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Planting Tiny Seeds: For those micro seeds,
like parsley, begonias, carrots, mix the seeds with a little sand and sow them
in your flat or in the garden by sprinkling the seed and sand mixture with a
tablespoon. Be sure to firm the soil when you are done as these tiny seeds
don't really need to be buried but good contact with the soil is essential.
Damping off disease
Always use a sterile growing medium like mixes with vermiculite and perlite for
your seed starting as these should not contain the fungi that cause damping-off. Water
your seedlings with warm water that has been left to sit for an hour or more to dissipate
most of the chemicals that are present in tap water. Using cold water stresses the
seedlings leaving them vulnerable to harmful organisms. Use only sterilized soil,
Coco Peat, sphagnum
moss, vermiculite or perlite to help prevent damping off. (This disease is caused by
fungus parasites that enter new seedlings where the stem comes from the soil. Symptoms are
droopy leaves, stem turns black at the base, plant withers and dies quickly.)
Treatments for
Damping off disease:
-
Chamomile Spray:
Chamomile tea is an excellent preventative for damping-off. Use on seed starting
soil, seedlings and in any humid planting area. Chamomile is a concentrated source of
calcium, potash and sulfur. The sulfur is a fungus fighter. This can also be used as a
seed soak prior to planting.
To make: Pour 2 cups boiling water over 1/4 cup chamomile blossoms. Let steep until cool
and strain into a spray bottle. Use as needed. This keeps for about a week before going
rancid. Spray to prevent damping off and anytime you see any fuzzy white growth on the
soil. Chamomile blossoms can be purchased at health food stores and usually grocery
stores.
- A fine layer of milled sphagnum moss on top
of the sterile planting medium will also prevent damping off.
- Sprinkling a fine layer of cinnamon powder
on your starting medium also helps.
- Horsetail Tea (Equisetum
arvense)
The common horsetail plant, which is very invasive, is rich in silicon and helps
plants to resist fungal diseases via increasing their light absorbing capabilities.
Horsetail is one of the ingredients in Golden Harvest Fertilizer. You can use horsetail
tea on seedlings and plants in closed environments too!
To make: In a glass or stainless steel pot, mix 1/8 cup of dried leaves in 1 gallon of
unchlorinated water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for at least 1/2 hr. Cool and
strain.
Store extra concentrate in a glass container. Will keep for a month.
Dilute this mix, adding 5- parts of unchlorinated water to one part concentrate.
Spray plants once every 1-2 weeks Also spray directly on your staring medium.
Growing
Medium:
For starting seed indoors, the number one goal of the potting mixture is to
create the best growing environment for seedlings. The ultimate potting mix must
have:
- good drainage
- ample porosity or air spaces
- a high moisture-holding capacity
- a moderate amount of mineral nutrients
Avoid using plain garden soil since it will
as it will harden making it almost impossible for the seedlings to come up. Garden soil
also is full of the organisms that can cause damping off disease in seedlings. Instead use
one of the many commercial potting mixes, or you can create your own mix. One such mixture
would contain some vermiculite vermiculite (we recommend rinsing off the
vermiculite in it's bag as the dust from it is hazardous), peat, mature compost and fertile healthy garden soil.
These ingredients will provide balanced, sustained-release plant nutrition.
Our Coco Peat is the perfect seed starting medium!
Germinating:
Most seeds need dark conditions, heat and water to germinate. The water enables
the embryo to grow. Seeds naturally have enough food stored inside, so they only need
water - no fertilizers at this stage. The vast majority of seeds germinate best at a
constant temperature between 60 degrees to 75 degrees F. Keeping the soil warm can be done
by heating cables, propagation mats or try these methods:
- Set your containers on top of the fridge,
works for us or use an old water bed heater to warm the soil.
- Some folks set their seed containers on the
waterbed to speed up germination.
- Keep the soil evenly moist for best results:
too much moisture will rot the seeds. Misting is the best technique for this, or set your
tray on a water filled bed of pebbles for even soil moisture.
Germinating Tough Seeds
Some tips to germinate those hard coated seed are:
- Soak overnight in a mix of 1 quart of water
and 1 teaspoon of meat tenderizer. The tenderizer has enzymes which will break down the
seed coat without harming the embryo!
- Soak beets, peas, and bean seeds for 24 hours in room
temperature water. Let them dry a bit and plant. You will find your
germination will be far better than just planting them straight in the
dirt..
- Soak in a solution of kelp and water for
48 hours. Let tiny seeds dry after soaking so you can handle them. Great for corn,
nasturtiums and sweet peas!
- Carefully nick the seed coat with a file,
especially useful for seeds of morning glory and four o'clocks.
- Parsley and small seeds: notoriously
hard to germinate! Put seeds between two sheets of sandpaper and gently rub back and
forth. Dump them onto a white sheet of paper, then plant.
Fertilizing your seedlings:
Seedlings do need fertilizer
and nutrients on a regular basis to grow strong, healthy and, most importantly
to grow good root systems. Use a diluted natural fertilizer and feed every 5-7
days for optimum growth. Fish emulsion is often
used by professional growers. Golden Harvest Fertilizer provides
everything that seedlings require and can also be used as a seed soak prior to
planting. Of interest: see natural element
sources chart.
Light:
Seedlings can need up to 16 hours of light a day. If your growing area receives
limited sunlight you will need to provide an artificial light source. You can use regular
fluorescent lights versus the more pricey grow lights. We have used both and seen no
difference in growth habits. Keep the seedlings as close to the light as possible, within two inches,
adjusting the distance as they grow. Even if they touch the fluorescent bulb it won't burn
them, but again a two inch distance is best.
Another lighting trick is to surround
your seedlings with "walls" of styrofoam, white poster board, any light
reflecting material. This will evenly distribute or bounce the light for balanced, faster
and sturdier growth. We certainly want the best for our seedlings and our efforts.
Containers
and transplanting:
- Use those plastic containers with the dome
tops that come with salads, baked goods, vegetables etc. They make great germinating
receptacles.
- Cardboard egg cartons with the tops removed
make good biodegradable planters, no transplant shock.
- Germinate your tomato, pepper and eggplant
seeds in half an eggshell. Gives them calcium and you can transplant with the eggshell
intact. It will decompose rapidly.
Wait until after the seedlings have 2 pairs of leaves and then transplant to larger
containers. Golden Harvest minimizes transplant shock like you wouldn't believe!
- Using
Endomycorrhizae Root Inoculant when transplanting
will help when transplanting and for the life of your plants. We simply can't
say enough about this beneficial fungi- it's fantastic!
- Give your seedlings adequate spacing
for better air circulation, room to develop and less disease.
-
Sturdy Seedlings: To develop those short, sturdy seedlings for transplant: gently brush
your hands across the little plants several times a day to stimulate them. What this does
is causes the plant is causes the plant to release ethylene gas, which is a growth
inhibitor resulting in slower growth and stronger plants.
- Onions: To raise onions for winter storage grow them
from seeds. For summer eating grow them from sets.
SEED STORAGE LIFE
Note: Seeds all contain a little embryo that will germinate into seedlings, we
want to keep this embryo alive and undamaged. Store in airtight containers in the
refrigerator. You want to keep moisture away from
them to keep the seeds viable. Putting in a packet of silica gel will give you more
insurance to keep your seeds alive.
Following is a general guide for the
life of stored seeds- with proper conditions they often last much longer!
ONE YEAR
Veggies: parsley, parsnips, salsify
Flowers: aster, delphinium, geranium, larkspur, pansy, salvia, verbena, violas
TWO YEARS
Veggies: leek, okra, onion, pepper, sweet corn
Flowers: aquilegia (columbine), California poppy, calliopsis, candytuft, centaurea,
clarkia, coleus, dahlia, gypsophila (baby's breath), hollyhock, impatiens, marigold,
morning glory, petunia, scabiosa
THREE YEARS
Veggies: asparagus, beans, carrot, celery, celeriac, chicory, corn, peas, spinach
Flowers: cosmos, lobelia, nicotiana, poppy, portulaca
FOUR YEARS
Veggies: beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, melons, okra, pumpkin, radish,
rutabaga, squash, tomato, turnips, watermelon
Flowers: ageratum, carnation,
celosia, dianthus, gaillardia, snapdragon, sweet alyssum, sweet pea, zinnia
FIVE YEARS
Veggies: beet, endive, chard, lettuce, cucumber, muskmelon
SIX YEARS
Flowers: Nasturtium
Update: 11/01/09
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