GungusDingaling
kiwifarms.net
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- Oct 9, 2023
We’re using a window- I may want to look into grow lights but not sure it’s worth the investment right now, since it’s our first time it’s mostly an experiment.
Gardening and Plant Thread
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- Sep 22, 2021
Oh I wish. It’s equivalent to zone 3b for the US, but for annuals it only matters that my frost free dates are about June 1 to Sept 20. Very compact and busy growing season with specialized varieties, but I like having a big break in winter.
Thanks for the pepper info- I had a little success last year but I definitely see how I have to improve technique, they are a marginal plant here (until I get a greenhouse)
Honored guest
kiwifarms.net
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- Dec 16, 2019
Damn, it's good to hear that you're having some luck with peppers, and a grrenhouse even if it's unheated will definitely help. When I grew peppers in my little hobby greenhouse I was able to extend my growing season by about a month/ month and a half on both ends, so 2-3 extra months of growing time.
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2022
Looking into getting a redbud for the side of my house, particularly the rising sun variety. I've heard conflicting information on how well they stand up to wind, and I get some pretty serious wind every year or every other year during hurricane season.
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2019
Not familiar with that variety but what I do know: If you keep it single trunk, trimmed back, and remove suckers it should be fine. These trees are very hardy.
Just like magnolias, their natural range is in tornado and hurricane prone areas so it'll be fine. They tend to get issues at branch joints that compete over being the main trunk causing splits. A trunk will survive any breaks or splits until the bark is able to heal but it will leave some nasty knotting. If the tree does get a split and the split branch lays secure on the ground but the bark hasn't full peeled off the main trunk/root they can survive for several years and even end up rooting at the ground contact location. Even if a bad storm breaks the entire tree to the ground there's a very good chance you'll get a regrowth if the root system is healthy and established enough.
All bees absolutely love these trees and the healthier your local bee population is the less likely weather damage will result in a tree sicknesses. Redbuds are a great place to hang bee hotels, mud dauber boards, and paper wasp nests.
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- Jul 7, 2022
It's close enough to an often-used door that idk about bees or wasps, but I get tons of dirt/mud daubers making nests around my windows every year and idk how to describe it well but the glass amplifies their vibrations as they nest and it drives me up the wall. Perhaps setting up a board on the redbud would lure them away.
nigel p poppycock
kiwifarms.net
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- Jul 13, 2024
This is a curiosity question for my UK peeps--we watch reruns of Gardner's World on Plex, and they talk about "peat free compost" a lot. I figured that compost is what we call potting soil here in the US, but that it's also used to describe regular compost. What is peat free, and why is there such a push (at least in the UK according to this TV show) to get rid of peat?
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- May 5, 2022
It's an eastern redbud (C. canadensis). Make sure it doesn't get iced over with wind, tends to yeet them in half that way. Avoid (prune) bad branch angles <30 degrees.
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- Jul 7, 2022
I'm in Florida and until two weeks ago I would have said ice isn't a concern here
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- Jan 30, 2025
Year after year, I've tried growing flowers from seeds. Every year they'd grow skinny with small leaves. I thought it was a light issue and bought grow lamps, but that didn't help and they still grow spindly. It affects almost all of my sprouts (20+ different species). Any idea what's happening? I just want to grow some special annuals for my mom in time for mothers day.
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- May 5, 2022
Distance to the (artificial) light source too far or at a bad angle. Maybe Zn (would be pale with dark veins) or Ca deficiency (misshapen leaves) but unlikely. Prune back a bit maybe?
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- Jun 6, 2013
What substrate are you growing them in?
Honored guest
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
What kind of growlights are you using?
Can you provide a link to the product or a similar one? I've been seeing alot of cheap chinesium garbage labeled as growlights that don't provide enough light to really do anything.
How far from the seedlings do you have them? Most growlights need to be right next to the seedlings to provide enough light and prevent leggy seedlings.
Do you use a heating mat on your seed trays?
Do you take the heat mat off when the seedlings sprout or leave it on? Leaving a heat mat on after the seedlings sprout can also cause leggy seedlings from rapid growth.
Do you fertilize the seedlings after they form their first set of true leaves?
What growing medium do you use when propagating them? Most seedling growing mediums are lacking in nutrients and will need some added as the seedlings develop.
And of course what are you trying to grow? Not everything grows the same.
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2025
Maybe it's the light being too high up. I wouldn't be able to prune back since it's usually just the sprout with its first two baby leaves.
This crud:
I know it's probably not the best option, but it's convenient to pick up from the hardware store. I mix it with water and press it into a small soil blocker. Then, I press out those soil blocks into a plastic tray. After that I put a seed in the little divot on top and pack with a little more mud on top if the packet calls for it.
I have several ferry-morse grow lights (link). It's a T5 bulbs with a 6400k full daylight spectrum. Not sure if it's chinesium, but it doesn't seem to have an effect on my leggy seedlings besides making them grow towards the lights instead of towards my windows. With the added height of the tray and soil, I'd say my seedlings are about 10" from the light.
I've used a heat mat before, but I made no other observation other than how it dried out my seedlings even faster, so I stopped using it. A good chunk of my seedlings don't get to the true leaf stage and I have never fertilized them. I've grown insect friendly plants like butterfly weed, little bluestem, and penstemon. I've also grown heirlooms like dianthus, lathyrus, and marigolds. The best luck I've had has been with four oclocks, hyacinth bean, and portulacas. For extra luck this year I bought some cactus seeds! I feel dumb for realizing it now, but there's got to be an overcrowding issue since sometimes I'll put two seeds per divot in each block just in case one doesn't sprout, despite germination never being a problem.
Honored guest
kiwifarms.net
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- Dec 16, 2019
The soil you're using should be fine for seed starting it'll hold on to water and it is light and fluffy allowing for good root growth.
10'' is way to much, for seedlings you'll want the light almost on top of the tray, like 2-3 inches away from the dome, Heres a quick video going over some more info on leggy seedlings this guy does an indefinitely better job of explaining info than I can
As for heating mats you only want to use them to increase the rate of germination for your seeds, alot of seeds need warm soil or germinate faster with warm soil, so once most or all of your seeds have sprouted you can remove/turn off your heat mat. When you say that a lot of your seedlings don't get to the true leaf stage what do you mean? Do hey die before they get that far?
Adding two or more seeds to a cell isn't a problem if you have the heart to cull the weaker seedling from the pair, some people (like myself) will try to save both seedlings which just ends up stunting both as the disturbance of the roots retards growth or sometimes kills both. So if you have no problem snipping the weaker seedling go ahead and multi sow if not just stick to one seed a cell.
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2025
The most common issue I'd see after coming home from work would be seeing that the sprouts have fallen over from growing too high. Some would wither and some took a long time to form true leaves. The long term babies would usually get really tall, fall over, bend at the stem, and die. The ones that survived didn't look pretty, but at least they lived. I should've kept it simple, so I'll get some conventional cell trays and put one seed per cell this season. I appreciate your help! Thank you.
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2022
That stuff should be ok. I'm not familiar with it though, and it may be too fine and/or too tightly packed maybe. I'm not a fan of commercial "germinating" mixes. I find that they're too fine and either lock up or dry out too quickly. Or the fertilizer in them is too strong. Johnny's seeds has a nice compost based commercial soil block mix if you're in the US. Vermont Compost Co's Fort Vee mix is all I ever use for my blocks. Good stuff. Well, except for the weird marble chunks, ya have to fish those out. For regular seed starting in cell packs or trays I just use Pro Mix BX. And I don't start feeding the seedlings until they're already leafed out and pretty high. (If I do at all.)
If you're using one of those soil blockers that make the half inch cubes, that may be a problem. Some seeds are very picky about sowing depth and having room for their roots. Onions especially are not compatible with 1/2 inch blocks because they need to be planted a half inch below the soil surface and then they send a rootlet down first before sending the stalk up. If the rootlet hits bottom, it's game over. They stall out. Maybe try germinating in a bigger soil block (I like the 1.5 inch blocks- it's a good size for most) or just using a regular 6 pack.
For years I ignored pepper seed planting depth recommendations and then had problems with the mature plants toppling over in the garden. Once I started following the directions on the seed packets that problem went away. Imagine that!
That should be fine. T5s are da bomb. I love mine. But they do get roasty and for most stuff you don't need a heat mat with them. (Heat mats raise the ambient temps by 10+ degrees. So under T5s they can reach 80+ degrees easy. And fry your seedlings.) And you don't need T5s to be as close as other lights starting out. I generally start them out at about 8 inches above the trays before germination and raise them after first true leaves. By the time the plants are 4-5 inches high the lights are 16+ inches above 'em.
It's hard to guess what goin' on. If stems are collapsing at the soil level you could have Damp Off from contaminated soil or from over watering. As noted, leggy stems usually mean not enough light, but that's unlikely with the T5s.
One thing I do after the seedlings are up is I set up a small fan to blow over them for a while. Like a half hour or so daily. That strengthens stems as they grow and keeps everyone from getting too soggy.
The biggest issue for seed starting indoors for me is the timing. I've found that if I start some seeds too early they just don't do well (even when they're big and look great) when they're planted out. So I try to keep their time under the lights at a minimum. The sooner they get outside and in the soil the better. Even if they're pretty small.
Final thoughts: You may want to try what's called "winter sowing". (And you can probably still do it now.) Basically you make mini greenhouses out of cut up milk jugs, load them with soil and sow your seeds and then set them outside for the seeds to germinate at their own pace. There's lots of info about it online. It works really well for natives and perennials that need a cold period before germinating. And it's kinda crazy fool proof. The other thought is that some plants really prefer to be sown directly in the ground under natural conditions and no amount of coddling them under arifical conditions is going to work. Hope this helps. Good luck!
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2020
i forced my first hyacinths this year! bought 10 for like 2$ at the dicount store, 10-12 weeks in the crisper starting october 10th or thereabouts, and now they're all blooming and smelling fantastic! have loads more plants in the home that i would love to brag about, lots of succulents, big ass philodendron selloum that is my pride and joy etc but i shall save it for another post. can't believe i have ignored this thread for so long. i went a little hogwild with winter bulbs this year as well, splurged on some fancy amaryllis- one of which rewarded me with 12 blooms at once! also have about 20 erlicheer paperwhites creeping up in my very dim apartment. well get there eventually.
EDIT: if this picture is too big i will find a way to reupload it non retardedly
EDIT: if this picture is too big i will find a way to reupload it non retardedly
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2021
Corelle Spring Blossom spotted