ok so i bought some delphinium seed and i have never grown them before . the pack says to germinate them in the dark . i have never planted anything before that needs to be started this way . can somebody help me out and tell me how to go about it please ?

Just cover the seeds with vermiculite or fine potting soil. They prefer cooler temps to germinate, too, 65 to 70. I've seen recommendations to chill them for a week or so first, but I didn't and they came up fine for me. Don't let them dry out, but don't let them get soggy or they'll rot.

cool THANK YOU for the info . i am new at this greenhouse thing . so i am trying to plant things i never could before . i think i will just bring them in the house to germinate keep them in the kitchen . the kitchen reminds me of a cave lol . cool and dark and away from the rest of the house . there is a window but unless i am cooking the curtains stay closed . i only cook on the weekends since my husband drives a truck that is the only time he is home . being an empty nester isn't what it's cracked up to be .

Just make sure to get them into the light when they germinate. I started mine about 3 years ago, so I'm not absolutely sure what I did, but I would have remembered if I'd done anything out of the ordinary. Only thing I do remember is that was the year I discovered that not everything likes being on a heat mat!

the cost of plants has went so high that it is seeds or nothing for me . so i may be asking a million questions . i could ask my mom but she doesn't grow anything in her greenhouse that i care for much . she grows veggies and one or 2 annuals marigolds and cockscombs BORING ! . to me it is anyway i like veggies the same as anybody else but i love my flowers more . any suggestions on starting foxgloves ladies ? are they easy or a pain ?

They're pretty easy, I think. And they'll like the same environment for germination as your delphiniums...cooler temps, 60-65. Except don't cover the seeds, just press them gently in. They require light for germination. What I usually do with surface sown seeds is sprinkle them on the soil, then use a spray bottle of water to sort of force them into better contact with the soil. You may not see flowers till the second year with them, but they tend to self seed. And remember, if you have kids or pets, these guys are poisonous. I mostly grow flowers, too. A few veggies to keep DH happy, but the flowers are for ME! I had a neighbor some years back and her husband was always complaining when she planted flowers that you couldn't eat them. Her reply was, "But they feed my soul!"

>> her husband was always complaining when she planted flowers that you couldn't eat them. Her reply was, "But they feed my soul!"

Bees eat the nectar and spread the pollen. For a lot of crops: no bees, no fruit!

P.S. In the PNW, slugs seemed to like Delphinium seedlings better than anything else. I had to get them pretty big before I set them out, or the slugs would mow them right down to the soil surface overnight.

Now I use beer saucers and slug bait regularly.

But once my Delph got big, they avoided it completely !

thanks for the info . i will know now that they both like cool temps . have you tried crumbled up eggs shells to keep the slugs from your plants ? the beer works pretty good but the shells are an added measure to keep them away . hurts for them to crawl across the shells so they stay away .

I don't buy many eggs.

For a laugh, Google:
youtube slugs electric

or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

I can see that you're going to have to revise your raised beds, Rick!

Naah, the battery-powered zapper is too low-tech.

I want the moving-target-indicator radar/lidar paticle-beam slug zapper!

Or trained attack geese.

Like when I proposed cattle prods, at work, to motivate the newer software engineers to follow our code standards.

I was corrected.

The MODERN method uses AUTOMATED shock collars with built-in TASERS. .

As my boss said: "Ya hit a guy with a cattle prod, he gets right back up. A Taser, now - he goes down and stays down. He won't forget that soon!"

Holy cow, Rick! You're serious about getting rid of your slugs. I was going to suggest DE, but I don't even know it will work for them but I can see that's too tame for you.

You have some serious delphiniums going on there. I have never had much luck with them but I really like them. Trying again this year though.

Now, now, you guys are going to scare poor Crystal!

haaaaaaaa no way ! i ain't skeeered a bit . to many crazy hillbillies in my neck of the woods . i have just about seen it all by now . they go to drastic lengths around here to protect their plants .

I think the main problem with DE is that it works best dry. We have some drizzle 5-7 days pert week, most of the year. Also, it was quite expensive the one time I shopped for it.

"Sluggo", the iron phosphate kind, is non-toxic enough for me.

Funny, the "bad slug years" seem to come and go. We had two really terrible years in a row, and fewer slugs since then.

The laser-and-particle-beam slug system (trademark "Slug Wars") comes from an SF novel where they had a little R2-D2-shaped solar-powered garden gnome that waited patiently for pests to show up, and then zapped them. He would cheerfully trundle from garden to garden, clearing each in turn. I want one! And I want to train it to do some weeding while it waits. I can dream, can't I?

I'm getting in line for number 2 when those come out!

So, Crystal, you have a shiny new greenhouse? I do most of my seed starting in the GH so feel free to ask for advice. I'm always happy to share my ignorance. Although, I'd think in your zone you could do a lot of direct sowing?

Okay, I'll be third in line, I want one too!

Yes, DE works best dry so I guess that won't work for you. But the price has come down. We use it a lot for the dang FireAnts!!!

woofie i am in a tad warmer climate in the new house we bought this past oct than i was in our old house on the creek . however this week has been the first full week of warm weather this year . we went from a serious all day sleet storm last thursday to 75- 80 degrees every day this week. darn weather is unpredictable this year . i never was a fan of direct seeding anyway unless i am planting lettuce or greens . plus the heat in the greenhouse is a huge help to my arthritis and helps warm me up when i am anemic . i would have loved getting it going much earlier . but the rain, snow, and sleet got us behind on getting the greenhouse kit together . i am very thankful to you all for helping me . basic plants are easy . it is the perennials that give me pause . i had never tried any from seed until now . as far as the slugs i guess i will stick to beer and egg shells . if i spend much more money my hubby may start hinting at DIVORCE lol . not really but he works to hard for me to blow it all on gardening .

I love playing in the GH when the weather is chilly outside! Nice and toasty and no nasty wind! I don't do much direct sowing either, but that's mostly because we have industrial strength weeds and it's just too hard to clear them out in advance to direct sow. At least we don't have to deal with slugs here! Yuck!