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BCU - Earth Houseplants Entrance Plant Propogation Contact B.Howe |
Plant PropogationSeedsThis is a whole 'nother ball o' wax! Firs' ya got anewls, which gotta be planted inside or out dependin' on which side o' the fros' yer on. Then theres yer prenyals, these 'uns have all sorts o' silly rules, instructions, and such if you want 'em ta sprout. But....it can be the cheapest way to get a more diverse collection of plants at only a fraction of the cost. It may take a little longer, but it's worth it. Annuals: The best advice I can give you to start - follow the directions on the package. That's what I'm doing, because this is the first year I've actually tried growing annuals from seed. For containers; I'm using paper egg cartons, peat pots, peat trays, and the plastic insert trays that come with the little greenhouses. For soil; I'm using a mix of peat, sand, with just a little bit of potting soil. Everything is being grown under flourescent lights, hung 4-6 inches over the plants. In the trays now, are Asters, Marigolds, and Lavatera. There are a few others which will be seeded directly to the beds after last-frost (April 29). So far they seem to be doing well without natural light, although I have lost some of the Asters to damping-off. Perennials: These can come with all sorts of instructions. Some need to be frozen for so long, or cracked, or soaked, or cracked-then-soaked-then-frozen-and-thawed-three-times. Some need dark, light, fire, cold, the entire gamut of environmental possibilities. This can make growing perrenials from seed a scary thing. It doesn't need to be. I am making an experiment out of some seeds mixes which I ordered last fall. I have no idea what types of seeds I received, except to say that one envelope was shrub-seeds, the other was perrenial flowers, and both are hardy to Zone 5. Here's what I did: March 19: Back in January (garden itch started early this year) I filled a bunch of 3" pots with peat/sand mix, soaked them in a tub of water, then let them drain. While they were draining I seperated the seeds in my envelope of perennial flowers based on appearance. I wanted to group like seeds in the pots. Each group of seeds was placed in the pots, then given a light dusting of peat. The pots were placed directly outside in a few of my empty cold frames, the glass was put in place, and they were left to do their own thing for the remainder of the winter. I repeated the process a few days later for the Shrub Mix. Last week I removed the glass from these frames and pulled the pots out a little so that they would be exposed to sun/wind/rain/snow/frost/etc. Since then we have received several inches of snow and the pots only became visible again yesterday. I am happy to report my first seedling popping up from the soil. As I said before, I have no idea what it is but I'm happy to see it nonetheless. April 03: That little seedling is still there, hasn't grown much still only two leaves, but it hasn't died either. It is in amongst the perennial flowers. I can now announce the awakening of one of the shrub seeds (of course no ID on it yet). It is growing much quicker than the flowers seedling, but we'll have to wait and see what comes of it. All of the pots are out from under the cold frames now, fully exposed. Nature is being left in charge, and I'll keep you posted. April 19: Only a couple of the shrubs are showing signs of growth, but I'm not worried. One of the perennial trays which I sprinkled with some of the smaller seeds is popping like mad. Still only first leaves, but it's growth. Thanks for stopping by, Brett |