Well fudgescicles and snowcones. Oh ya rub it in. hehehehehhe I gonan be expectign you to rub it in even more when they bloom and ya show pics of what I missing so bad. : ) (giggles and giggles some more)
Join Us! Seed Swap Seed Starting & Conversation #4
Fairy, Our last frost date on the internet might be May 1-May 15, but I use April 22 because in 25 years we haven't had a killing frost after that date.
Suzy
Really-except last year...I guess I am just being extra careful-I have the kind of luck that if I did put things out end of april/beginnig of May we would get hard frosts for AT LEAT the next 2 weeks!!!LOL';0
Flower-waht are we rubbing in?? Did I miss something????
*runs to get lantana seeds* They can join the Vigna caracalla seeds in getting an overnight soak. Do I need to nick them? (The pet toenail clippers worked great for nicking the V. caracalla... much better than using a file or human nail clippers!)
No, Lantana doesn't need to be nicked. It is a dried rubbery berry surrounding the seed itself...kind of like a dried raisin
Just the berry needs to be softened to "fresh" raisin status, then the seed can germinate.
Suzy
I soaked my lantana seeds Friday night, and planted them yesterday morning. I also planted impatients, annual red salvia, a perenial blue salvia (not black and blue), calendula, gazania, impatients, Alba coneflower, and baby swan coneflowers yesterday. In the last two weeks, I also sowed pink diathus, phormium (very interested in seeing what is going to happen with these), lisianthus, annual vinca, and lots of geramiums.
I still have alot more to plant in the next two weeks. For me, this is 8 weeks before last frost date.
Suzy said that I needed to check out your thread because I was mentioning that I have so many seeds. Everytime that I see something I think would work in the garden, I buy another package, and as a result, I have quite a few packages. I still need to read some of the back threads to catch up on what is going on, but I may have something to contribute.
Fairy,
I'm one of the people who was there at the beginning of the coop, and hasn't ordered yet. I was basicly in it for the coneflowers. I'm looking forward to the fall coop. I hope that everything runs smoothly for you.
Suzy, nananabooboo, I have one of those Mountain Laurels, that you found for me, popping it's head up. : ) It does help to drill a hole in them.
Lucy
hi guys, I couldn't deal with nicking the canna indica seeds. I tried to rub them on a metal rasp I have for lemon zest etc and it didn't work... hard seed coat on those buggers!
They are soaking now. I thought about the nail clippers but I never did that before outside and had luck just planting them with a little scrape on a rock...so I'll let you know if just plain soaking and no nicking works
I'm also testing lantana seeds; same seeds ~ some soaked, some not soaked to see the germination difference. I'll let you know on that too.
nighty night :)
Nite, Nite, wind, sweet dreams of pretty flowers. : )
Wind the seed soakign will work, but not for only 24 hours, more like 24 days LOL
Soak them in warm/hot water for 24 and then change water and do that for several days until ya see the seed coat starting to wear off and then they wil be easier to nick with a fingernail file or sandpaper rubbed on them.
Fairy-I'm not sure what we're rubbing in-maybe some lotion?
Hey, Lucy, that's great news!...why the nanny boo booo? I want EVERYTHING to germinate for you. You can be our southern seed house with your 52 acres...just line it all out and colllect, clean and bag those seeds for the next swap. LOL!
I can see it now,...Hunny, can I grow all these vines up your orange trees, and all these flowers in between the rows? LOL : )
I have tried 2 other times to get a ML to germinate. 3rd time must be the charm. Still waiting on 2 others I planted with it to show their heads. Maybe tomorrow. I was just excited to see that one. : )
Well? Why can't you grow stuff between the rows? I've seen those orange groves...it's not like corn or soybeans, there must be 10 or 12 feet between those trees. What kind of drill did you use? I thought those seeds looked like berries from a crabapple tree.
Wind, soak those puppies in hot water for 24 hours and then try again using the CORNER of the toenail clippers. I was able to chip away at them that way. THEN soak another 24 hours in warm water and plant. Of course I am giving directions when mine haven't even germinated, but I *was* able to see the whites of the seeds. Tab said dog tenail clippers work better, but not everybody has those.
Suzy
Morning all!
Just back from a weekend break! My, have you been chatting! Too hard to cover it all, but I''m back!
Welcome back!
Did some one ask about collecting coleus seed? They are really hard to find! I saved some 2 years ago and just kept the entire spike. At planting time I crumbled it over the soil (chaff and all,) then let it do it's thing.
Glad you joined us piggies pennefeather!! We will, of course, be expecting pics of your babies!
I soaked my lantana seeds for about 36 hours or so then stuck them in peat pots - we'll see.... As for the canna seeds, I had one of those gripper pliers that was small enough for my hand, and had a nifty small file that is square - that let me file away with a flat side for a bit, then I used the corner to notch an edge through the shell. Then into the water they went with some H2O2 for good measure. I'll check those after I run my morning errands.
Starlight - you and I are gonna be giggling at each other all spring :) I remember living in Atlanta and Georgia and relishing the things I could grow that were just a dream to me when I was up north, and lamenting that I couldn't have the spring bulbs like scilla and tulips - LOL!
Welcome back Tuink! How are your babies doing?
Hey there Tuink. So glad you enjoyed your castle excursion. Did you hear any hants in the middle of the night? When I hear the word castle I think of the tv program "Dark Shadows".
Tuink, you'll be glad to know I haven't lost the first seedling yet after that potting mess you got me out of.
I'm starting some hibiscus seeds in the boiling water & H202 tip I learned here. Y'all wish me luck!
Currently running into a spider mite problem though in my sunroom, so I'm busy taking care of sick plants today..
Flower-sorry it was star that said we were rubbing something in that I didn't get-the post that mentions fudgesicles-uummm fudsicles-can't wait til it is warm enough to be fun to eat thema gain...
Oh forget if ya don't have dog clipper, if ya have one of them tiny dremel sandign tools ya can use them to sand the canna seeds too. Just hold the seed tight with a pair of tweezers in your hand unles s ya like looking at missign pieces of skin and different sized files fingernails. LOL
Don't it just get so frustratign sometimes, ther eare got ya a nice seed and ya love the plant and ya have to fight tooth and nail and try and come up all kinds of tricks and procedures to try and crack that seeds coat.
Hey Dryad,
The babies are doing fine. About half of the species I've sown have now germinated. The first batch has already been pricked out. Had to take half a day off to do so, didn't know when else to do it.....
Hey Cordele,
No scarrifying thumping or spooking for us, even though we did some thumping around ourselves. We had the castle all for ourselves!
Glad to hear your seedlings are doing fine. But spider mite? Be careful, they can finish off all your little babies!
I know, this sunroom is fixin to get a scouring.
Help! I've lost a thread . . .there was a coop for buying plants - I sent in a list, but I never found the thread for ordering . . . does anyone know where to find it? I thought there was a discussion group for coops. . . .
Seandor, the foreigner :-)
Hi Seandor, here's the link for the Co-op, etc., forum:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/rrtrade/all/
Hope you find your thread!!!
No, it's not there . . . this coop had echinacea, and heuchera, etc. does anyone know what I am talking about (maybe I am in some weird time-space warp thing!)
Oh, Fairy's perennial coop. And then Star has more echies in her classified ad. Is that the one, Seandor? http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/816414/
Here's the one you posted in for interest Seandor:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/813088/
Here is your post:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4532541
So now you order in this one:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/816414/
Excellent! I sure hope the Tiki echinacea is available :-) Thanks everyone!
Suzy, the reason you can't plant in the middle of Orange groves is, you have to mow the middle so that the fertilizer trucks,spray tractors, and picking trucks can get in there.
The picking crews can wreck your whole grove, when they come in, We usually have to pick up after them, and fix and straighten all our waterlines when they leave. Some are not bad, but others just don't care.
Occasionally, we will pick 1 middle, and plant watermelons or cantaloupes on it. Then back to mowing. I'll take a picture of it one day, for you. I should have taken one a couple of weeks ago, while the oranges were still on the tree.
~Lucy
Suzy-I think you would be proud-I did a quick kinda pimp on some items that are slow going on the chat thread!!! I aspire to be at least the piggie queen's lady in waiting!!!LOL;)
I need feedback/suggestions...
MIL gave me a GC to Gardeners Supply. I am thinking about getting either a couple of 40 cell APS or some cowpots for my plugs from the co-op...any help with my decision???
Fairy, if it were me, I'd go with the cowpots - the APS cells are TINY and best only for things that can handle transplanting well (I got darned lucky with the poppies, and know it). If you go with the APS I would recommend considering using them for things that you can transplant straight into their permanent homes. They also "sit taller" than a regular tray, so they are closer end up closer to your lights than a regular tray, and you can't make them shorter so lights would have to be hitched up for them.
Thanks Robin-don't have light though-this is my 1st year sowing-it will take me some time to get the fancy getups you gals have. I was thinking if I got the cowpots, I could put the plugs in them, let em be for a bit to grow and then plop em in pot & all...
LOL - I'm gonna have to take a pic of my "fancy setup" in the basement! It consists of a couple big staples nailed to the underside of our stairs, from which hangs (via some nylon cable) a Wallyworld light (the cheapest one). Under that is a plastic storage container next to our unsulated cooler. On top of those are my trays!! I did get a plastic shelving unit from Wallyworld (and a few more of the Wallyworld light thingies) that are down at my sis's house, and that's coming up here this week as I need those shelves to start potting things into larger pots - so that's at least a bit more presentable :-P
I agree-cowpots all the way!
Your set-up sounds a lot like mine Robin!
I thought they had to be special lights??? They don't???
Check out my article on light shelves for seed starting: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/464/
I wrote one the next week about seedling heat mats and alternatives... click the "for more articles by Jill" link at the bottom of the above article to get a complete list of articles. :-)