>> And stop overwatering!

Yes, I know that would be a Good Thing. But it's like dieting: the hard part isn't knowing that you should, the hard part is having the discipline.

After years of killing seedlings, I have learned to overwater LESS.

I might try some seedling mixes again some day, maybe I used to buy cheap ones. But every bag I ever bought was finely-powdered peat. Exactly what I don't want any of.

Rick--the advice the others have given you is good. Use a good germinating mix (my standby is Gardener's Supply Germinating Mix, or Metro Mix 300 if I run out of the former). Both are peat-based, but in the years I've been using them (at least 5), I've never lost a seedling to damping off or overwatering. Use a capillary mat so you can bottom water til the mat is just moist--no standing water. I grow literally several hundred seedlings each year this way with good success.

Petunias are so fun--not much else blooms as easily under grow lights!

I always find four o'clocks the most rewarding.. boy do they shoot up quick.. wish they were all like that

RC
Go to stubers in Snohomish. I get a bag of redi-earth. It is just great to start seeds in. Then I go to HP for the seedlings. Works great for me! I grow a ton of things, begonias, salvia, geraniums, petunias. Redi-earth is very fine and the seeds do great. Just a thought!

Have you ever seen perennial petunias?

http://msucares.com/news/print...
Hope this works
I have never grown these but have read about them in posts in different sites.

Hi , thanks Springcolor!

I had planted encapsulated seed of regular Petunias in some large pots and a few are still green. We'll see if they live through winter.....

I've kept some potted petunias going for 3 or 4 years.
Ooooh, getting twitchy wanting to start something, but I KNOW better. It's waaaay too early.

That's good to know, Woofie. Thanks!!
Did you leave them outside for winter?

Oh, no. They'd freeze here! But I kept a pot of them on my enclosed back porch for about 3 years; the 4th year they were so ratty looking, I pulled them down. I have a picture, tho:



Little rascals crawled all over that window!

Looks really good, woofie! Thanks for showing it!

Mine is outside and still green. We have not had much freezing temps.

neat blue ones SC!!.. never saw those before

Wow, look at all the entries in the plant database for those!
http://garden.org/plants/brows...

oooohhh just a few

>> Go to stubers in Snohomish.

That's like a gardeners Mecca. Even retail nurseries reccomended it to me. The one time I drove that far, it was closed.

I think this is them:

Steuber Distributing Co
Category: Shopping Home & Garden Nurseries & Gardening Nurseries & Gardening [Edit]

308 3rd St
Snohomish, WA 98290
(206) 632-8724

I just called to confirm their usual Saturday hours are 8-Noon, but the one saturday I got there, they had closed early.

>> Use a good germinating mix ... peat-based... Use a capillary mat

I'm sure that everyone keeps using the kind of soil mix that works well with their habits and tendencies.

And most people seem to find the very strongly water-retaining fine peat commercial mixes workable for them. And they would probably work better for me if I changed my habits and tendencies 100%. Bottom-watering, watering much less, and commerical capilary mats probably all make the "soggy mixes" less soggy and less anaerobic than they are when I've used them in the past.

But 3 years of killing many seeds that way, seeing terrible root pentration and sickly sprouts, followed by one year of improvement and then a year of very good success with everything except petunias, convinces me that faster-draining mix is what I want.

It's easier to change my seedling mix than it is to completely change my habits and preferred method of working. Three years of trying to stop overwatering only met limited success.

And pine bark mulch is probably 4 times cheaper than any pro mix: can you beat 2 cubic feet for $8? And I can use almost the same mix for starting seeds or potting up, and when I plant out, it still has the coarse texture that I wnat to ameend my rasied beds with, instead of fine powder.

So it works for me (except for last year's petunias, which i expect to fix with a thin top layer of fine vermiculite).

On the other hand, cotton flannel in the bottom of the trays is making SOME bottom watering acceptable to me. And it also makes me more confortable doing what I consider to be "UNDER watering". I might even splurge on the fancy commercial cap mats one of these years.

Who knows? In time I might even develop GOOD watering habits and find that I CAN use the much more expensive powdery seed starting mixes if I want to.

But I bet my home-brew screened pine bark based mix still makes better potting mix than any commerical product twice the price.

RC
Yes that is the place! Just wanted to share that but you already know. I just have such great luck with those 2 mixes I thought you might try. Thats what so great about gardening you can do things many different whys. Good luck with you planting.

You are hopeless!!!

When you transplant seedlings, do you grow any in pots, or all in ground? I was going to suggest that if you use glazed ceramic or plastic pots, maybe consider clay pots instead. They dry out better and are more forgiving to chronic- overwatering human types.

Karen

Hi Rick,We all have our favorite methods for seed starting.I've been growing petunias from seeds for 40+ years.For a pkg of 10 or 15 pelleted seeds I would use a little container like something that dip or cream cheese came in. I fill it with whatever potting mix I have,,Miracle Grow or something I mix up myself consisting of sterilized soil,peat moss & perlite..I fill to about 1/2 in of the top. & moisten with a turkey baster.Then,I put a spoonfull or 2 of . good seed starter mix,moistened, on top of the potting soil..Gently level it & place seeds in it with a toothpick lightly dampened..Kind of push seeds in for good contact.Then use the baster or spray mist well.to dissolve the pelleted coating Cover with container lid,making sure there is space between lid & soil..I put them on a heat mat,but I done it for years without a mat.After germination I put them in my greenhouse. I put them under a light at dark & light turns on before sunup.It is a bit of messing about ,carrying them back & forth but I've nothing better to do.I watch carefully & at the first sign of green,they are either on a sunny shelf in the greenhouse or close to florescent light.I used to sow a whole packet of unpelleted Celebrity petunias in a small container.I think they like to be nestled together when babies.With ones like Celebrities I prick out & put into 6 packs,when large enough to handle.The Wave types go into 31/2 in pots & then into 41/2.s.I find petunias easy.Unpelleted begonias & lisianthus are challenging.I think the most common cause of seed failure is seeds getting too deep,especially seeds like petunias that need light for germination & letting them dry out..I hope someone can get some ideas by this.It works for me & others I've told.
Doris , Iowa

Doris, that sounds very much like what I do! Using a spray bottle after planting works well to help avoid moving the seeds about too much, while the pressure from the spray also helps to press them into the soil. I love petunias and grow a number of different varieties.