If you successfully grow plants from seed

[Laura Corin]

Do you have problems with 'damping off' (seedlings collapsing with fungal infections). Every time I've tried to raise things from seed in the past, this has happened to me. I've researched what I need to do (sterilise pots and soil, make sure that the soil is not kept too wet....) so I'm hoping for better luck this time. I have a large area that I want to plant but don't want to spend much money, so hope to raise perennials and grasses from seed.

 

Any tips very welcome,

 

Thanks

[beaners]

For perennials you can look into winter sowing. It doesn't require space in the house, which I like. I've also never had trouble with damping off outside.

 

I usually only start tender vegetables in the house, and I sprinkle those with cinnamon. I don't know if it actually works, or if there is some other difference in the environment, but I don't use special starting soil and have good results.

[OrganicAnn]

We've never had a problem. (we usually have a different problem every year, so maybe this will be our year for damping off).

 

What we have to worry about when moving plants outside is wind. Small indoor plants can't handle much wind. We usually plant out with some type of shelter (cloches or such).

 

We use peat pots and new soil mix for our pots inside.

[beaners]

If you live where it's just too cold for that, try a gentle breeze from a fan. Make sure they aren't too crowded, and make sure they have adequate light.

 

Oh, I do this too. I put a rotating fan in the room and make sure the lights are right on top of the plants to keep them from getting leggy. I raise them on chains as the seedlings grow.

[God IS]

Make sure you use only sterile potting mix in new or clean containers. Make sure that the air temp is not too cool. Cool + damp = damping off

[Truscifi]

Oh, I do this too. I put a rotating fan in the room and make sure the lights are right on top of the plants to keep them from getting leggy. I raise them on chains as the seedlings grow.

 

:iagree: This is what I do as well. And I put a little bit of cotton string in the bottom of each little pot so that it sticks out the holes in the bottom. Then I put them in a tray and add the water to the tray. The string wicks the moisture up into the pots. It keeps them moist longer and helps prevent damping off.

[MomsintheGarden]

I use to have problems with damping off, so I understand your frustration. Remember that damping off is caused by a fungus, so you want to use a natural antifungal to ward it off. I use long-fibered milled sphagnum moss, which is NOT peat moss. Dehydrated long-fibered sphagnum moss was used as a wound dressing in WWI because of its antifungal properties.

 

Here's what I do to avoid damping off:

 

1. I use self-watering seed trays that water from the bottom. I've tried lots, and these are my favorite:

http://www.gardeners.com/Deep-Root-Seedstarting-System/SeedstartingKits_Cat,35-657RS,default,cp.html

I do not order the whole system, as I don't use the domes. I call the company and order the cell trays, reservoirs, platforms, and capillary mats individually. It's a lot cheaper that way.

2. I fill my clean, sterilized (in the dishwasher) cell trays with premoistened potting soil or seed starting mix.

3. Then I sow my seeds.

4. I squirt the seeds well with water to make sure they have good soil contact.

5. After sowing, and squirting, I sprinkle about 1/8" (1-2 mm) of milled long-fibered sphagnum moss on top of each cell. I use this product, but it's available from other companies:

http://www.mosserlee.com/product/530_NoDampOffOrganicSeedStarter.aspx

6. I fill the reservoir with water.

7. I do not cover the trays with anything unless the seeds need darkness to sprout (like pansies). For pansies, I cover with several layers of newspapers, and check the seeds every day after the first week.

7. I check the trays every few days and fill the reservoirs if necessary (they never need it before sprouting).

8. I never, ever water my seedlings from the top after sowing until they are almost ready for transplanting.

 

The sphagnum moss stays dry for a while, about 2 weeks or so. Just keeping the soil surface dry helps, but the moss keeps the damping off fungus at bay even when wet.

 

These techniques have eliminated damp off for me. Other gardeners have had success with running a fan on low near their seedlings and/or watering with chamomile or thyme leaf tea. Both of those herbs contain antifungals.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[aliall]

I used to have problems with damping off. It is always heartbreaking to see them keel over and die :)

 

Three things that I think have helped are running a fan in the room, watering from the bottom, and spritzing the top of the soil occasionally with chamomile tea (an antifungal).

 

Last year I didn't lose any to damping off and I bet I started around 100 plants.

[Laura Corin]

I've had some great advice.

 

Any tips for the most absolutely idiot-proof perennials to grow from seed? Bright colours, cool climate, moderate rainfall, breezy, decent soil. Good seed-heads to look cool into the frosts would be a bonus.

 

Many thanks

 

Laura

[butterflymommy]

I have successfully grown columbine, delphinium, daisies, hibiscus, grape anemone, hollyhock, foxglove, alpine strawberries, forget me not, and any number of annuals from seed.

 

I don't know if it was damping off, but I've never been able to start oriental poppies from seed. They sprout, live for a couple weeks, then shrivel up and die. I've planted other stuff in the same pots/ soil the poppies died in, and it lived, so again, I don't know if it was fungal or not.

 

I've also had problems with one particular type of zinna "flopping." Yet I've had no problem with other types of zinna.

 

I have an indoor grow light, we use flats/ small pots and sterile seed starting mix. We tried coir one year and it was awful. Wonder Soil (sold in large bags by jung seed) is great but expensive, the regular seed starting mixes are fine.

 

Sometimes you need to stratify perennial seeds-- just stick them in the fridge for a few weeks when you first plant them, then put the flats at room temperature with lights.

[Laura Corin]

This is interesting. You are all talking about indoor grow lights, but I haven't heard that method on UK sites. I wonder why. This is the advice from my seed supplier:

 

Seed is sown in trays of a well structured compost which have been previously watered. We would recommend the use of an approved pre sowing fungicide drench on the compost. Unless the seed is particularly fine it should be lightly covered with compost or a 50:50 mix of compost and Vermiculite. The trays should be wrapped in polythene or covered with glass and paper to restrict moisture loss. Once germination has taken place the covering must be removed and the seedlings allowed to develop in a cool, shaded, well-ventilated glasshouse.

 

I had been planning to germinate in the house (if needed to get the required warmth) then move them to our glassed-in porch. The porch is about six feet by six feet and has windows on the north, east and south sides. I was going to put the seedlings on the north side and have a fan play over them. Does that sound like insufficient light?

 

Thanks

 

Laura

[MomsintheGarden]

This is interesting. You are all talking about indoor grow lights, but I haven't heard that method on UK sites. I wonder why. This is the advice from my seed supplier:

 

Seed is sown in trays of a well structured compost which have been previously watered. We would recommend the use of an approved pre sowing fungicide drench on the compost.

I would not use a commercial fungicide on my seed-starting soil, because I am an organic gardener. The sphagnum moss, and chamomile and thyme teas recommend above provide a gentle approach that is less likely to kill beneficial soil fungi.

 

Unless the seed is particularly fine it should be lightly covered with compost or a 50:50 mix of compost and Vermiculite. The trays should be wrapped in polythene or covered with glass and paper to restrict moisture loss. Once germination has taken place the covering must be removed and the seedlings allowed to develop in a cool, shaded, well-ventilated glasshouse.

 

Seeds are usually covered with soil to a depth of about 4x their width. The exceptions are very fine seeds, which are just pressed into the soil, and seeds that require light to germinate, such as lettuce.

 

If you are careful about keeping the soil moist through bottom watering, you don't need to cover. Covering will encourage damping off.

 

This copy was written for commercial non-organic growers who grow thousands of seed starts in large greenhouses. Keep that in mind when reading it.

 

I had been planning to germinate in the house (if needed to get the required warmth) then move them to our glassed-in porch. The porch is about six feet by six feet and has windows on the north, east and south sides. I was going to put the seedlings on the north side and have a fan play over them. Does that sound like insufficient light?

 

Since you live in Scotland, you may not have enough hours of light for growing transplants right now. I really don't know because I have no experience growing things in your area. I would guess that you will probably be ok in your porch when the day length reaches about 10 hours, if your seed trays get good southern exposure. You will need to rotate your trays every couple of days to get your plants to grow straight because they will bend towards the light.

 

Thanks

 

Laura

Do you have a local library with books on gardening in your area? Or a plant nursery? How about a seed catalog that specializes in Scotland? I would look for an experienced gardener in your neighborhood. If you find the right person they can be a wealth of information, not to mention cuttings, perennial divisions, and seeds. Your area is so far north of me (not to mention on the other side of the gulf stream!) that I hesitate to recommend plants.

 

I hope you get the information you need!

 

GardenMom

[missmoe]

I think that is plenty of light. The fan will really make a difference in the damping off. Plenty of good air circulation should help you.

 

Your climate sounds a bit like the coastal climate we have in our part of CA, but I imagine you have shorter days. I live about 1 hour N of LA--tucked into a little pocket between the coast and foothills--lots of fog and chilly damp weather.

 

Do you have to deal with wind? Have you thought about bulbs?

 

I think grasses would grow beautifully there and should be pretty easy to start from seed. Heather might be another good plant to start from seed.

[Laura Corin]

I was offline for a couple of days as we lost power due to high winds. Yes, this is a windy location, but the area I want to plant is behind a growing windbreak and a wall, so should be slightly less windy.

 

Thanks for all your advice. Yes, I'm looking into bulbs to begin the year with. We won't have ten hours of daylight until the third week of February, so I have some planning time.

 

Thanks again,

 

Laura