#seedling germination

[farmerstrend]

Agribusiness Talk: Understanding Seed Costs and Their Impact on Farming

Explore how seed costs impact farming profitability. Understand the breakdown of seed costs for crops like tomatoes, onions, maize, and cabbages, and learn strategies to optimize yields for better returns. Wondering if seed costs are limiting your farming success? Dive into an in-depth analysis of seed costs and discover how maximizing yields can reduce their impact on your overall profits. Learn…

[kihaku-gato]

Only one germination between the tulip trees and ginkgos so far, but I'll take it. Viability for the former can be hella low and the latter's viability can be pretty variable (though from personal attempts- also fairly low). I hope we get a few more this March at least.

I still mill on the variables for ginkgo viability sometimes.

The very obvious one is if the trees are getting properly pollinated; dioecious as they are, female trees need male trees to wind pollinate nearby or else you'll only get infertile nuts, and most female trees I've collected from (this case Guelph Arboretum, past cases the Western University campus in London) tended to have a fair bit of distance from any form of partner male trees, fairly sheltered from wind. If so, there isn't a whole lot I can do unless I can find more female trees elsewhere in Ontario; only other ones I know of are in Toronto which- dear god no, never going to that big of a city that far away.

The more grasping-for-straws/hope theory is harvest time; they tend to be ready in October, but I was only able to gather for these in November (was it late November? Idr). It gets very cold in November and ginkgos require 2 months warm stratification before the cold- could the "early" cold/frost be killing the embryos? Unlikely, but as I said; it's me grasping for straws since I can control when I go on seed gathering expeditions moreso than whether a female tree got pollinated at all or not.

At the rate this has gone so far though, I may in the future look into grafting female scionwood amongst closer male trees to try to get better luck. A long term slow investment, but it's something.

[ellensilica]

Drosera glanduligera seedlings from the seed bank seedlings are a few weeks old (as of January 2025); the seeds were collected in the field in 2008! The center image is a standard agar plate size (like 8 cm) - the seedlings are very small!!

[balkanradfem]

I'm still okay, and I've started my first seeds of the year!

My first ones are: chilli pepper, horn pepper, dwarf tomato, cherry tomato, climbing triple crop tomato, purple cabbage, cabbage savoy, kale, broccoli, basil.

For the most of them I'm using the 'paper towel method', which is when you take the seeds, write down which seed they are, put them in a paper towel, spray with water, and then pack up in a plastic bag. This is the most efficient way of getting the most seeds to generate, because they are warm and constantly damp, so the conditions feel ideal to them to grow. It also works faster than putting them in the soil.

I have to check on them every few days to see what germinated, and then I'll put those in pots. I immediately put basil and kale in pots because it felt correct.

I have a plan for chilli peppers and dwarf tomatoes to grow on my balcony; they're both small enough to grow in a pot efficiently and they look so beautiful too! It's almost like a decorative plant except it also gives you delicious food.

And for others, this is just for a very early wave, if they succeed great! If not, I'll start more of them later.

There's also a new thing I'm trying out; I'll try to sprout a sweet potato. I got one from the plant lady, and I found out you can have them grow new seedlings, if you put them half-buried in the soil, or if you put it half-submerged in the water. But, they need to be in a very warm and humid place!

So I put it in a milk carton, because that size felt appropriate, and then on top of a radiator, which is the warmest place in here, and then I also added this 'cushion' pad to make sure it doesn't get too hot, and a bag to keep the humidity. But I take bag off continuously so it doesn't grow mold. I hope it works! Slips should be starting to grow in about two weeks.

[jettison-my-gift]

[magwriterus]

No matter how many times you’ve seen seeds germinate, it just never grows old.

[pumpkin-patch]

Goooood morning!

Renegades are coming up the fastest, but the others seem close behind. Even my OG Pyrolga seeds from 2017 are managing about an 80% germination rate, although they're a bit slower getting started.

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

I've repotted a bunch of my seedlings today (not even 3 weeks old and already outgrowing their containers!) and I need everyone to look at this amazing taproot

[jensownzoo]

Hey look, some of the 10 year old extra-dwarf pak choi seed that I just threw into this earthbox has come up after several weeks.

It's a blurry pic, sorry. I counted 10 seedlings, so it was definitely worth doing. They seem to be clustered on one end so far (it IS where more sunlight hits in the cold frame) so I think I'm just going to shove some green onion ends into the other end to regrow.

Kale seedlings just mostly hanging out in their Tidy Cats bucket planter. Hoping this spate of warm weather will spur some actual growth.

The three transplanted strawberries from yesterday sporting their wire mesh trashcan to protect against wildlife digging until they're established. The goal is to fill that bed with strawberries so I need to look up how to encourage runners over berry production for this year. Alternatively i wonder how hard it would be to harvest then grow the seeds...

Decided I'd better remove the straw and burlap covering my two earthboxes of peppermint today and yep, I was right to do so. Will still leave them in the protected alcove on the ground so I can recover if needed. Probably will give them their spring sprinkle of fertilizer too.

Almost finished with pea planting, but that will be a separate post.

I've also filled an ice cube tray half full in preparation of using the "ice cube method" for sowing poppies. Tomorrow after it freezes I'll sprinkle the seeds on top of each cube, fill it the rest of the way up with water, and stick it in the freezer again for 2-3 weeks to cold-stratify. Then you just plop the ice cubes where you want to grow poppies and push them into the earth slightly and wait. I've never had success sowing poppy seed in the fall, so it'll be great if this works. I got the seed for free by asking a nice gardener if I could have one of the seedheads off their poppies while I was walking to the library. I always carry a supply of small ziplock bags with me everywhere for exactly this reason. I get so many free seeds this way.

Other garden tasks for today include chopping the old leaves off the liriope before the new leaves can get in the way and pulling the little metal tower cage/obelisk out--it needs a wire brushing and rustoleum painting before the clematis covers it because it's rusty and flaky and not in an attractive interesting way.

[mjhartwork]

2,000 year old Protean vessel lid, depicting three Proteans from different stratums of Selhadro. Considering the open mouths pointing towards the lid's handle, it was most likely used to store food. This artifact was dug up, alongside many others, during a mining operation on Lagopus that broke into the remains of a museum.

[nasturteayum]

We have lots of tomatoes and tomatillos that sprouted now, and peppers are finally germinating.

We repotted the olive tree with vermiculite, sowed more broccolini in a tray indoors in case the outdoors ones don't come up, and prepared old seeds in wet paper towels to see if they're alive. Two kinds of tomatoes, one chives, and one dill.

Aragula is sprouting outside, onions are growing a bit of green, and some sprouts can be seen in the carrot rows. 🙏

[muirneach]

i dont really care about anything in my garden except my taters can everyone manifest that they grow 🙏

[cantankerouscatfish]

first (big official) batch of tomatoes and peppers are transplanted! we worked on preliminary orders for annual flats for the first week of May today! the florists were discussing mother's day! the spring rush is a clearly approaching dust cloud on the horizon!

[awkward-fallen-angel]

I further document how quickly my seeds are growing. The cukes are going crazy.