Terri - you're very lucky! I'm glad you were able to move somewhere with so much space. There is a classified section on the website, although most people use it more for buying/selling plants/seeds/etc. Here is the link: http://garden.org/forums/view/...

As for heat lamps, etc., you really don't need to do that for daylilies, especially not in zone 7b! Even here in one of the most northern states you can be in (we're north of part of Canada!), I got away without any of that last year. I just stuck the sprouting seeds in seedling pots by a window. For you (and even for me, if I wanted), I would just start the seeds outdoors when the weather is warm enough and keep the ground moist until the seedlings are well-established.

...Or, you can do like I did this year, plant them in seedling trays, leave them outdoors in the sun for a weekend while you're away and the temps soar and conditions are dry...killing off all but the most tolerant seedlings. I was actually surprised by several seedlings that looked like they were beyond dead and yet they sprouted back up with green shoots within a week or two after my...ahem, little drought tolerance test. I wouldn't suggest you expect your seedlings to survive drought conditions miraculously, but it does go to show that they are tough puppies and are great additions to the garden.

Terri- One cheap thing you can do for seed starting is "Winter Sowing" of perennial and shrub and tree seeds. Many of these want or tolerate winter, and sprout in the spring. All it takes is a bunch of old gallon milk jugs or similar, and a bag of seed starting mix, and a pair of scissors. Then you can save the lights for annuals that want to explode into growth in a warm place. Another nice thing about Winter Sowing is you can set it all up in December when you have time. I also garden in a warm zone, I hear the folks from the North talk about doing it in Jan or Feb, that is too late for me, I might miss the only cold spell of the winter, and sometimes spring starts the end of January here. That is why this seed swap is at the perfect time for me, the on in January is just too late.

I thought I would mention , if I am out of something you (anyone) might want Mention it here and I will see if I have any to add on ,
Sometimes I might have more ,
I am really not having as many chosen as could ,, to say that . However , folks only choose their wants , same as me

Terri the Braves are who I use to watch when I was younger. Tom Glavine, Greg Olson, David Justice, and Ron Gant where the best back in the early 90's. I'm 33 so I don't remember any of them from the 80's.

Way to go Lisa you racked up girl

DND I start my DL's outside also

Mary if your winters are ever too short for a certain seed you can always cold stratify your seeds in the fridge by putting them in some damp peat moss. It works great for tree and shrub seeds especially larger seeds.

The fridge trick is one I have done- I don't even bother with peat moss, I use a moist paper towel in a baggie! But the milk jug thing is nice because there is a really long period in spring where they grow slowly, so transplanting can be spread out and delayed quite a while if necessary. The ones from the refrigerator need more attention in the spring, when the garden chores pile up fast (I usually resume mowing by February). They really need to get into some "soil" right away when they sprout.
I have even used the milk jugs for things that need two winters outdoors They just sit under a cedar tree, and sit, and sit. Then one day a year and a half later they sprout. Now that is fun.

Oh my you guys need to stop posting those gorgeous pictures of those day lily crosses. I won't be responsible if you send me into seed OD

I feel no shame in getting others addicted to daylilies. It is a healthy obsession I feel inclined to cultivate in everyone.

I love being a seed enabler!

I woke up to see that I sold 8 packs overnight for a total of 44 sold and 28 bought. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to share my garden with others

When I plant a seed that I obtained from another gardener, I write their name on the back of the plant marker so I know who shared that beautiful plant with me. I have plants growing in my gardens from gardeners that have passed on. It makes me think of them every time I see a beautiful bloom.

Elana, I feel like I should send you a check, I have chosen so many of your offerings

Lisa, no worries! Happy to share since I'm a seed hoarder. Plus my garden is so tiny I only grow 1-2 plants of any one variety in any year. And I have so many different types of seeds I never grow the same thing twice in a row. So if I get a pack of 100 seeds what else am I going to do with them but give them away? People have a lot more space to fill than I do!

THE CUBBIES WON!!!!! The Goat hex is g-o-n-e! Now I have to deal with winter baseball withdrawals and wait for Spring training. I'm not as much into football -- too much drama and not always the good kind. Baseball is like apple pie to me Oh and Daniel, the Braves are on a rebuild - so just wait and see - we're getting our mojo back!

I am sad, maybe a bit embarrassed that my seeds were not top picks. I really have nice flowers, but I did not offer seeds for everything I grow because I either could not figure out how to collect the seed (like geraniums!) or I could not speak for the germination rate or didn't have time to list everything or well...I grow ho-hums.

I have never been very successful growing things from seeds, so this is a real walk of faith for me. I have thrown away hundreds of starter cells -- hundreds! So, I am hoping I can get it right soon and enjoy what everyone else is growing. This year I think I am going to set my little starter cells in a tray of very shallow water and keep them moist from below. I just found out this year that most of the seeds I purchased should have been stratified before planting. I'm assuming that's the biggest mistake I made. I have tried the refrigerator thing and I was thrilled to see that a bunch of my seeds sprouted. But, when I pulled them out of the paper towel and put them in dirt they all died. Go figure. Then, I can never figure out how I am supposed to determine between a planting depth of 1/8"-1/4" so maybe I'm planting too deep. I think I might try DND's drought tolerance test too.

Hope y'all have a good day! I am on my way outside to work on pruning the holly bushes (OUCH!), weeding and pulling up dead lawn. Yay. No rain here since August 4th.

Terri, I think that a lot of seeds can be started indoors without any heat mat.

IF you're like me, the easiest way to kill seedlings is by over-watering.
Here's what I do to help seedlings survive my over-watering compulsion:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...

If your seedling mix holds too much water, it makes over-watering almost unavoidable (for me). So I also "open up" or "loosen" any potting mix I buy by adding coarse amendments (screened pine bark for me, but Perlite or grit help, too. Even coarse sand is too fine to "open up" potting mix.

If you've had bad luck using tiny plastic cells in 1020 trays, maybe consider the "old school" way of starting seedlings: in big flats. Maybe you'll have better luck that way, but you will have to "prick out" the seedlings into Dixie Cups or 3" - 4" pots soon after they emerge (like when they have 1-2 pairs of true leaves, if not sooner).

I consider most perennial seeds MUCH harder to start than most annual seeds. Maybe practice seed-starting on zinnia or marigold seedlings, or some vigorous vegetable.

Nothing like a tray full of vigorous seedlings that jump right up and then drag their tray out to the garden so they can jump into the soil. If you get in their way they'll elbow you aside to fulfill their destiny. Compared to common vegetables, many perennial flowers are demanding fuss-budgets!

(I tried to start some perennials my second year starting seeds, and got ZERO spouts from 3-4 trays of seeds. And those were 98-cell and 128-cell trays! Over-watering AND no stratification. But I have had SOME Pacific Giant Delphiniums sprout with no stratification, say 20-40% germination rate.)

- - - - -

They WILL need light as soon as they emerge, so I agree you need a light fixture. (Sunny windows tend to get too hot while the sun shines in, then too cold and drafty at night. Plus you only get enough light from them for a few hours per day.)

I would look for 48" shop light fixtures on sale. One fixtures with two tubes would let you keep two trays of seedlings under good light, or four trays under insufficient light, but you could move them around

Make sure the bargain fixtures DO have light bulbs already, or add that into the total cost to see if the "bargain" was really a bargain.

(Edited to add: Look for a "Habitat for Humanity Restore" for 48" shop lights. Like a Salvation Army thrift shop but with construction stuff. If you check it every few weeks, you have a good chance of finding shop lights eventually. There are also some websites dedicated to local recycling.)

Restore is my favorite place to shop. You never know what you'll find there.

I got some great seeds tonight, this spring is going to be crazy. I'm going to need to start a go fund me page for a tiller

Mary It looks like yours and KarenHolt's seeds where among the most popular tonight

My new name could be "Mary Appleseed". I bet he had fun too.

The local post office workers call me the seed lady because I am always mailing seeds to someone.

Karen, how did you do collecting seeds from fresh look red? They never seem to have time to fully mature here so I get very few viable seeds from it. I guess I should try and start heating the greenhouse sooner so they get a head start.

Rick, Thank you for the acorn!

I sold 65 packets and have bought 45.

I just love this swap system and the ability to choose what seeds come back to me. I too have and still join in on the "surprise" swaps but 9 out of 10 packets get donated to a newbie gardener because I have it or they are commons.

My "Sold" are lagging far behind my "bought".

Well, often veggies are the last to go.

mine too Rick

Lisa, those are planted in full sun. They were also late. As you said, I had a heck of a time germinating them. Then saving them from our rains. But, once they started to grow, they grew pretty quickly. We have very long seasons here so mine all have a chance to go to seed. I did think they took a bit longer than the First Flame Oranges and the other celosias I grew to go to seed. They are just now looking puny here. And I have stopped watering back in August when the heat finally broke. They do really well in our long season and with our heat. We had 2 solid months this year of 115 degree heat index. Every single day. They held up great.

ishareflowers said:The local post office workers call me the seed lady because I am always mailing seeds to someone.

That's better than me. I think the guy at my post office is convinced that 'seeds' is my code for something else.