Seandor wrote:
Following advice from Ziggy, I ordered seeds from Fragrant Garden. I ordered three colours of "Winter Elegance" Sweetpeas (salmon pink, mid blue, and white) as well as two mixes of "heirloom" sweetpeas (supposedly more fragrant, but with smaller flowers). One mix is primarily blues, the other includes blues, creams, salmon pink, and maroon.
Today I started them. first I made newspaper pots - then yesterday I bought aluminum foil oven dishes at a dollar store (2 for $1). I went to Walmart for potting mix and seed starter, then to a local nursery for gravel (got chipped marble 'cause it was cheapest).
Friday night I soaked the seeds starting with hot water.
Saturday morning, I filled each little paper pot primarily with potting soil - but since it also contains fertilizer, I made the last quarter just seed starter. I didn't know if the fertilizer would burn new roots. Altogether, there are almost 100 little pots planted. If I get 20 strong plants, I will be happy.
Anyway, the aluminum foil pans are enclosed with two plastic bags (to ensure the marble chips do not puncture the aluminum foil - my husband doesn't like when my plant things drip lol ) Then I put in the chipped marble for drainage. Then the little pots sit on the little rocks. The picture shows what the set up looks like :-)
Wish me luck!
started the sweet peas
Rats! Here is the picture
Harper...good work! Looks like a great little set up there, no wait, 100? Big set up, lol.
Good luck!!
Thanks - the little paper pots are a lot more damp than I expected. I wonder if they will go mouldy. . . I made some camomile tea because I read in a thread somewhere it helps with fungus.
yes it does help with fungus, and i use it with my seedlings.
Well, how cute is that? but a lot of work! how long did it take you to make 100 paper pots?
Actually, I make them while my husband reads to me, otherwise I would be sketching even more gardens to build. I have made lots of these in various sizes in anticipation of seeds arriving - some of which I hope to winter sow.
Each one takes about a minute to make.
what a nice mental picture that makes! wonderful winter project.
Over the years, David has read "Lord of the Rings" to me (yes, I had already read it many, many times!) The complete Sherlock Holmes series. Lots of books on Canadian history. He even read all of "Angela's Ashes" with an Irish accent! What a guy :-)
Sounds like you tow have a great system worked out. That is a great setup.
Seed time already? I wasn't planning to start any for a few more weeks.
Impressive! You're so organized.
i'll start my seeds in a few weeks too. mid march about. i do mostly annuals, easy to grow annuals at that. :-) i've done it now for 5 years and each year i've gotten better at it, with better results. yeah me. :-) i love watching the little coleus leaves emerge. they are so tiny and cute. and easy. :-) did i say that again???? :-) i really liked the comment in wildseed's catalogue, where they tell you how difficult seeds are to propogate under cosmos, it said "if you can't grow cosmos, you should just hang it up." LOL
later...
debi z & franklin
debi (& franklin), I'm looking forward to the coleus this year. I got seeds for 4 or 5 varieties. I'm going to pot it up everywhere. and cosmos...hope I don't have to hang it up LOL
well the truth is in the garden. :-)
I planted sweetpeas against the fence at the end of last season (August), as my backyard was being completely redone --stone patio, fence, etc. They got to be about 6 inches tall before the first frost. I wonder if they'll come back; I covered them with leaves.
Seandor. that is odd. I don't remember reading anything to you!
Hey! You cheating on me Dave????
Seandor, do you wintersow the seeds or are you starting them in the house?
I just love sweet peas! Last year I bought 2 perennial sweet pea plants...I hear they can be invasive but I thought I would see for myself LOL. Anyhow there is no smell to the perennial ones but the annual ones smell wonderful.
I have started the Sweet Peas inside because I want to get a jump on the season - I want to have well developed plants to put in the garden in April - not just recently germinated ones. I bought some "winter elegance" ones which supposedly will bloom with only 10 hours of daylight - so sweet peas sooner before the hot, humid heat of summer wipes them out - or at least that is what I am hoping!
Meanwhile I have foxglove which I will winter sow - but I am debating as to what i should do with the delphiniums . . . . They need darkness to germinate. Maybe I will winter sow half and do the others indoors.
It wasn't me Anita! I swear!
I'll vouch for Dave47 - I was with another David :-)
well, we know there's at least 46 of them LOL
Yeah - but I got the best! lol
I am clone #47.
Seandor, I'm glad you feel that way!
LOL - clone...makes me think of the movie where people have clones made of themselves for spare parts.
Well so far 13 plants have germinated - enough for my needs I suspect . . . I now realize how silly it was to plant all the seeds. I think my neighbours are going to get lots of presents of free flowering plants this spring lol.
Seandor, congrats on your success. I love sweetpeas. They have been very easy to germinate for me. Of course, I always start lots of seeds incase the germination rate isn't high. The best one I've ever grown, which I'm going to look for today at HD is "Captain of the blues". It grows nicely here (most of them don't do very well here on LI) and the fragrance is the best as far as I'm concerned.
Your set up is great.
Thanks - the "old fashion" sweet peas (heritage types from the early 1900s) seem to be easier to germinate. The rather expensive "Winter Elegance" seeds seem to be taking their time!
Meanwhile, we have found some old seed and received some sweet pea seeds from others which I have winter sowed. We will see which turns out to be the best method.
What a great set up and your husband sounds like a peach !
I have bought some sweet pea seeds a few years ago,the Heirlomm kind but have to say I didn't plant them then but stored them correctly,maybe this season ? the only seeds I have startet are DL seeds from my DL.
Seander and debi_z do you both get together sionce you live in the same town ?
( BTW my husband used to work at the prison there for awhile,long travel each week though.
Seandor -
I started my delphiniums last week (about 2 weeks late). I put them in the unheated garage for about 2 weeks or so. Usually I see some sprouts and them bring them inside and put them under grow lights.
I usually have close to 100% germination with this method.
:)
Tamberlin
Actually, I am quite new to DG. I look forward to meeting debi_z but I think she is currently in Florida (smart woman!)
Eglantine, my husband is a peach! Right now he is remodelling the dining room - there is dust everywhere from sanding the repairs to the plaster . . . .
Your method for starting delphiniums sounds brilliant, tamberlin - alas, I don't have any lights. I do have a couple of containers winter-sown, but I might use the remainder seeds as you have, and see what I can do with window ledges.
Meanwhile, about 20% of the sweet peas have sprouted - many of them in very small paper pots, so I will have to put them in much bigger ones soon :-)
I am now understanding the wisdom of just planting a whole bunch of seeds in a container, then transplanting the seedings to pots.
Well, I now officially have sweet pea flowers :-) The first blossoms appeared on Friday.
Way to go! Take some pictures!
Well, - just one blossom. I will wait to get a good picture with lots of blossoms :-)