Fail!

[keskat]

I fail at indoor seed starts.

I have an egg carton of huckleberry bushes not sprouting, an egg carton of various tomato seeds not starting and an egg carton of chives, also not starting. The only thing I didn't give them was bottom heat - they get plenty of light, and I'm fairly certain I'm watering them enough-but-not-too-much, and they're under plastic for humidity, but not closed off, so there's air flow, too.

Its been about 10 - 14 days for the various seeds... Is the lack of bottom heat going to make them sprout slower or not at all? Would it be advantageous to add bottom heat now - 'cuz I can totally run out and get a heating pad.

At this point, should I just keep waiting on them, or consider them gone due to my general incompetence? I usually just plunk them in the ground and let nature take care of the rest. This engineering growth thing stumps me.

[gumbo2176]

Don't give up on the tomato seeds just yet. I had mine in the starter trays for almost 3 weeks before they sprouted. Don't know anything about huckleberry plants and I start my onions from sets and not seeds.

[applestar]

Tomatoes could benefit from bottom heat, but if you can give it a mid-70's temp that should be fine -- if you put them under lights, that might be enough. Some people put them on top of their refrigerators, waterheaters, or even on computers and TV/video/media (watch out for drips!) cabinet shelves.

Onions like it cooler -- 60's to mid-60's should be good. Low 70's should be OK too.

Huckleberries I'm almost positive, need cold stratification. If you can expect more cold/frosty weather for about 1 month, I would plant the seeds in at least a 4" deep containers and put them outside in a plastic bag. If not, you may need to bag it (current container is OK) and put it in the crisper drawer for at least 4 weeks, maybe 6, then bring them out to germinate.

Your problem might have been that you planted the seeds too deep. Tomato seeds are pretty flat and seeds only need to be planted as deep as they are thick so we're talking no more than 1/8" layer of soil on top. I've never grown chives from seed, but onion seeds don't need to be planted much deeper and chive seeds are probably smaller.

Other than that, they just need to be kept evenly moist so newly germinated baby roots don't get dried out.

Note that direct-seeded outside -- in garden beds or containers -- seeds are planted somewhat deeper to protect from getting washed away and dried out. Without benefit from bottom heat/in cooler soil, approx. 2 weeks is normal for many seeds. Johnny's and Territorial seed websites have ideal germination temps listed for most of their seed offerings.

[Duh_Vinci]

You know what worries me about your seed starting:

...I'm watering them enough-but-not-too-much...

Seedling mix should be watered to make it moist (not wet though) prior to planting the seeds, but I never have to water it again during germination.

Apple already addressed the other aspects...

As for the seed timing for germination, sure, some older seeds or some varieties could take longer to germinate that others (even up to a month), but usually no more that 7-10 day for most (if the seeds are fresh). Honestly, if my seeds don't germinate after 10 days, and I have plenty more seeds, I start another batch as a back up, and often with pre-treatment for faster germination.

Regards,
D

[keskat]

Hrm. I know I just put a dusting of soil over the toms and chives... So maybe I just need to be more patient with them. I moved the toms over my tv (I cannot find a heating pad that doesn't shut off after 2 hours! Meh.) Hopefully that will give them a warmer environ - the tube is my white noise, its pretty much always on.

The huckleberry seeds I had in the freezer for a couple months before I planted them, but I might have buried them more than I needed to. I just poked a toothpick into the mix and dropped the seeds in.

As for the watering - its mostly a misting when the top is dry - I don't ever just water them like a houseplant. I think I'll keep on keeping on with them, and plant more, as suggested, as a back up. If I get lucky and end up with more than I expected, I'm sure some of my neighbors wouldn't mind a few freebie plants.

Thanks so much for your feedback, all!

[mansgirl]

Try using a spray bottle for watering. You want to keep the soil moist, but not wet.

My best friends parents own a greenhouse business (flowers, veggies, perennials), and she is in charge of all seeding there. I know that before the seeds 'pop up' you want to keep them covered, warm, and dark. No direct sunlight. They actually start all of their seeds in heat controlled cabinets. This area that they seed in is "light-tight". Once the seeds pop, they start to gradually expose them to light ((hardening off??)). I'm sure every plant has different needs, but I know this is the way they start seed generally. Maybe try limiting your light exposure and water?

I'm no pro. I have always had my friend start my seeds for me, especially my peppers. Up here in the great white north they need as much of a head start as they can get. The only seeds I start myself are my beans and sunflowers. This is the first year I'm going to try propagating my own pepper seed. You might see me back here eating crow! : ) I'm currently waiting on tips from my friend, I'll let you know if she tells me anything good! : )

[sheeshshe]

have you tried bottom watering? the spray bottle thing never worked for me.

[keskat]

Hehe, I'm from Michigan. Well familiar with gardening there. This western gardening thing... Well, all I'll say is that its a good thing I have such a long growing season now, because I'm doing a lot more "from scratch" than I ever did in the midwest.

I do spray the seeds... I kind of worry if I bottom water, then I'm going to put in enough only to get the bottom of the soil wet and it won't get up to the seedling, then I overwater to be sure. I'm a very nervous gardener. I'm going to try pulling them back from the light a bit, and adding some intentional bottom heat. That seems to be the key that I'm missing here. I figured that they germinated just fine in the ground every other year without a heating pad, why not inside? But I failed to take into account the fact that my starter pots are not soaking up sun and storing heat the way the ground outside does. Hopefully they'll sprout like... Dare I say it? Weeds, with the addition of some well-placed heat.