I can't wait to try this. Got a big bag of vermiculite waiting for me and just getting the GH cleaned up.

Some of those little seedlings look pretty frisky to me!

I was impressed by the germination. But I'm reluctant to leave the seedlings in there too long, with no soil, nutes. My hands are so clumsy, I often kill tiny seedlings when I prick them out to pot up. I did water them in with a week fish fert solution.

Karen

>> My hands are so clumsy, I often kill tiny seedlings when I prick them out to pot up.

Me, too. Now I try to pull out a scoop of medium with the roots. If I have 1-2 seedlings, I'll pot them together.

If the scoop has 3 or more seedlings, I'll try to encourage the clump to fall apart into smaller clumps, for example by dragging it over a rough surface or parting the seedlings like combing a part into my hair. Or pulling on a shred of bark that sticks out.

Or I'll try to pull or divide a single seedling out of the clump, hoping to pull the clump apart that way, while maybe only killing the one seedling I was working on.

Sometimes I use a cocktail fork, or a bent salad fork with one time cut off. Or a bamboo skewer. Or a paring knife with a very small blade that I have dulled.

I figure that any seedling I've mangled is at risk, so I may plant two singletons in one pot. If so many seedlings sprouted that they are crowded, I probably will need to thin some out eventually.
Some thinning happens accidentally while pricking out.
Some thinning happens when a root is damaged and the potted-up seedling dies.
Some thinning, I have to do deliberately, if TWO potted-up seedlings in same pot both live.

sometimes I use the 3/4" plant tag points for help.. I know I am using a laptop and the screen is small.. but I couldn't see the begonias.. the rest look great though!!!

I agree with Rick....a fork works very well, as do little pointy sticks. I'm actually kind of dreading how things will go this year; my hands have gotten really bad over this past winter, so I can definitely relate to Karen's "clumsy" problem.

My favorite tool for pricking out is wooden chopsticks. I use the wider end to poke a transplanting hole in soil, and use the skinny end to uproot the seedling. I have to say, they are much easier to remove from vermiculite than from potting mix, leaving roots intact.

Poor Rick would pass out if he'd see me transplanting my wintersown stuff.


I dump out the whole blob, usually on their heads. Then I flip 'em right side up, cut into hunks with a knife, like a pan of brownies. Then I transplant hunks.

Are you still conscious, Rick?

Karen

>> cut into hunks with a knife,

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH !!!!!!

(thud)
...
...
...

Where am I? Last I remember, I was reading something about chopsticks and vermiculite, then ...

OH, NO!! The horror, the horror!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH !!!!!!

(thud)

Eeeek! However, I DO use that technique with some things, like lobelia. Indestructible little rascals, those!

Rick? Rick? Are you still there? Quick! Someone call the paramedics!

As I was typing another reply , my whole PC fainted! I'm not going to risk a repeat ...

This year I hope to reduce my queasiness and waste with Lobelia by taking someone's advice about sowing them into a "20-row" tray. That's a 1020 tray (11" x 22") with 20, 10-inch-long rows.

You can dump the whole row out and then GENTLY TEASE it apart with as many seedlings as you want in each chunk. (None of this wanton hacking and slashing with axes and chainsaws SOME people practice! )

Last year I tired to sow 10-15 seeds per cell (72 cells per tray, in 12 6-packs). It seems I got more like 30 seeds and 200% of them germinated. Needless to say, I was too sissy to tear those delicate little vermicelli apart ... you say they're indestructible? I just START to tug at their little toes and I can hear them scream.

"Owww! Ouchie! Le'me go, ya big bully! I don't go pulling on YOUR hair!!!"

Bottom line, they live or they don't. Survival of the fittest. Usually I have two or three times the seedlings that I need, so I don't lose any sleep over losses. Or, more accurately, I don't notice losses.

Karen

Rick, I'm becoming convinced that Karen was an ax-murderer in a former life......

>> Bottom line, they live or they don't. Shrug! Survival of the fittest.

That's smart, it makes sense and obviously it works. When I started fishing, I hated sticki8ng that hook into the poor worm, and the flapping fish bothered me, too.

I keep thinking that SOME day I'll grow up, but there is little evidence of that so far.

>> Karen was an ax-murderer in a former life

I guess that's like being in touch with the circle of life, on the dark side. I bet she's like my neighbor, "Attila the Gardener". Attila gives each plant two chances to thrive and be beautiful, but if it needs a third chance, it gets the axe instead.

And she buys PLANTS, doesn't start from seed. Yikes!

I gotta stop picking on Karen (but it's SOOOOOOOooooo much fun! ) She has a lovely garden, and like you say, whatever works!

Getting back to the whole vermiculite subject, tho, I'm really looking forward to seeing how well that works out for me! Going to start some stuff tomorrow.

Ax murderer! Not all my plants die due to deliberate choice on my part. Sometimes it's natural selection, despite my efforts. Some plants have little tolerance for winter wet clay, or alkaline clay, or hot humid summers, or frozen winters. It's a lot easier and more enjoyable gardening to select stuff that tolerates conditions here than to, say, change the pH of the soil, or prevent snow, monsoon rain, or hurricane-strength winds.

And for some things, I just fail. e.g. I'm begonia-challenged. Despite my best efforts, I do murder those. I love them, so I keep trying.

Rick, I don't buy many plants, most I start from seeds. But some cultivars aren't from seed, so sometimes I do treat myself to a few plants. I have 2 Geranium Rozanne, and they're the best plants I own. They bloom continually from May thru November.

(psst... currently aavailable from Santa Rosa at 35% off)

Karen

Forgot about the vermiculite. I think it would work great for faster growing things, like annual zinnias or petunia. They'd grow faster than my echinacea or begonias that I'm currently trying, and graduate to potting up in soil.

The other thing I'm thinking: I've always used a light sprinkle of vermiculite on top of seeds I'm trying to germinate. I think I should use more, a little thicker layer. Seeds might germinate better, faster, and roots could grow through and down to soil. I think in the past I've skimped too much on the vermiculite.

Karen

The ax murderer bit referred to the callous disregard for stray seedlings from the jugs. I tend to treat each individual little sprout as if it were a nugget of gold, each one to be nurtured and cherished.....until it goes out in the garden and goes belly up! I was NOT referring to any failures with particular plants. Sigh, don't ever ask me about Gerbera daisies......

Yeah, I'm going to try the vermiculite with the quick sprouting stuff. And I'm hoping that it will help reduce problems with fungus gnats, too. I have a couple of amaryllis bulbs that were plagued with gnats, and I just covered the entire top of the pot with a thick layer of fine bird gravel and watered with something (I forget now what it was) that was supposed to help get rid of them, and haven't had a problem since. But bird gravel gets expensive! So you think a nice thick layer of vermiculite on top of potting soil would be better than straight vermiculite?

I don't know woofie.

Straight vermiculite gave impressive germination I thought. But it has no nutes. Seedlings always sprout and grow at their own rate, some faster and some slower. After some get true leaves they should probably be fed. At the same time, some in the container still only have seed leaves. But Jonna said to keep the lid on not to water... so the big guys aren't getting fed yet...

In potting mix, most have at least an initial charge. And once true leaves appear, you can start feeding them. Potting up, root disturbance can give little setbacks. Seeds started in cells can grow undisturbed for a while. I'm thinking potting mix with a thicker layer of vermiculite on top might be a good happy medium. The vermiculite might enhance germination, then I'd remove lid, let them grow, feed when time, etc.

Just a thought, something I might try out.

Karen

kqcrna said: I'm thinking potting mix with a thicker layer of vermiculite on top might be a good happy medium. The vermiculite might enhance germination, then I'd remove lid, let them grow, feed when time, etc.

Just a thought, something I might try out.

Karen

Sounds like what I'm doing this year. I've got about an inch and a half of vermiculite on top of about three and a half inches of potting mix. I kept this container inside so I could keep an eye on its progress. So far, it's going very well. I pre-moistened both mediums at planting time, and I haven't needed to water yet. I do have the cap off of the jug, but otherwise, I've kept the top half closed.



No signs of any disease, mold or other problems...yet.