groggy so I was just skimming through posts and not posting anything myself.

I can't remember when I posted last so first I just want to say a big "Thank You!" to everyone for all the wonderful seeds. An even bigger "Thank You!" goes to Ella for all your hard work! :)

I had to laugh; I asked for no more than 5 packs back on the extras I sent in and ended up getting 60!!! I also got two big, scary "bugs" and two worms from Washington. The worms hitched a ride in the Crocosmia. I just found them in the bag that's chilling in the fridge. I don't think Washington worms are going to like Georgia summers very much! :)

I've missed a ton of stuff but here are two things I remember wanting to comment on:

Penstemon seeds: I've read several places that older seed actually germinates better than fresh seed. This may explain some of the low germination rates some people are having with them.

Fungus gnats: In addition to the Bacillus thuringensis israelensis trick that LeBug posted above, you can make traps for them out of soda bottles. It's worked pretty well for me. I usually put apple cider vinegar in mine. Here's a link that has photos: http://pestcemetery.com/gnat-trap-gnat-trap-gnat-trap/

>>I had to laugh; I asked for no more than 5 packs back on the extras I sent in and ended up getting 60!!!

Danita... i kept saying NO EXTRA seeds, more than once... and still got a few packets.. .not many, but a few.
If i can't use them, they will all eventually go to a good home.

GREAT link.... thanks.

tcs, I'd already been such a seed oinker that the extra was overwhelming! However, I did find a few things in the extras that I'm very glad to have. I may take some of the extras to my parent's church and see if anyone is interested. We left some hot pepper plants that I didn't need there last summer and they disappeared pretty fast. If not, I can take them to a local plant trade if we have one this spring.

Oh, I'm so excited because I just went to the mailbox and got my prize for a contest. A local gardening center, Hastings, sends out an email every 1-2 weeks and they have a "Guess the plant" contest. They put a small photo of the foliage of a plant and the first person to correctly guess the name wins a $25 gift certificate. Well, I was the first one to identify the Daphne odora and I won! Yea, Seed Money!!! :)

Danita did you notice the one about the misquito thing is from you it was either last year or the year before that :)

Glad you are back Danita! Don't stay away so long :)

It's rainy and cold, and just gross here today! But, I have a trunk FULL of milk jugs that a friend saved for me! So psyched! Gotta love facebook... posted on there that I was looking for some, and she has 4 grandkids, so the whole family goes through a ton of them, and they saved them for me... now, where's my rowboat so's I can get out to the shed?

Ah well, need some cheering, so I think I'll go start some seeds inside instead. Will try to WS the nigella this year then! Now that I have a source for containers, there's hope that I may be able to sow everything I want to!

Hi LeBug! Yes, I saw that you quoted me. :)

"Don't stay away so long"
Thanks, I'll try not to although CFS makes me flaky sometimes. :) I've had the fatigue issues since I was 16 and am finally going to a doctor that may be helping some!

>>Gotta love facebook...

kelly -- can you "friend" me? i did a quick look for ya and there are a lot of "Kelly's"
tcs1366@hotmail.com will find me.

Cool, sent you a request!

Danita, at least you have an excuse for being flaky if you are :) I'm just flaky! lol Now I can say it's my age though one good thing about getting older may as well take advantage of it Ha! Glad you are getting some help :)

Klstuart, so glad you found a source for your jugs can't be without jugs in the winter!

I went to check on the flat I sowed indoors under lights & I checked cup after cup & nothing had sprouted... until I got to the very last cup & I have Pineapple Sage babies!!! I am so excited :) Now I'm going to have to find more room under lights :)

ants

I finally finished up my sowing for the day. I'll report back later... have to shower for dinner [our usual sushi bar for Friday night]