SEEDY THINGS: Sowing, potting up and checking on seedlings
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Let's take a peek at what's happening in the seed-starting dungeon. I'm planting Gomphocarpus (family jewels plant), potting a new tropical plant I have no business owning and potting up snapdragons. And then we'll take a look at what I'm growing.
If this video seems slightly clunky, I apologize. I accidentally deleted some footage along the line so we missed a few bits.
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○ Hose nozzle: amzn.to/3JYfK2J
○ My soil tray: bit.ly/solitray
○ Another soil tray: amzn.to/41B4r8D
○ Concrete mixing tray: bit.ly/3kDesl2
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○ My favorite grow light: bit.ly/LEDT5gr...
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My name is Erin and I love sharing inspiration and information with real-life gardeners. I live and garden in southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5b.
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I have both traditional milkweed and Oscar HB and I can tell you that the monarch ladies LOVE LOVE LOVE the HB. I had over 20 cats on the HB plants and zero on the traditional milkweed.😮
I know you aren’t considering a greenhouse, and while I’d agree that they’re not all that helpful for seed starting, they are invaluable for overwintering and hardening off (as you know). I bet just keeping it in the 40s would be enough to keep your citrus alive. That’s all I strive for in the cold frame/greenhouse my husband built using old doors and windows. I keep my hanging baskets and big Boston fern and other potted cold-sensitive things that don’t go fully dormant in it and it’s great! Seed starting was a fail, but there’s no room in it now anyway 😅 Just a small structure is all you’d need. Figure out a rain barrel situation and you’re golden.
I love that you try & fail, as most of us can totally relate...
I use drywall tape over pot drain holes. Works great. Doesn’t rot or rust. Water drains out. Critters can’t get in.
Or coffee filters?
I use that drywall tape,too. It’s great. It sticks over the drain hole so it doesn’t get dislodged when I dump in potting soil. It doesn’t deteriorate like coffee filters (which I use sometimes too.
Me too, Erin!! Can't keep citrus alive.
Hello my friend 👋❣️ how are you doing?
the pleasure is me meeting you my friend
Big fan of the seed starting dungeons. 😆 Great to see what you’ve got going!
I really want verbena bampton after hearing you talk about it so I got the seeds, and am hoping they will come up. I started them on March 10 and today’s the 21st and I got nothin’ so far. The packet said 10-30 days so I guess I still have a chance.
“Family jewels” plant😂. I’ve heard much more colorful names😂😂😂. Love it!
There are definitely better names for it, but not as family friendly. 😁
This was my first year seed starting. I am like a derailed train over here. SMH. I have stuff throughout my whole house now in windows, under lights, it's ridiculous. I feel like there should be a support group for seed junkies. I need to get off the seeds. Next year, someone needs to keep me in check. I have another probably 20 packets I haven't started. I am in Upstate NY so I can't even transplant anytime soon lol. Anyways, Hi I am Kim, I have a seed purchasing problem. Love your videos btw!
I love using Kevin’s Epic Gardener seed trays because I can sow everything together and if something germinates quicker than another, I can pull those 6 cell trays out and put them somewhere else.
I can't decide whether to buy Kevin's seed trays or Huw Richards but I definitely need to upgrade from the flimsy ones I just bought from Walmart 3 weeks ago and are already ripping.
I’m 100% upgrading once I run through all the flimsy stuff I’ve collected over the years.
They have nice seed trays at Lidl
Wow those sweet peas! ❤❤❤
Looks great! I love starting seeds and I may start some perennials next year. I do all my vegetables from seeds and I don’t have much in the way of lights or heat mats. All in all I’m doing great thanks to my south facing windows providing lots of sunshine, my unheated sunroom and a wonderful husband that puts up with my craziness this time of year. I had a Meyer lemon that I overwintered inside and it lost every single leaf but when I put it outdoors in the warm weather it sprouted all new leaves and it was amazing to watch. Growing citrus indoors is very challenging and for me quite frustrating to see all the leaves dropping, but when I’m adding my limes to my fav beverage …it’s all good. Thanks for sharing your seed journey.
Erin,
Spanish lavender = Anouk (think I spelled it right). Love that variety! 😊
I wish we could grow sweet peas here.
It just goes from freezing to blistering hot too quickly in our area.
They look amazing so far.
Erin, I’m starting a lot of seeds indoors this year for the first time. Did I miss the information on fertilizing? Why, when, how much, what kind? As always I learn so much from you, so much more to learn🤪
Loved the tour of what's under the grow lights! I've been doing the broadcast sowing then potting up a lot more this year too. Definitely saves space and it also means I'm not looking at any empty cells, which always feels like a bit of a bummer, even if you have multiples coming up in other cells 🙂
I always discover a new plant, everytime I watch one of your videos! I discovered several new ones today!
I am so happy to hear that. There are so many cool plants out there for us all to discover!
thank you!
Thanks for all the great information. You are so appreciated! 🍃🌸🍃
Hello my friend 👋❣️ how are you doing?
the pleasure is me meeting you my friend
I just saw a video that said that asters germinate better off heat mats. The UA-cam creator had zero luck with her asters when placed on a heat mat, someone told her to try again this time using no heat mat and she had about a 100% germination on them. So maybe that would help? 🌷💚🙃
I just watched the same video and ran downstairs to take mine off the heat mat!
Then watched this video and once again had to rescue my delphinium off the heat mats 🤣
I tried 20-row seed trays for the first time this year in order to save space on my grow shelves, as well as save compost (lest some seeds not germinate). I started all kinds of things in them: statice, strawflowers, lavender, thyme, oregano, delphiniums, larkspur, snaps, purslane, rudbeckia, yarrow, celery etc. Basically, they're great for things with small to tiny seeds which don't make tap roots. I left my celery in their row for a month before potting up without any issues with stunted growth, and a single row had about 50 plants. I'd highly recommend trying these trays if you have space limitations.
Your Snapdragons look so great, and that color assortment is gorgeous. Citrus can be hard to grow indoors unless you have a greenhouse. It’s definitely a tropical and they need full, strong sun outdoors - indoors is very difficult to duplicate. I left all my citrus in FL when we moved North, but one of these days lol, these itchy gardener fingers are going to live where I can grow them again. Happy growing Erin; thanks for sharing.
Nice to see and hear everyone’s experience, it can validate what I’m seeing in my seeds and I always gain some insight. But I still start too many and too early-maybe I’ll learn patience eventually 🤦🏻♀️
Love all States close to Canada border. Love agriculture lands. Like to watch your vlog good jobs close to nature Love for all good natures.
I put my hollyhocks out andddd their dead lol 😆 I swear I do this every year but it’s possible the garden bunny had his own snack time. I like those fuzzy leaves that look like giant lambs ear. Still waiting for the fiddleheads to appear..
Since I've started growing so many things since Ive started my flower farm I've started to multisow a lot of things in containers, &then prick out/ pot up into cell trays also. Because sometimes I don't need an entire tray of something, & I'm unsure of the growth rate of a lot of things. So if I sow, say, 10 different things, & I'm unsure what should go in the same tray together, I'll mulitsow in containers, & when I see that a couple things are growing at a similar rate, I'll pot them up into the same tray...
yes! More and more I’m really loving that method.
Cool plant / hose / dog washer set up!
Yes, I love stuff that does double duty and it turns out that dog bath tubs are also perfect for watering plants!
Enjoyed watching the update. I have one 3 tier growing rack, and have no room for another (I could make room, but other people live here too...lol!). So once I get my cold hardy annuals out I can start the next round of annuals which should happen next week. Zone 6b.
You are going to love the snail/corkscrew vine! So glad you remembered my suggestion and are trying it out!
Not a single one of mine germinated
The 4-pack pots the Lavender are in are interesting. Will have to look at other vids or storefront.
I regret not starting Sweet Pea. Half-tempted to find seeds today but I'm in 5b - IDK
Those are the Epic pots. Incredibly study and should last forever. More about them in my seed starting gear video from a few weeks ago but here’s an affiliate link: Epic 4-cells (use code IMPATIENTGARDENER for 5% off): bit.ly/Epic4cell
@@TheImpatientGardener I suspected! Love the slits on the sides also. I have Bootstrap stuff but those 4-cells are what I need. Thank you!
Erin! It is still a little shocking to me to hear that your last frost date is in May. After growing up in Canada, living for many years in Chicago, I'm now gardening in coastal Georgia. I put my tomatoes in the ground about three weeks ago after starting them from seed. Isn't that crazy?!! It is my first year actually growing anything down here but, I am still surprised when I remember not everyone is as far along. It was pushing it because we had a couple low nights immediately after, and I won't say they've put on a ton of growth yet but, they're in which always feels like summer to me. Fingers crossed they don't melt in the humidity 🤞🤞
I just saw on another you tube channel this morning that asters don’t like heat mats. Maybe take them off the mat, and maybe they will germinate? May be worth a try.
Yes someone else mentioned that. Doh! I took them off so we’ll see
If they can spring back.
My Emelia ‘Irish Poet’ is more of a lime green than the dark green leaves of the straight species E. coccinea.
Oh thank you! that is so helpful. So I bet I'm not seeing chlorosis, I'm just seeing the true leaf color. Last year I lost the whole tray when the greenhouse took a ride in a wind storm so I never got to plant any out to see how a fully grown plant looked.
@@TheImpatientGardener I planted it in the hot sunny area of my garden. It actually filled out quite a bit by the end of the summer and bloomed from about Midsummer on. I let it get too leggy. Before I got it in the ground. I’m hoping to be better at planting my seedlings on time this year.
I’ve had good germination of asters by winter sowing and inside without a heat mat, they seem to prefer it cooler for germination.
I only have lisianthus started yet but with those and my houseplants the fungus gnats are thriving already lol lots of sticky traps around and its helping but have to try to tackle it this weekend.
They are such a pain!
Try looking into some videos here on youtube on neem cake , its been really helpful to me.
Everything looks great! Thus far, I’ve started foxgloves, snapdragons, rudbeckia, and scabiosa. Will start ageratum and gomphrena in another week or two. I’ve learned that not starting things too early is key!
That Madame Butterfly Bronze is beautiful. I bought the seeds last year from Johnny seeds. I also bought the Potomac Cherry Rose. It was my favorite.
It's amazing how teenie, tiny the geranium seedling are and your seedlings that have chlorosis may like a bit more iron than other seedlings while they grow.
I love Madame butterfly snaps! I’m in zone 9b and several of mine overwintered this year, even though we have had a very cold and long winter!!
Snowing here in Ontario, Canada also...waiting to go out and start my garden cleanup
Thank you for sharing your setup and progress. I too have a tray of mixed plants that are growing at different rates and I specifically chose them based on their germination times, they still came up at different times. I see that you are using vermiculite, i am discovering it is a godsend for what I grow. I am finding it a challenge to keep my foxglove seedlings alive, i can’t seem to keep up with their watering or spritzing. I have a fan that is on all the time. What is your trick?
Hello my friend 👋❣️ how are you doing?
the pleasure is me meeting you my friend
Helpful and interesting. Thank you.
I fell in love with Medinilla after seeing huge specimens growing in the Philippines! The foliage is striking, but I hope you share when you get some blooms! 😍
Your seedlings look great. I have been growing salvia argentea and purple bell vine from seed for the last few years. I was first introduced to these beautiful plants after seeing them on your channel. Love them.
I have been trying to start both these seeds since seeing them in Erin's garden. Got bell vine to germinate last year but then it just stayed tiny. Started seed in January. Any special tips to help me? I have same last frost date as Erin.
Thanks for keeping it real, Erin!
Looking good!! Do you remember the name of the lavender??
Ahhhh, Logee's!!! I make a trip to their greenhouses nearly every February, when it is so dreary out. It is a magical place, so many vines and creepers that have escaped and are climbing all over the place. A 120+ year old Ponderosa lemon!! If you are ever out on the east coast, I hope you can try to get there!
Sounds beautiful and dangerous! 😀
Our last frost date is May 10th as well. I haven’t started any seeds yet but hopefully this weekend! 🌷💚🙃
I’m always surprised by the date because I’m in 6 and mine is later. Must be the lake 🤷♀️
Thank you Erin. I’ve always wanted a Brazilian orchid. Not sure how to spell its other name. They are absolutely stunning! Maybe I’ll have to check Logees out. 🌷💚🙃
Erin! I’m growing my first Nicotiana seeds this year inspired entirely by you😁seeing your tiny seedlings all together made me feel better as 5 minutes in I gave up on perfectly sowing 2 a cell😂
It is tricky, but I used a damp toothpick this year and it was pretty easy actually! Great to find those little tips.
My Madame Butterflies are not sprouting I’ve followed directions on the seed packet Luckily I have seeds left I’m going to try again 😢
Well no wonder my delphiniums didn’t germinate! I need to take it from you and only start the amount of plants that I can use. Right now I have 60 plus geraniums. What was I thinking! Tons of other things and not near enough garden for all of it. I’ll be giving away a lot of plants this year.
Have you ever grown salpiglossis from seed? I bought a seed packet impulsively and have no idea what i'm doing. The pictures that I see of them on google look really beautiful. Like a cross between nicotiana and petunia.
Better Gro Special Orchid Potting Mix (bark nuggets [not flakes] with large perlite chunks and charcoal) is the best blend that is available everywhere, Lowe's/Home Depot, etc.
Thank you! I’ll look for that in the future.
I just heard asters don’t like heat to germinate
When do you start fertilizing your seedlings? I've heard after they get at least 4 sets of true leaves and then only like 1/4 strength till planted outside. I've planted hundreds of flowers with soil blocks on the 17th and 20th. They are really starting to take off finally, but tiny. I have my grow lights about 2 1/2 inches so they don't stretch. I noticed your lights are way up high. When should I put mine up higher? I just don't want an epic fail bc of a mistake. I did notice a lil bugger stuck in water this morning. I'm almost certain it was a gnat. How on earth that bugger got there is beyond me. It was on a tray that still has the plastic wrap on till a few more germinate. I've been diligently looking twice a day for bugs. I have a fan blowing pretty hard on them too. I saw no other signs, but now I'll be on the extra alert as I've heard they are hard to get rid of. I have the yellow sticky things but haven't put them on yet feeling it will attract gnats. Guess I better whip them out.😅 Everything is looking great. Thanks for sharing 😊
Fertilizing: First off, I am a chronic underfertilizer and that's not necessarily a good thing. When I'm on my best fertilizing behavior, I start fertilizing when the first set of true leaves is fully developed, or when the seedling start looking a little off color. Usually just the act of potting them up and moving them from seed-starting mix to potting mix gives them a boost of nutrition so I can wait a bit after that step. When I do fertilizer I use a liquid organic feed (seaweed + fish emulsion is a really good combo, Neptune's Harvest has both) at 25% strength and apply about every two week. As they grow I bump that up to 50% strength for the rest of the time.
Grow lights: Distance from plants depends entirely on what kind of lights you're using and how strong the bulbs are. Fluorescent lights should be about 2" from the tops of seedlings, but LEDs (and particularly strong LEDs) should be much more, possibly 18". Usually the information that comes with the light will give information on distance.
@The Impatient Gardener Thank you Erin😊
I’m in southeastern Wisconsin too. When do you normally start your seeds?
Erin I wanted to ask if using pieces of crock to block drainage holes is a thing in America? I'm from the UK and it's so encouraged amongst gardeners but not a thing I see a lot of American gardening youtubers doing, just an interesting cultural difference I've noticed 😁
It’s not! I’ve noticed that difference myself. I can’t explain why, although I’ve rarely seen issues from not using them. I do have a small collection of broken pots around on the rare occasion that I do need a piece of crock for a very large hole (which you rarely find on pots here).
Caught a glimpse of your timer with built in plugs strip. Where did you find that?!!
That timer is amazing! One side is timed (for lights) and the other is on all the time (for heat mats and fans). Here’s a link (links to other gear is also in the description): amzn.to/3Y9huLv
Erin,
I won't mention citrus if you don't mention Wintergreen, lol. I LOVE Wintergreen plants, but all they do for me is die! 😥 I've vowed--no more buying Wintergreen.....for now. 😉
My Madame butterfly are coming along nicely and close to ready to pinch. When do you feel comfortable planting them out?
Sorry. My last frost date is also May 10th!
Have you ever considered using fluval stratum in your soilless mixes? I have been trying it and I really like it.
I am so envious! I so much would like to start plants from seed, but our basement is so cold in the Winter and it stays very cool in the summer. Your basement must have enough heat and you are so lucky! Do you think that heating mats would make up the difference for a basement like ours? I could put in lights w/o any problem, but I fear the mats wouldn't be enough. Your snapdragons look so good. I can't wait to see them bloom out! Thanks so much.
I find that heat mats can raise the ambient temperature by 10-15 degrees. The mylar covering I do on the racks helps keep heat in too, I think. Also if you use fluorescent lights, that will bring the temp up. We do have some heat on that side of the basement, but it is still a little cool for some things.
@@TheImpatientGardener Thank you very much for the ideas.
My geraniums I grew from sees last year were on the yellow side like they had chlorosis. I don't know why
when will you start your dahlias? I am fairly sure I started mine too early...lol
I usually pot mine up in mid April. For reference, I use May 10 as my 90% average last frost date and plant dahlias in the ground the first week of June (which is how long it takes to get the soil temperature up high enough). So that’s a little over 6 weeks in pots.
I found aphids mostly on the cotelydon leaves of my seedlings. Can I just cut them off and throw them away? There are some aphids going up the stem and I did spray them with soapy water. Is there anything I should do to treat the soil they're growing in? I grow just for my backyard cutting garden, so I don't have a lot of seeds started.
Thanks for your help.
Asters don't like heat mats, just fyi.
Well that explains that! Thanks.
Hi Erin
The lavender that you cut and grow, do you place your cutting in water, or dip the stem in a rooting hormone and immediately place it in soil? If soil what kind? Tent with plastic at first,etc...? Thx
Cut, strip the bottom of the stem, dip in rooting hormone, into a moist, gritty potting mix along the edge of a pot, then cover with a plastic bag. (I think I did a video on this but I might have imagined that.)
When did you take cuttings from your geraniums? Did you put the cutting directly in soil? I think I need to do that with some of mine as the main plant is losing branches. Getting kind of mushy.
Is family jewels actually Hairy Balls milkweed?
I did not know that Gomphocarpus was milkweed!?!
@@ElderandOakFarm The link I just posted explains it. 😀
It sure is!
It is. I started the variety “Oscar” this year so it’s Oscar Hairy Balls. My teenage sons picked it out so I blame them. LOL
@@thedirtygardener Where did you get that variety? I raise monarchs here in Wisconsin and have found that the monarchs love to lay their eggs on HB milkweed.
Asters do not like heat mats
Erin, I have snapdragons growing in some of the larger starter trays. Can I keep them in those until I plant them out in the landscape?
From where did you source your Verbena Bampton seeds? Mine are not germinating. 😞
Hello my friend 👋❣️ how are you doing?
the pleasure is me meeting you my friend
Does anyone know where to find those large bottom trays?
My asters are doing the same 🤬last year they germinated great!! Why do we torture ourselves?😂
I do wonder sometimes!
What do you use to fertilize your seedlings. I’m afraid of “burning” them
❤❤
What kind of begonia are you growing and where did you get the seeds ?
I am so discouraged, 2nd year in a row that I have tried to start onions, and vegies, and flower seeds. I have a great sunroom, so I have good natural light, plus I am using grow lights. But last year and this year I am getting the knat flies! They eat all the seedlings as soon as they start to show through the dirt. Yes, I have the sticky traps, Yes, I bought a little catcher light that draws them in at night sucks them down the tap to another sticky trap. I only water every 2-3 days from the bottom up. The only thing I can think of is I am using regular potting soil, versus seed starter soil. I just don't have the room to keep repotting up.
Any other Ideas?
I am going to get some Neem Oil, but can't imagine that that is good for the new starts?
I was inundated with fungus gnats….used mosquito bits that I put in an old nylon stocking and soaked in a Water jug for at least 30 minutes, then removed. I find a kitty litter container works well due to its wide mouth. Used that water solution to top-water the plants, and gnat problem dissipated. Needs to be done several weeks in a row.
@@barbaramccann7944 Yes! Mosquito Bits or Mosquito Dunks are the most effective way to deal with fungus gnats that I have found. And, like you mentioned, it is crucial to use it for several weeks to ensure all the larvae at different points in the lifecycle are killed.
I agree mosquito bits or dunks are the answer to my fungus gnat problems! They really work for me! 🌷💚🙃
I've been struggling with germinating Verbena 'Bampton' seeds...it's my first time with this variety of verbena. I stratified for a couple weeks in the fridge & sowed them in darkness for 3 weeks @68-70°, but still haven't had any germination. I'm restratifying them a second time. Do you have better germination with them being on the heatmat?
They are HARD to germinate. I've tried both ways, and what seems to work best is a bit of back and forth from cold to hot. Honestly I bet this is one of those things that would work best in winter sowing, since it comes up readily in my garden from self sowing.The good news is that once you get it going you should always have backups in your garden, presuming you don't accidentally weed them out because they are difficult to see as dark seedlings.
Hi, I like to look at all your videos.
Can you please tell me What you say about your ”must grow? Salvia What?? I did not notice the hole name.
Best Regards Helene in sweden
Hi Helene! It’s Salvia argentea, also known as silver sage
@@TheImpatientGardener Big Thank you🥰 I want to try. I wonder What the name is in Sweden 😂🤔
@@TheImpatientGardener Do you think Silver Argenthia White Birds is the same?? / Helene in sweden
If certain cells don't germinate, can we attempt again. By this time tray is off heat mat, and no humidity dome...I'll try it, but wonder if there is any advice or tips on this? Love seeing your seed set up! Using what you have!
You can try but you’ve already identified the main problem with it. You might try sowing some in a separate small pot or cup and then transplant those to the empty cells. Or when it comes time to thin seeds, should you need to, you could very carefully tease one out and transplant to the empty cell.
@TheImpatientGardener Thanks so much! Will try
My madame butterfly red seedlings still don’t have true leaves yet (3.5 weeks since germination) they are reddish… what am I missing?
The M.B. red color is really red! It is a distinctly different color than the other M.B. colors and it does seem to be growing a bit slower than the others. Hang in there with them, I think they are just a little slower.
Hi , could you give me the name of that Salvia that has the cute fuzzy on it? It looks interesting to me, thanks from Ann in Ohio🙂
Salvia argentea aka silver sage
@@TheImpatientGardener I am having a hard time w these seeds. They germinate but do not grow. Maybe I'm keeping too moist. Do I need fresh seeds every year?
@@sandrakay8540 I haven’t found them to be particular about age. They do like to grow on a bit drier than a lot of seedlings. Some years mine do get a little sluggish until the temperatures warm up and then they seem to romp.
Yes we can read the seed packet but some people are visual learners and would rather die than read about it 😅
🤣
Came to find the good hair comment. None?!
Well I better not say it then. Sheesh.
LOL, you're not wrong. I shot this right after I shot the snow tour video and I quickly dried my hair, so it was just a hot mess all the way around.