Seed starting

17 years ago

I'm pretty new to this forum but I must say, I've never been sucked in and as excited to read any other site than I am with this one. The plants that I have seen here are so spectacular that my passion for plants has reached it's all time high. It makes me look at my plants with immense pride, love and satisfaction.

BUT...I have a problem.

I'm a huge fan of seed starting, but I'm no good at it. I've planted my fair share of seeds, and only 4 have taken...2 of which are still alive - my Grapefruit tree and my Coleus. I have my seeds in a seed starting compost, on a heating pad and I keep them moist with a little baggy over them to retain their moisture. Am I missing something or doing something wrong?

Please help. I love the idea of growing seeds but I'm starting to get discouraged.

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Comments (2)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
17 years ago
Tell us about the 'seed starting compost' and how warm the soil is. Is it a propagation mat or a heating pad? How moist is 'moist'? ;o)

Al
bunnygurl
Original Author
17 years ago
Um...well...the compost is just a compost I bought that says it's for seed and cuttings starting. The heat pad is a propagation mat. It feels just warm to the touch, not hot. It's actually quite toasty on them cold winter days, but it's made specifically for plants so therefore I assumed it'd be perfect and if it got one going, I'd assume it'd be good for everything else, no? To me, moist means moist (my friend hates that word...moist), not soggy.

I've been growing plants for a while and I'm good with those, and I can do good with cuttings...just not seeds? Are they just more finicky than everything else? I've even planted seeds that are supposedly "guaranteed to grow"...but they don't...
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