I loved that article about alternative heat mats, critter!! You're the grooviest!
Join Us! Seed Swap Seed Starting & Conversation #4
I read somewhere that is the seeds just need to be at like 75* or so , you can put em in a baggie and then on top of the frig??
Check to see if your fridge is warm on top. Some fridges now vent their warm air out the bottom, so the top is no longer a magical oasis of warmth...
A lot of seeds need the warmth to germinate, but can then be grown on at cooler temps... so you can find a warm place to put your seed starting tray (or put the seeds in a fold of damp paper towel in a baggie), and then as soon as you see the first sign of germination, move them under the lights. Especially if you do this, it's good to put just one kind of seed in a container (or use a baggie) for starting -- otherwise, things sprout at different times and make you nuts.
You just said a mouthful, Critter. Fairy, please heed the warning given on Critter's last sentence.
LOL, I guess you've also "been there, done that!"
Previous thread #3 :>I
LOL!
Hey, my 4 inch Cow Pots arrived today... just in time, as I have some geranium seedlings I wanted to baby in them, and they're about big enough to pot up (just getting their first true leaves). :-)
I really wanted some of those pots, but all the coops I'd already signed up for had cooked my goose with my plant budget. Be sure to give us a report on how well they worked for you.
Same here on the budget -- sigh....but now I am back at Fairy's for some heuchera and a special Campanula and some other stuff.
Suzy
I have soooo many different varieties of campanula seeds, it would be sinful to order plants! I only ordered things I couldn't get seeds for :-)
Yes, that's why I called it a special Campanula -- did you see the pic of C. Pink Octopus? This is one they propagate by either cuttings or TC and is sterile.
http://www.terranovanurseries.com/wholesale/popups/campo.html
http://www.terranovanurseries.com/wholesale/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=41
I was just quite taken with it.
This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 7:47 PM
Sorry - it doesn't do much for me . . . So you can have any that were intended for me :-)
Oh, well, I tried :)
How would I go about planting Heavenly Blue MGs and Sunflowers...I have seeds of both. Would I start them at basically the same time? Or soak the MGs for 24 hours, plant 3 in a triangle and a week later put in the sunny seed?
That sounds like it could be cool!
Suzy
Suzy, are you going to let the MGs run up the Sunflower stalk?
Yes, I just read it -- Ooops wrong thread. I meant to post on the "Veggies in the CG" thread.
Suzy are you putting these in a greenhous when they are big enough? The reason I'm asking is the MG's alone will grow like mad if you plant them now.
This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 8:12 PM
No, I was going to direct sow them in late April/Early May.
Mg's wrapped up a sunflower are pretty. Just make sure that if the tall growign mg's ya use a tall sunflower or they just about choke out your sunnie's.
When i did them I planted both at the same time.
I did that with a cypress vine and another with a mandevilla vine. It was real pretty. Even when the sunflowers were done, I just cut the heads off and keep the stalks for the other vines.
I'll try that with some MGs this year too. Star, what month did you plant your seeds together?
I don't think I would do them right now unless you have a sunny window and something to put in there for them to climb on, I start mine downstairs about four weeks before they go out and I'm constantly trimming them to keep them behaved lol
That sounds like a good combo I may try that too, thanks for the idea, I'll try and look when I start mine, I can't find my notebook for last year but they are probably somewhere on a disk from the past lol Your frost date is earlier than mine isn't it mine is somewhere around the 15th of April.
February. I goofed and was way to early had blooms going in March. LOL I am going to wait this year more towards when the sunflower seeds are supposed to be planted. The Mgs wil coem up liek crazy in the warmth. I wil probably wait til frost date, the 15th of April to plant this year.
In 2005 LOL I started them March 21st and still had to chop on them because they grow so fast inside, I think I would wait until closer to the end of March. I'm not sure about sunflowers I've never started them before but I would imagine they would grow prety fast too.
The sunflower stalks really come in as a handy trellis.
I need to look my last frost date up. Last year it was March 31, then we had a week of freezing temps around Easter in April (I think everyone did) Thank goodness it really didn't do any harm to my plants.
Yep we had those freezing temps too, I've had daphs planted for two years and still haven't seen a bloom because of the late freezes!
Suzy, I planted Heavenly Blue MG last spring, in a pot near a trellis and in a hanging basket, no soaking, and they germinated easily.
Blooms are large and really blue; your combo with the yellow sun flowers sound pretty :)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_seasonal_zones/article/0,1785,HGTV_3631_4742697,00.html
This site says my last average frost date is Feb28-March 30. Pretty much same as last year's. I'm in no hurry and will play it safe. Whatever Star says, I'll do the same. We are about even in temp.
Is it alright to WS my asters now I don't want to mess these up :) I'm doing jugs tonite.
I soaked my MG's until they had tails on them then planted, wish I could find my notes from last year, oh well guess I'll find it when my planting is done LOL
That's really pretty, Wind, too bad I sent you all my tall Sunflowers in the swap ROTF!
Just kidding, I'm sure I have some here. REALLY, I AM JUST KIDDING!
LOL.. I chattign on messenger with a friend and we was talkign about sunflowers before this thread and had asked her what else we might consider besides the mg's and she suggested using the thuinbergia suzie vines too.
That's a good one too, Star.
I waitign on alot of outside stuff, cuz I got hit with that freeze and the giant hailstorm and about lost my home and had windows and windshields all broke and them grapefruit hail balls literraly destroyed everything and killed birdsna dsuirrels and stuf f so i a big chicken this year and they not gonna do much til they have the constant warm weatehr anyways.
Ya think especially the thunbergia that has the light yellow and orange and white in it woudllook good with the big yellow or red sunflowes.
Watch the Thuinbergia... I think I've heard it can be a bit of a thug (invasive if you let it go to seed) in southern gardens. ?
I haven't had a poblem with it cuz it an annual down here, but i have to watch the mg's. oh geez them things go crazy and i had seedling pop up eveyrwhre and in everything. The red cypres s vine is invasive here but been tryign to think of somethign else that stays small and wil vine pretty without craoking the sunflowers
nuck nuck nuck....how do the 3 stooges say it ...a wise guy hey!! Suzy I wouldn't be surprised if you gave us all your seeds!! But rest assured here we are at your service...your personal global DG cottage garden seed bank.
..........oh I can see I'm very exhausted, better go to bed before I completely go bonkers!! Just got done writing a paper on my physical activity level..ahem..and my diet..cough...cough. I basically ranked poor in p.activity, until gardening gets back underway! have a good night :)
nite nite Wind.
Morning all!
I grew beans last year, using sunflowers as a stalk. But any annual climber will do! What about Ipomoea lobata (aka Mina lobata)?
Or cardinal climber...
Suzy-Blue spiral has a whole article on starting MG-try dmailing her-she sent it to me..I just printed it though and didn't save it-sorry....
I know how to start them, it was the timing I was questioning, and how fast or slow they would be as compated to the sunflowers. The sunflowers would need a head start maybe because the MGs would need to climb them.
I'm just running off to the coop forum now to see how the counts are doing on your coop trays. :)
Illoquin,
I sowed the sunflowers outside and when they were about knee high, I sowed the beans.....
Okay...thanks! I was going to use MGs, but I can use Scarlet Runner Beans.
Suzy