Seed Snatchin' XVI Sifted, Sorted & Stacked!

Here's a new thread, since the old one: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/550267/ was getting pretty slow to load. I have been busy preparing all my snatchin' loot for trades, and I've just about got them all bagged up and ready to package up.

I've been throwing out old seeds - sob! I feel like a traitor of some kind, but I just don't see any of those that I threw out even germinating and then there are all those that I DIDIN'T throw out. And, considering how limited my gardening was this year, it almost seems foolish to be saving so many.

Has anyone had any luck with seed from pineapple sage?



(Ok, so I'm incorrigible, hehe, you didn't think that I would give up that easily, did you???)

I'm going through my seed tote, too. I've got a gallon ziplock full of seed packets I'm going to send to Kim to dole out. She's a whiz at it. Some are seeds I got in trade and some are seeds I collected in the last couple years. I'm trying to start saving only small amounts of my collected seed in my planting tote and the rest in the trade tote. Any others are going into the bag to send to Kim. I hate to throw seeds away.

I got in late on the seed-saving thing this year, but you can bet I'll be saving bunches next year! I do have hollyhocks and gaillardia, in case someone wants some of those. And my mom doesn't save too much seed of anything she has, so I'm going to collect hers next year, too. She's got so many neat things! Watch out for me next year! LOL

And now that I have discovered that seeds can stay for longer then a year I am really in trouble. I have no idea where I got that thought in my head, so I have always gone through each year and cleaned out everything and needed to purchase some when things didn't work my way. Oh am I in trouble now...

How do I know if my Rudbeckia seeds are viable? Fertile? Someone said that just bedause they are dry does not mean they will germinate.

Thanks, Hadn't thought of that. LOL Sorry, it's Friday night.

Starting a few seeds in a moist paper towel would probably answer your question.

My seeds - I don't save them - I just put in a baggie and when I go by an empty lot , ugly ditch , I just roll down window and let mother nature take care of her children . Better than going into garbage . Mostly Marigolds , onions , garlic , tomatoes , extra Glad bulbs androse hips .

What is the rate of germination for your drive-bys, Tony?

That is funny Tony 'cause you know those red poppy seeds we always get in the mail in the spring? In everything. I do the same thing on the way home. I toss them out the mail into the pastures along the road. So far I haven't seen any bloom Wheez.

Jeanette

Unless i am mistaken the red poppy seeds will need a cold spell before they are viable, either need to be sown in the fall for spring germination or kept in the fridge for awhile before planting in the spring? Not sure but I think I read that somewheres.

I've grown corn poppies indoors without cold stratifictation, but they might benefit from it. Possibly the seedlings just don't compete very well with all the other roadside plants. Someone here on DG once said they broadcast poppy seeds on top of the snow and they germinate in the spring when the snow melts.

My grandmother used to do that with her lettuce seeds. In the spring they would sprout and there was her lettuce.

ooh, what a neat idea! I saved a bunch of seeds from my bronze leaf lettuce... perhaps I'll broadcast some of them out into the garden, maybe even into the orchard!

Wonderful!! Send me some of the lettuce. LOL

I'm sure I'll have plenty of lettuce seed to share! With everything I'm trying to juggle at the moment and many seeds still drying on paper plates, I haven't gotten myself sorted out yet for seed trading... But please Dmail me later on to jog my memory, or just watch for me to post about available seeds!

ok, don't throw things at me, but could I be the voice of caution for a few lines here. Before you throw seeds out, make sure you know that they aren't going to become an invasive pest. To back up a bit, we've done the same thing, scattering lupine seed along some gravel banks by a drive into a field, but they are where livestock SHOLDN'T be able to get to them. If you live in farm country, you could be scattering something that is going to make some farmer's life a misery for years to come. Onion and garlic both can spread pretty wide, and if you really want a field to say soybeans and all it can say is onions, it can be pretty discouraging. Also, some beautiful ornamentals are great in a flower bed, but like the lupines, can be deadly to livestock.

Good point Kathleen!!!

I've been considering spreading some of my seeds along the roadside here. Ordinarily, our roadsides are full of tall weeds, such as cow parsnip and fireweed, but a recent road easement clearing has left it bare gravel ten to 15 feet on either side of the road. It's ugly and bare, and I know all the alder and soft tissue plants will return within a few years, but meanwhile, I think I might broadcast some seeds along the roadside along our property.

I've been wresting with the same voice of caution that Kathleen mentions. I think I'm pretty safe with red corn poppies, maybe some bachelor buttons, some yellow mimulus, and some yarrow. That would be a lovely mix of red, white, blue and yellow. Yellow mimulus & wild yarrow occur in the wild here, so I figure they are a safe bet. I've never had re-seeding here from bachelor buttons, but the red corn poppies might. None of these are going to be competitive with our wild plants.

However, then there is the issue of the oxe-eye daisies. They do quite well here and throw seed like crazy. They are very competitive, reseed, and spread vigorously. I brought them into my yard years ago, and they are one of the weeds I pull in my beds now. I haven't seen any of them in profusion along our roadsides in my neighborhood. The same is true with linaria vulgaris (butter & eggs).

So, do I stick with the safe plants and expect them to spend a season or two and vanish, or do I seed the area with the tenacious, and take a chance on their being aggressive.

Weeze,
Do you have alot of free-range cattle in Alaska? I think you would be safe with all those listed above.
I didn't know lupine was toxic to cattle though and don't want to hurt our farm folks in any way or get into another invasives tat like we had last year.
I for one LOVE ox-eyes and didn't know they could ever be invasive.
I have a topless blue speckled coffee pot that I fill with bachelor buttons, ox-eyes and coreopsis or yarrow. Just beautiful.
Many years ago I lived on the Pamlico Sound and would cut these by the bushel in the spring and take bouquets to all the women folk in the community. They lasted a loooong time.
They all still think of me every spring.
Sidney

You are so right. What is invasive in one area may not be in another. For that reason I do not order wildseed mixes from the catalogs. For instance the purple loosestrife is illegal in Washington State.

No free-range cattle here, although I believe some were introduced to Kodiak Island on the Aleutian Chain... maybe buffalo somewhere or other... but not here. We do have, however free-ranging moose, bears, and eagles, not to mention wolves and cyotes! I'm not concerned about animals eating the plants, nor am I specifically worried about the plants drifting into other people's yards. I'm concerned about native plants being choked out by a more aggressive type.

We've had oxe-eye daisies growing along the highway for years. There are also many in the cemetery and along the beachfront greenbelt. Some years, it is a see of daisies, and some years not. I have a soft spot for the oxe-eyes, but they are considered invasives in Alaska.

Yes, I was really surprised when I found out they weren't natives.
They do need full sun. None in the Wildflower collections I planted bloomed or are they Bi-annuals?
I did get many unusuals. Lupines came up, but the heat ate em.
Sidney

With wildflower mixes, I think it is best to order those geared to your area, or just mix your own. That way, you get the things that you know will grow. I doubt that much of anything I grow up here would like it in Florida! LOL!

I start my wildflower mixes indoors, since our season is so short that those sown outdoors hardly have a chance to bloom before first frost. I guess direct sowing would be OK if they are perennials or biennials, but spring rains can wash away the seeds, and dry spells can kill the seedlings.

I think some of the fast spreading plants are less of a problem in places like this because our conditions just aren't favorable for them. If you live in a place that has optimum conditions, I think you'd really have to think twice about what you throw out the window.

In that area of NC I was refering to the coreopsis and oxeyes came up every year, but the faithful DOT would mow before they could set all their seeds. The strip mining done at Texas Gulf there took out acres of naturalized day lilies and Yarrow , Wild Iris, Butterfly weed and others I would have dug had I realized their fate.
Sidney

You know, Sidney... that is another whole side of seed and plant snatchin'... the rescue sortees! I rescued several ferns along our roadside when they cut and 'grubbed' a ten to fifteen swath on either side last fall. I'm sure there were many other plants I could have rescued, had I been able to do so.

It makes me heart-sick. That's why I invited Nicole, Heather and Robin to raid my DM's yard.
Sidney

I've rescued quite a few plants myself, just before the heavy equipment arrived! Many of them are growing in my yard now, and I've been sharing plants and seeds from their offspring, as well.

All the stuff you gave me Sidney is still alive too!! Both Yucca's recovered VERY well and I didn't even kill the rose bush!!! LOL!!!

Thanks again!!

Nicole

Every fall, I cut back my plants to winter them over. It occurs to me that many of them would be great soft stem cuttings for those who have a longer season to root them, or a milder clime that doesn't have a cold winter at all. This is especially true of the sedum and lamium.

haven't spoken here before? - I think - (may not be correct) - however - I get to go home tomarrow.

This is a major point as I have been here for four out of the last six weeks.

Don't get me wrong -- Cincinnati is a fine town that I would be proud to live in but at this point I really need to be home.

(and besides it is winter here) I cannot believe how cold it is here in Nov.

LOL, I know exactly how you feel.
Sidney

Hey Yall, I'm back!! Gee wiz, I went to a round up and then fell off the face of Daves! Here's the GA fall roundup pictures i took: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=577301135996099293/l=73767252/cobrandOid=1000001/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

I've been being a moms full time and now I'm going to have to neglect them some for some Daves time! Just Kidding! I'll just sleep less. :)

Hope yall have been fine :) Weezin, Sidney, Nichole :) Everybody :)

Okay, I'm ready to start some seeds here. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/367693/#new has some great info on seed starting, but I just wanted to ask for yall's .2$ worth :)

I'm rereading that seed starting thread and I'm ready to do a much better job this year. Last year was my first year and it was pretty bad. I'm a full throttle gardener so I did about 15 large trays all at once and I learned that seeds like warmth so I exchanged them all off the top of my husbands 200 gallon salt water tank where it heats up to over 100 degrees!! I also didn't use any seed starting mix, just regular potting mix.. so what happened is that the seeds took off like wildfire on top of that aquarium and I was just tickled to death to see them grow so fast.. and then what did they do?? They FELL OVER AND DIED!!!!! WHOOOPS :) Actually, I thought I had killed them all, but I put the trays on the side of the house and walked away, and weeks later found I had all kinds of things growing there, so some made it much better without any help from me.

Okay, so now I've made that mistake and wont again, I'd love to have any info you know or could lead me to that would greatly decrease my chances of this being another learning season, and hopefully, being a lush one.

I can't wait to start dumpster diving again. Just think of all the plants I've missed!!

Happy New Year.

Susan

My experience is that once the seed germinates, they need very little heat from beneath. I usually, just put them in a small greenhouse I have, with grow lights on them about 16 hours a day, make sure they are watered regularly, from the bottom, transplant to larger containers after plants have about 2 sets of leaves, and just love them to pieces.I started over 200 tomato plants last year, and although had some that didn't germinate, over all did very well. Same with some flower seeds. But hey I am no expert, hope you get other suggestions from others.

Hi, everybody! Yes, it's seed starting time again. Defoecat is right about starting seeds. Most seeds do better without excessive heat and some will not germinate at all in hot conditions. I start mine in small starter trays that are placed in domed flats. I use sterilized starter medium (internal temp of 180F for 1/2 hr). Some seeds need light to germinate, some need darkness, and some just aren't all that fussy one way or another.

Before you even start planting, there are a few things to determine. First of all, are you growing plants for your own yard, to sell or donate? If this is for your own yard, you need to think less rather than more seeds. At first you can allow for greater loss during transplant, but after years of transplanting, I can generally get two or more flats (144 plants) of cellpacks from one small tray (the size of a cellpack). If you grow several kinds of plants, you are going to need lots of cellpacks, lots of flats and lots of lights.

Next you need to determine when you want these plants to start blooming. If you are going to sell them or donate baskets, etc., you need to start them early enough to bloom by late spring or early summer, at the latest. That means you should start them indoors earlier than the packages recommend.

When learning to start plants from seed, I'd recommend beginning with easy germinators and transplanters. Nothing is more disheartening than failure in germination... unless of course it's failure during transplant. Violas or pansies are always a good choice.

Weez, I have never had good luck with pansies. Dummy that I am, I have tried and succeeded with what I have found out later were some on the hardest to germinate. Go figure. Do you have any tips for pansies. I always try to get the pelleted seed for easier sowing. Sure is fun starting that little seed and ending up with a mature healthy plant.

Boy, I've never thought of pansy seeds as little. I must be a seed snob! I don't think that the pansies and violas like it too warm when they germinate. I usually have a pretty good germination rate, but I start them indoors under lights. Also, the species violets may have some very special germination requirements, while the Johnny Jumpups will grow between cracks in cement!

DCat, you're not alone... I wintersowed some pansy seeds last year and also started a few under the lights. I got a couple of straggly plants from the indoor ones (gave them to my mom, don't know if they bloomed much), and the wintersown ones germinated just fine, grew into healthy looking one-inch-tall plantlets... and then they just stopped. Two months later, they were still an inch tall in their cell packs. I'll try both wintersowing & indoor starts again this year with some viola seeds, as I've had good luck with them (indoors) in the past.