where am i going wrong with herbs???

[jem218]

i am veggie gardening this year for the first time!! and i hconsider my attempts quite good! ( even if i say so myself! lol) most of all the veg i planted this year are doing great...........but the only herb the has grown from seed sucessfully is sweet basil! nothing else has grown!
where am i going wrong? they are potted in my greenhouse with the veglings!
jane

[Duh_Vinci]

Are you having difficulties with the growth rate or germination of your seeds?

Regards,
D

[jem218]

hi there its the germination bit i am having difficulty with??!!
jane

[nes]

Perhaps you bought bad seeds or stored them improperly then?

[jem218]

they were bought from the store shortly before i planted them and after checking the packets, they are still in date! can you water them too much? i water them twice a day but only lightly- i don't drench them! but with the warm weather the soil drys so quickly?! is that what i could be doing wrong maybe? although the veg have grown fine with the same treatment?!
jane

[nes]

Well I'm stumped. What other types of herbs did you try to grow?

Even if the seeds were in date, it could have been the seed company/store that ruined them.

[jem218]

i tried to start chives, rosemary, sage and mint, same time as the sweet basil, and thats the only one that came up!?
jane

[Duh_Vinci]

Well,

Surely, you could overwater them, seeds could be planted too deep, inferior seeds, fluctuation of temperatures (too hot during the day and cooler nights) or combination of all of those. Seeds need to have nice, warm environment with even amount of moisture to germinate.

I've never had any good luck with seeding directly into the garden. After numerous trials, I'll be happy to share what works for me (every time)... I believe (and after many trials of various ways of germinating the herbs), indoor germination provides stable, controlled environment, giving the seeds and young seedlings exactly what they need.

Right now, growing the second round of Mammoth Dill (for pickling of cukes mostly)







---I start with 3oz plastic cups (for mouth wash I guess?)

---Make 3 small holes on the bottom edge (base) - for drainage and watering

---Fill the cups 2/3 with the soil (soil should be fine, well draining and moist)

---Drop 5-6 seeds in each cup (you can thin them out later)

---Sprinkle same soil over top of the seed, 1/4" or so (not more)

---Using spray bottle, I wet the top layer (not drenched, just wet enough)

---I then place the cups upright in the plastic container (any from the Dollar store would do, as long as it's height is 2"-3" taller than the cups. This provides some room for germinated seeds, so they don't bump into the cover

---Cover - either plastic wrap, or if your $1.00 "topper ware" container came with lid - fine too

---On the top of the fridge these go till germination occurs (4-15 days, depending on the variety)

---Once all (well, most) germinated - wrap/lid removed, and I harden them off as any other seedlings.

---I do water them from the bottom, just poor the needed amount of water to the bottom of container, and watch them soak up the water through those bottom holes in the 3oz cups... Otherwise, you take a chance to damage ever so gentle stems at this point

---When I see a first set of real leafs, I use half the recommended strength fish based fertilizer (Alaska 5-1-1 always worked fine for me)



Once the roots are strong enough (usually when herbs are 2"-3" tall and have few sets of real leafs, I transplant them to their final destination.

I hope this helps, try it, you may find it will work for you too.

Regards,
D

[jem218]

hi thanks, thanks for the advice, i am definately going to give it a go. I have been watering them from the top, but only with a spray mister thingy- still now i think about it.....tick tick- maybe i could of damaged them like that???? although maybe not- its not a hard enough spray to destroy ALL of them?? who knows lol, i think i'll give your way a go and hopefully have some nice herbs for the kitchen soon
many thanks again
jane

[applestar]

jem, when you start watering from the bottom (I do this too -- the wee roots grow down more to reach for the water), I think you'll be surprised just HOW MUCH these little cups/pots of soil and seedlings soak up. Once the seedlings start to grow, they'll quickly use up the water in the soil to grow and you'll need to water more often. You may realize then that you weren't giving them nearly enough water with the sprays.

Once they start to grow, I alternate spray-watering from above in the morning to simulate morning dew because I believe they transpire water from the surface of the leaves as well. But I ONLY USE 2 qt and 2 gal PRESSURE PUMP spray bottle and tank -- my hand get tired WAY before al lthe plants are watered! This also has the effect of simulating wind and rain and helping to grow sturdier seedlings (Tough Love, Babies! )

[jamesy]

I like your germinating method Duh Vinci , i never thought of trying that but i was close , i use those rotteserie chicken containers , wash it and you have a wee little mini greenhouse.
I fit 6 of those wee seedling pots in and close it , it seals tight.The strike rate is almost always 100%.
I leave it in the laundry room where its warm,think i kept 4 of those for doing that,it works better than the seedling trays cos theres more room , a higher ceiling as it were..so to speak.

[Duh_Vinci]

Once they start to grow, I alternate spray-watering from above in the morning to simulate morning dew because I believe they transpire water from the surface of the leaves as well.

Great point Apple you make here. Learned something new, adding to my ever growing "how to" list

...i use those rotteserie chicken containers , wash it and you have a wee little mini greenhouse...

What a great idea! We just came back from Costco, didn't feel like spending much time cooking tonight, so we brought home rotisserie chicken. Washing it off tonight, will use it indeed! Another great idea - thanks!

Regards,
D

[jamesy]

How cool is that D ? We traded off good ideas , ill definately be adding your method to my armoury.
The chicken things , hereafter refered to as wee little greenhouse works well cos it snaps back together and seals..airtight , and if you look closely there is maybe two little pencil size holes punched at the top , wee vents , just like a greenhouse would have.
Totally does the business,it maintains the atmosphere i guess and moisture , temp..like i was saying ,im almost 100% successful using those.
Im thinking your method is going to give me similar excellent results,thanks.

[nes]

D.V. is there any particular reason you're using plastic cups? I bought several packages of peat-pots from our local dollar store (small, but 25 or so in a pack for $1 - I was happy!) and then I'm able to transplant the entire pot out into the garden with out disturbing the seedlings at all.

[somegeek]

I was having issues as well. This is a method that worked well for me.

Bottom watering works well as noted above. With my basil and pepper starters, I let them nearly dry out before watering. They did very well this way.

[jal_ut]

D.V. is there any particular reason you're using plastic cups? I bought several packages of peat-pots from our local dollar store (small, but 25 or so in a pack for $1 - I was happy!) and then I'm able to transplant the entire pot out into the garden with out disturbing the seedlings at all.

I too use plastic cups. I do not like the peat cups. They dry out too fast.

Yes, you can plant the whole peat pot, but your plants would like it better if you broke it off when planting. I had some peppers in peat pots one time and after planting out, they were not growing. Finally I dug some up and the roots had not penetrated the peat pot, so the little plants were pot bound.

OK, that is two reasons I don't like peat pots.