Attention Seedling Growers

10 years ago

Hey guys, I get more out of seeing what other people are doing and talking about than just about anything else. So I thought I'd post a picture of my 6/7 week old batch of seeds and see what you all think. I am really hoping everyone with seedlings posts a pic or seven along with a story about how and what they have done/plan to do moving forward.

Here's my story. This is my second try at Adeniums, the first was a bust. These guys were soaked in water and hydrogen peroxide for way too long 48 hours or so. (life happened and they were forgotten about). I added some sand to MG Cacti mix at about 6 to 1. At the time I thought more water retention would be a good thing. So far they drain pretty well. I used an old stawberry container from the market to plant them in. My seeds sprouted in 3 days or so and at about a week I had to help them out of the hats. At that point I also cut the lid off of the stawberry container. I water them almost daily with a spray bottle from the top. I have yet to fertilize them in any way. I live in an apartment and the weather has been nothing but erratic so I grew them until about 2 weeks ago under an old lamp. I used an old coffee can to get them up high enough to tuck them under the shade. I turned the light on when I woke and turned it off when I slept. The bulb was a single CFL from the Home Depot. About two weeks ago I created a space for them on my window sill of a south facing window. I did water from the bottom every 15 days or so just make sure that the soil didn't harden up and not take water at all. I have one that isn't doing much, one that only has one leaf and then there is the one my son was petting and knocked out of the soil a few weeks back. This one is surprisingly strong looking now. I poked a hole in the soil and dropped it back down, I could barely see any trace of roots on what it, cant believe it's still alive.

What I'd like to know and hear about is fertilizing. What you use, how often, how you mix it and what differences you were able to see. I would also like to hear at what point you decided to put them into pots of their own. What did you see to make you feel they were ready? What soil did you use etc?

Well, that's my story I really hope lot's of you take the time to post yours as well. I learn so much from all of you and love it when these conversation really get going!

John

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Comments (5)

L_urch
10 years ago
Hey John, I'm pretty much at the exact time frame you are. I just finished repotting mine on Friday. I started the process a week before that. I first decided to repot because the seed starter kit was losing soil out of the bottom and my seedlings were getting pretty low in the container. Also, the "stronger" seedlings were starting to have roots come out the drain holes. I started repotting some of the "weaker" ones first to see how they did. They had a pretty good amount of roots at this point so I deemed it safe. As of today they are all doing very well and the leaves keep getting bigger. I had some plastic cups laying around like someone else did. Since I'm new to planting anything really I wanted to see how quickly the soil dried out.

I've been using "Al's gritty mix" all along I like the theory behind it. I've also been fertilizing with foliage pro 9-3-6 about every 1 and a half weeks or so. I don't necessarily know how much it helps as my seedlings look roughly the same as everyone elses at this time frame. But it doesn't seem to be hurting anything.

But yea our weather has been bipolar lately so I'm just now getting to the point where I am putting them outside day/night. They are enjoying a nice sunny 90 degress today before I'm sure we get hail and tornadoes tonight.

I would of posted some close up pics, but I guess you can only post 1 pic at a time?

But yea that's all I got for right now. Like I said who knows if what I'm doing is right since this is my first go at planting anything. It seems like everything is right on track at the moment.
JGW3
Original Author
10 years ago
L_urch
Those look awesome! The one up front looks like a cigar with leaves on the end. Very nice!

I'm thinking mine need to find some more light!

John
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elucas101
10 years ago
Both of y'alls seedlings look great!!! After you transplant them from the original growing medium I would put them into a well draining mix of Miracle Grow potting soil (plain, no moisture control or anything, not organic) mixed heavily with perlite. They need a really well draining mix after germinating. I would try to stay away from sand if possible, it doesn't allow drainage as much as one might think.

L_urch - be careful of the edges of those plastic cups, they can create a magnifying effect with the sun and fry the necks of plants! I would try something to cover that area or put in more gritty to raise them.

I also use Dyna Grow Foliage Pro for all of my plants now since it is so balanced, they all seem to love it. I do also use ProTekt, a silicone supplement that helps them better tolerate heat and cold.

In order tp post more than one photo at a time, upload your pics to a photo sharing site like Photobucket or Flikr, thec copy the HTML code for the picture and then paste that HTML code into the body of your post. When you preview your post you should see your pictures in there.

Please keep us updated on your progress, they are looking great!
L_urch
10 years ago
Thanks for the heads-up, never really thought about that! How long have you been using the ProTekt? I've been considering using that just don't know enough about it
elucas101
10 years ago
I've been using ProTekt for about a year - since it can be mixed with the Foliage Pro (well, added to the water, THEN you add the FP, if you do it backwards it will bind and you will know it!) It is just an easy, balanced way to do it and I am all for not overcomplicating it. I don't use any other fertilizers, treatments, additives, suppliments or anything, just those 2 products. Being in OK you may benefit from the ProTekt - you may find more posting about it over on the plumeria forum if you search - here's a link to the search I did:
http://search.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=ProTekt&searchfor=gw

Here is a link that might be useful: ProTekt search