I just want to be able to be outside again. I have never lived thru a winter like this even in PA when I was a kid. I am now 81 and this keeps me inside to the point I am beginning to feel like 81;

I know. My parents live in WV (where I was raised) and they have been snowed in more than not. It is getting on their nerves and they are getting on each other's nerves.

Two days ago I took some sprouts of the Easter Egg Plant from the coffee filter and put them in the coconut medium. They looked a bit weary when I did it, but I did it carefully and with the tweezer. I put them under the light and watered them and today they are all standing up and getting little green leaves. That made my day. The sun is shining too. That always helps.

nice!!

Morning Allison, Are you melting up there? We can finally see some grass in the fields. I am going to start to ship plants again today.. Keep your fingers crossed that they get to their destinations without freezing. Most are going Southwest and South. Hopefully the storm is out of otheir area before the plants get there. LOL. I am really reluctant, but customers have waited almost a month for shipping. Have a good day. It is to snow again tonight just an inch or so. I am hoping it stays off the coast far enough that we do not get anything.

JB that is awesome.

my front lawn must still have over 3 feet of snow in spots... towards the curb the snow is right under my mailbox.. be lucky if that is gone by June...LOL

I just shipped some coleus cuttings to VA... praying for the best

I have beautiful Aimee Gardenia starter plants. They are about 7 inches tall if not taller, beautiful green foilage, some buds already and I noticed Mealie Bug on them yesterday. How in God';s name that happens is beyond me. No new plants, but those I brought in this past Fall may have some on them. I can't sell or ship them now until I get rid of those little buggers. Nothing seems to be going right this year. LOL I heard yesterday we will be having a wet cool Spring. Just what we need. I have some great cutting of black pussy willow and regular pussy willow that need to be planted. Plus some other cuttings and I just so not have the energy to put them in pots. I need sunshine. Big Time. Sorry to get off the seed subject. I am still lost here and need to find my old gang again with the fragrant gardening group. I did plant some more of the seeds that sprouted using the Dino method yesterday. Have a good day, stay dry and warm. It was snowing and raining when I walked the dog this morning. Not cold, just nasty. Hugs. JB

I have been having a problem with them this year as well.. been fighting them on my coleus all winter... I swear they must be in the soil... think I was getting stoned off all the alcohol I was spraying

I bought ladybugs and turned some loose in the greenhouse and this morning they are eating up a storm on the gardenias. YAHOO.....................love those ladybugs. I have orders to fill and can not so it with bugs.

that would be fun!!!

Isn't spraying seedlings diluted with H2O2 supposed to prevent damping off? I hope so casue that is what I plan to do. I have not done my indoor seeds yet. I am just now finishing my winter sowing.

I had forgotten about mealies in the greenhouse... I need to check my coleus and see if they have any. Some did last year.

Yardqueen, I was so surprised to find them on my gardenias. I have orders to fill and shipping and can not do it until I get rid of these little pests. They came out of nowhere.Funny thing is, they are not on othe hibiscus, or the mandevilla, or the jasmine.
You just never know with them where they will turn up. I need to research and see where they come from.

Yes, I do too, and also aphids. They just appear out of nowhere!

I normally just tear the damp napkin around each seedling, place them in their own container (shallow) leaving the napkin to help retain moisture. I use a light mix of H2O2 in my misting. It may not be a perfect concept, but that is what I am using.

I have seen that done. Maybe I should do that too. I have nasty arthritis in my fingers and sometimes I have a terrible time doing things with very small objects. That is what happens when you get old. LOL

I started a lot of hollyhocks with the paper towel/baggie method. It
worked find with them. Of course, they are large seeds. I am afraid to try small seeds, but I have here a packet of blanket flower seeds, and I may try some of them and some echinacea too.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but I read once that if you place the baggies upright, instead of laying flat, when the roots grow downward because of gravity, they will grow along the paper towel instead of into it.

interesting

(bump)

1.
I don't think the radicle has to point STRAIGHT down. "Mostly down" is fine. Even "horizontal" is probably pretty OK.

Also, small seeds don't need a hole. Just rough up the surface so it will prop the stem up and root down, then sprinkle some vermiculite on top of it, then mist it.

I'll tap or spritz the seedling to knock it off a fork or spoon onto the surface, or into the hole, semi-randomly, then nudge it with a toothpick or bamboo skewer , or just push soil around it so as to shmoosh it into an approximate "down" direction.

Pushing on the soil instead of the seedling is gentler, and lets shaky hands do delicate work.

2.
To pick a sprouted seed up off a coffee filter, or get a soaking seed out of an ice cube tray cell, add enough water to FLOAT the sprouted seeds. Then scoop under the floating seed with a fine-tine cocktail fork or small measuring spoon. Test whether plastic or metal works better for you.

Then nudge the seed or seedling off the fork or spoon with a toothpick or bamboo skewer, or tap the spoon, or shoot it with a mister or sprayer to knock it off. If it doesn't land root-down, nudge it with the toothpick or add soil and press down in such a way to change the seedling's angle.

I found the cheapest, flimsiest metal fork I could, then cut off one tine and bent the others around to suit my whimsy.

3.
I like coffee filters better than paper towels because they have a smooth hard surface e that root hairs don't penetrate. But if the roots grip the paper, cut the paper, don't rip the root loose.

4.
I try to transplant as SOON after the radicle emerges as I can (checking daily). If you're transplanting from coffee filter to a row olf inserts or prop cells, leave a narrow strip cut from a mini-blind slat, in each row, to remind you how far you've planted in that row if the seedlings are covered.

The lady in that video sure didn't worry about how big the sprouts got before planting!

5.
I avoid damping off and overwatering by mixing rather a lot of shredded bark into my seed-start mix. It drains fast and is always full of air.

6.
I learned indoor seed-starting pretty easily, but for me, "rooting" cuttings always means "rotting" cuttings.