2016 -- starting seeds and cuttings for the new season

[j3707]

You've got a lot going on there! Where did you get the lemon seeds...will they be houseplants?

[applestar]

The lemon seeds were saved from organic lemons from Trader Joes. I posted about it here.

Subject: Started lemon from seeds

I have a bunch of seed grown citruses because I can't seem to stop sowing some seeds every year.

I have a couple that are starting to grow in ways unlike they were before. A Florida gardener told me the growths I described in the following post are definitely signs of impending new flush, but she couldn't say if these will become flower buds. But she said lemons tend to be everbearing and will flower with each flush of growth, several times a year, once they begin to bloom.

Subject: Orange Tree/Lemon Tree

I wonder how Northernfox's citruses are doing?

I have a seed grown tree that I think is a lemon and I believe it had one flower on it last winter. I kept it in an upststair BR window this year, thinking it might do better with more warmth (closer to upper 60's/low 70's). And I *think* it did try to bloom, but failed (see lower left photo in the collage).

Now it has these bumpy callus-like growths in the leaf nodes, and I'm wondering if this is normal, what they are, and possibly are they developing floral clusters and it will try to bloom again?



There is a bit of ant/scale problem going on, but overall, it is healthy. Dropping one or two leaves every couple of days, though.... If I move it downstairs, it will be more like low 60's to upper 60's.

Oh, and this is my thread about the 'Flying Dragon'
Subject: My Flying Dragon Trifoliate Orange Is blooming! >> fruiting!

[applestar]

Subject: Carnivorous plant - Venus Flytrap from seeds

:clap:



I started them on Jan 24. Now that I'm sure this set up is working, I sowed the rest of the seeds in the other 2/3 of the container today.

p.s. @tommyr -- What do you use to test for that? (Chemistry is not my strong suit....)

[digitS']

I have seedlings making their debut!

It will be awhile before I can present more. The onion seeds are in the mix out there in the cool greenhouse. I'll say "cool" because it hasn't frosted for a couple of nights. Of course, it barely hits 50°, maybe. They will be along but some days having 90 minutes of sunshine and some days having none, it's taking them awhile.

This is the first time I have grown rosemary from seed. I haven't known that there were named rosemary varieties grown from seed! Oasis Rosemary.

They came out of the warm kitchen to enjoy a little filtered February sunlight in the South Window. This is a cool location, especially through the night, so they went back in the warmer kitchen and hopefully, more seedlings will join them in their berry box by tomorrow morning.

Steve

[applestar]

Uppotted the Solstice broccoli (Limba seedlings aren't growing as fast...?) and a trial sample of spinach/onions/shallots in Garage V8 Nursery --

I'm not particularly worried about growing onion seedlings because I ordered too many plants

and Hari eggplants in Indoor Greenhouse Winter Paradise shelves (They were overdue and starting to yellow ) --

[applestar]

I had a new idea for recycled seed starters using K-cups and sandwich clamshell. I made two sets of them holding 7 doubled K-cups each.

I'm going to try starting some peppers and TPS (True Potato Seeds) in these.

In my experience so far, K-cups with the filter paper removed and bottom corners cut off for drainage in addition to the little hole poked by the machine are good size for starting tiny seeds and seedlings that have relatively small root system -- Have worked well for peppers, celery, sweet alyssum in the past.

Also larger seedlings that are sturdy and benefit from uppotting when nearly root bound like tomatoes, cabbage family, and Swiss chard. But the larger seedlings benefitted from double-decker stacking as they grew.

This time I've removed the bottom of the inner K-cup to allow for stacking as they grow and doubled them for stronger walls as well to make it easier to move the cups around in the beginning.

The bottomless cup go inside the cup with drainage cut out of the bottom corners.

I will be posting progress and reviews for these, and will post a summary review later on in the recycled container thread if they work well.

[applestar]

Started today --

4 seeds @ of the following peppers in each K-cup except for the Ladybug for which a friend gave me her last 2 seeds (I hope I don't mess this up). They are on the same heat mat next to the Venus Flytrap and coffee seeds which are being monitored closely, so they should be OK.

Pepper, Aji Pineapple
Pepper, Black Brant
Pepper, BST Ladybug
Pepper, Bhut Jolokia Peach
Pepper, Bulgarian Carrot (hot)
Pepper, Chocoloco Sweet
Pepper, Golden Habanero (From 2014-15 Helpful Gardener giveaway)

I also started TPS Amouasa in the other clamshell of 7 K-cups.

AFTER I had sowed ALL of the peppers except for the Golden Habenero (but I'd already labeled the K-cup and dimpled the soil surface and was just about ready to sow them) DH came home and brought in today's mail, which included a letter with one more packet of pepper seeds They will have to go in the next group with more sweet peppers (I'm telling myself that will be ALL)

I also received my order from Kitazawa Seeds including two kinds of Chinese cabbage: Kyoto No. 3 and Osaka Shirona, Komatsuna, short salad burdock Salada Musume, Roselle, and Mirai 350BC corn and Japanese eggplant Kamo.

I'll need to get some of those started, and organize my stock of corn seeds so I can figure out which ones I'm going to grow besides Mirai and Ashworth and logistics for where to plant them and when and how to stagger them.

[pepperhead212]

Apple, which variety of komatsuna did you order from Kitazawa? I was thinking of trying the summerfest, as the variety I used to get - Kojisan -was the most heat resistant one I have tried, then it was suddenly unavailable! All I have tried since are not nearly as heat resistant.

I have gotten 4 of 5 of my early peppers sprouted; still waiting for the pea eggplants, but it's only been 17 days, and last year they started on the 18th day.

[applestar]

I actually just bought the plain old "Komatsuna" -- partly because I want to grow an OP before moving onto any hybrid for what makes them better, and because I usually want to save seeds and grow from year to year.

So, they bolt quickly as soon as it gets warm? I guess I better get them started!

[digitS']

I have only grown the Summerfest - influenced by the name .

Staying more weeks was important to me. The plants have done okay, comparable to bok choy. I have been quite happy with them.

They aren't kale, however. At some point in their season, more early than late, they will bolt. Senposai last much longer but, of course, it isn't the same thing.

I have onion sprouts in the unheated greenhouse . Six varieties - number 7 was brought indoors but it is seed for the 2014 season and, despite the warmer indoor temperature, appears to be failing ...

Steve

[applestar]

I'm going to try to set up a low tunnel... Maybe doubled with a medium tunnel ...maybe an actual cold frame made with recycled pallets and skids.... Ha!

Anyway, hoping to get a jump on spring with some greens!

Onions -- I'm finding them sensitive to shallow seed starting trays. It seems to me that around when they unfold and stand up, they grow their roots correspondingly deeper/longer, and resent hitting the shallow bottom. I had to uppot my little clamshell onions/shallots in a hurry and only managed to find a 2.5" deep container, but I have had best results with deeper containers like oval quart size ice cream tubs, which I think are more like 4" deep.

In the ice cream tub, they were way more crowded than they should have been and developed densely matted roots, yet grew quite happily.

[digitS']

The tunnel over the bed in the greenhouse has been mostly off this winter. Of course, the Asian greens and lettuce can take some cold. We have also had another warm(er) winter.

There is another month of harvest in there from the fall-sown plants but the benches will have to be moved in and over the top of those beds at that time.

I will put some bok choy seed in a cookie box, this morning. Mei Qing Choi. Those plants will drive me to set up the hoop house in about another month so that I can get them under that cover, into the garden beds, and out of their container.

Driven by Bok Choy(in more ways than one ), I'm

Steve

[Peter1142]

I'm jealous. I wish I was starting more stuff. All I have got are onions and leeks, and artichokes and two habaneros that haven't germinated yet. If I jump the gun I am going to regret it and get overgrown rushed out seedlings. I think next weekend I will start the brassicas. Two weeks sweet peppers. The tomatoes and eggplants grow very fast and I will not start until the end of March. Everything else is direct sow. Peas, potatoes, spinach, beets, lettuce, and carrots. Way too early of course, not until April when the threat of hard freezes in the teens is over.

Looking great!

[applestar]

I think I'm already running out of space and I haven't even started the tomatoes yet. Going bonkers over peppers right now. Could NOT decide how to whittle down the list so I've started soaking all the ones I wanted to grow (as well as another eggplant I just HAD to grow) in full strength black tea. I realized I was so anxious to start that I forgot to do this with the last batch

TPS have started to germinate/sprout. These seeds behave about the same as tomatoes and ground cherries in terms of temperature and how long to germination.

...but they are tiny and grow slowly, so it's good to start them earlier.

...I'll just copy these here to link them into this year's seed starting...

Subject: Carnivorous plant - Venus Flytrap from seeds

Did I mention I also tried starting some of the seeds using Spoonzip/spoon method?

I noticed today that some of them had sprouted

download/file.php?id=12455&mode=view
...started on 1/28 so about 23-25 days for those. Less heat retention in the tiny zip bag may have contributed, although I did double bag.

Subject: COFFEE SEED IS SPROUTING!

Two of the seeds are sprouting/starting to stand up now

download/file.php?id=12456&mode=view

...so they germinated in two weeks but didn't sprout until 4 weeks.

[applestar]

LEFT PHOTO:

I had old rhubarb seeds that I harvested a while back -- maybe 2012. I wasn't sure if they were still viable, but there was no sense in holding onto them and not trying, so I sowed them thickly in these K cups and then, in case they needed cold stratification in a dark place, I put them on a dark garage shelf, intending to bring them inside or put them under the bright lights and the somewhat more moderate temperatures in the V8 Nursery in March... And kind of forgot about them.

Today, I took a peek for no reason at all, and found out they had sprouted some days ago

They are very spindly but maybe salvageable at this point. I put them in the V8 Nursery and took the cover off. Once they get a little stronger, I might try uppotting them and burying them a little deeper.

RIGHT PHOTO:

These are two out of four Maui Purple pepper plants that were the first to be overwhelmed by TRM (Tomato Russet Mites) and lost all the primary leaves. I put them in the cold Garage V8 Nursery to slow down the mites as well as give the plants a rest period.

Today, I noticed these new shoots that are starting to grow. They might make it yet. It might be prudent to also put the other two that are already struggling out in the garage....

I didn't start these -- they were extras that pepperhead212 shared with me, so I will be VERY happy if I haven't killed them and they come back.