fast sprouting seeds, too fast???

19 years ago

Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I've tried growing anything from seed, but this year, I'm giving it a go again.

the seeds are being started in my "sunroom", just a lot of windows in a very chilly room, probably about 62 degrees on average in there in the winter. southern exposure.

I started all this just a few days ago, feb. 18 about 3 in the morning...on feb. 19th, in the afternoon, I was already seeing sprouts on dianthus "artic fire", in two seperate cups. My carnations, were also showing signs, ie, wasn't sure if I believed what I was seeing...and earlier tonight,(20th) when I checked they are loaded with sprouts, in all four containers.

I know those have always sprouted very fast for me, not this fast though, the one however I'm really surprised about is my hollyhocks have also sprouted. about half of the seeds at any rate.

I'm using Jiffy Mix seed starting brand, as well as a brand from Home depot, not sure of the name, both very different, and have sprouts in both kinds. There is no additional heat under the trays at all, I watered the mix, then put it in dixie cups for some, and 4 inch plastic pots for others, just sprinkled them on there, will put into cell packs when they are ready.

I'm borderline with zones 7 and 8, depends on what part of my yard you are in...oh, and have shop lights on about 12 hours a day. there is no complete darkness out there, even when the lights are off, which there is always one on 24/7, the streetlight is bright outside. could the lights be the reason they are so fast?

its' fresh seed this year as well. are these seedlings going to keel over on me because it's so fast?

or is this normal?

thanks!

Sally

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Comments (5)

georgez5il
19 years ago
The seed will normally germinate in 5-14 days the amount of light on the seed/pot has NO influence on germination time. Moisture & temperature are determining factors. The temp in the room is high enough to continue growing on these plants. keep damp, good air circulation & good light (not length of time there is light on the plant) & LIGHT fertilization the plants will continue to grow.
organic_tosca
19 years ago
ssfkat, I am doing seeds for the first time in my life (pretty much newbie to ALL gardening except for house plants), and my seeds are doing the same thing. Some of them started sprouting in just a couple of days, to my great surprise and delight. I'm in California's Central Valley, and we've had some very lovely sunshine-y days and nighttime temps in the upper 30s and low 40s. I have the tray in our sleeping porch - LOTS of light and sunshine, with windows all around, and I can open one window up during the day. It's been getting really warm out there in the middle of the day, although we're supposed to get a cold storm tonight or tomorrow. My seeds are all from Seeds of Change, an organic mail order company, except for one row: lobelia, which I found at Lowe's and planted just the day after the others. It hasn't come up yet, but there's still plenty of time. I planted them all in one of those trays with plugs in them (composted bark fiber "inoculated with beneficial microorganisms") that I ordered from the same place. I keep telling myself "So far, so good", because I've been reading about "damping-off", etc., and realize that there are still a lot of things that could go wrong. Also we had a terrible and prolonged cold snap earlier this year, very unusual, so I feel like anything could happen weather-wise. Nevertheless, I got SO EXCITED when I saw them coming up! I have to restrain myself from going out there every hour on the hour to look at them. Hurrah for Spring!!
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ssfkat3
Original Author
19 years ago
hmmm, you mean we aren't supposed to check them every hour??? LOL, I hear you loud and clear!

thanks george for the info, it helps a lot. my memory isn't what it used to be :D

organic tosca, it's addicting growing from seeds. So many more choices than you can buy ready grown, and it's fun to watch them too. I'm not sure if it's really any cheaper, but it's definately more fun.

Just about every flower i've ever grown has been from seed, though it's been the better part of six years since i've done this. Not sure what i'm going to do with everything I've got...LOL, looks like freecycle is going to get a lot of listings as time goes on! My neighbor's mother is also going to get as many as she wants for the spring flower show they have around here, they raise money by selling the plants, so this should be a big help as well.

I won't mention how many I'm going to end up with, it's obscene. :D Should be a real joy to pot these up into the flats. Might have to recruit help for that part :D

Enjoy your seeds, don't look for the things that can go wrong, and keep updating, i'd love to hear how you are doing on your first year :D

Sally
evvy
19 years ago
I started Spenser sweet pea seed Feb. 14 in 2" plastic cellpacs. They are now about 5" tall but have not sent out the secondary leaves. When should I transplant them to their outside position? Should I fertilize them now?

Evvy
tastefullyjulie
19 years ago
Sally, I somehow ended up with over 1000 last year, and that's not a joke :)