Results of 1st attempt seed starting

[pinksand]

This forum inspired me to attempt seed starting for the first time last Spring. I had quite a few failures, mostly related to over and then underwatering, but I also had a bit of success that made it all worth while! Unfortunately I had a 0% success rate with my rosea lavender seeds. My teddy bear sunflowers were the easiest and quickest to grow, but were first attacked by slugs and then as soon as they started to finally recover and bloom they were diminished to twigs by either the deer or resident groundhog. That was a bit of a failure I ended up with one surviving butterfly weed plant that I was certain would die, but sure enough, it's still growing! My blanket flowers were a complete success and I have a nice little carpet of them, some of which have large beautiful blooms right now! For the grand finale, I ended up with 1 successful little golden jubilee agastache. I thought I'd killed it on several occasions but if proved to be a fighter. In the past month the little guy burst into a growth spurt and now has lots of little purple buds that I can't wait to see in full bloom against the chartreuse leaves! I will try to post a photo when the time comes

Anyway, that's my update. It was an interesting experience and I'm hoping that I learned from some of my failures so that next year will be even more rewarding! Thanks for the inspiration Helpful Gardener!

[rainbowgardener]

Cool! You didn't start with the easiest things to grow from seed. Sunflower is one of the things I have given up on, not because it is hard to start, but it is the absolute FAVORITE treat for my resident groundHOG. I tried it one time in a container on the deck, which did protect it from groundhog, and it lasted a lot longer and bloomed. But before it could set seed, it got a bad case of powdery mildew and died. I guess the drainage in the pot wasn't good enough or something.

But the things you succeeded with are all perennials and so will come back even better next year. Good work!!

[imafan26]

Yeah, I have problems with lavender seedlings. I got them to germinate, but they grow extremely slow, something got in and ate all of the tips and just left the stems. I suspect slugs, but I did not see the slime trail. I would start with easier seeds. I start cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce in pots. Marigolds in the ground and squash in the ground or in pots. Tomatoes are easy to start in pots too. Some things take a while like parsley, so as a beginner start with seeds that germinate in 7-10 days and don't have taproots. I have no luck germinating in plug trays, it is always too wet for me so I use a 50/50 peat/perlite mix with some osmocote. I start them in 4 inch community pots and then when they have true leaves, I transplant to individual pots. Seedlings should never be bone dry but they should not be soggy either. It helps to look at the package to find out when is the best time to plant in your region.

When I first started onions in containers, I used a 50/50 peat lite mix in a 4 inch container with some osmocote. I wet the media first. then I rake the top of the media to fluff it a little. Put down a bunch of seeds (around 40-50), press it into the soil. I did not bury it. I got a paper towel and watered on top of the paper towel until it was moist. I kept the paper towel moist and the pot is in a sheltered location out of the wind but with good light. After a couple of weeks, I would start to peek under the paper towel and when I saw most of the seedlings had sprouted, I removed the paper towel and watered gently. When the onions are about 3 inches tall, I transplanted them to other pots or out into the garden.