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Growing from Seed

FAST Sunflower sprouting tips...???

16 years ago

We have an occasion next Friday where we'll be giving out themed gift/food baskets. My husband just decided that in keeping with our "growing things" theme we should give out an actual growing thing - ie a plant.

I am thinking it would be easiest and cheapest to sprout & start sunflower seeds... but it would be nice if there were at least a few leaves showing by then.

My plan:

~ presprout seeds on coffee filters in baggies

~ apply gentle bottom heat until they sprout

~ transplant most viable seeds to peat pots

~ grow under heat/light as long as possible before next Friday!

Some quick questions:

~ What type of sunflower would work best for this (ie fastest)?

~ Does it help to presoak the seeds in weak tea?

~ Is there a big difference between coffee filters & paper towels - we're not coffee drinkers and have tons of paper towels!

~ What type of water would give best results?

~ What type of soil would work best in the peat pots?

Any other suggestions to do this FAST? I'm going to Lowe's / Home Depot in the morning to pick up seeds, soil, peat pots, etc. Any & all help is much appreciated!!!

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Comments (3)

seedsavr
16 years ago
Heres my two cents:

sunflowers are incredibly fast growers, so much that many gardners consider their growth to weeds. thats typically why not many seed start sunflowers... but in your case they might manke a good choice for that reason!

The plan you laid out might not work for one reason. Seedstarters presprout seeds in moist paper towels to either check germination rate or select the viable plants (as you said). However, this extra stage will temporarlilly stunt the new plants, limiting fast growth.

How many people are you giving the plants too? I believe that it is worth the extra buck or too and buy a second packet of seeds and skip the presprout method (for reasons given above). This way if you don't have a good germination rate you will still have enougth plants. The extra plants can be planted in your garden!

Also; i personally dojnt recomend peat pots. i started everything in peat pots this year and have found that they are very likely to grow moldy under normal conditions and will start to degrade before tehy are planted outside in soil. In addition, i dont think they would be the most attractive choice as a partfavor and could easily fall apart in transit home. Instead copnsider a decorative plastic cup or cheap clay pots. Bot would look nice, withstand normal wear and tear, and lock in moisture MUCH better than peat pots.

Finnaly, have you thought about bulbs? Bulbs are 100 times easier to force indoors and might even flower in a weeks time. A bulb is a nice natural gift that i am sure your guests would appreciate and are both easier to care for and better looking in a short period of time. (newborn seedlings might not be a responsibility that your guest want...)

I hope this helps (and sorry for such a lengthy answer)

Sarah
jay3fer
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks! Will let everyone know how it turns out!
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dorisl
16 years ago
Emily planted some of the black oil sunflower plants in some of the containers Im using to try to root cuttings in the kitchen.

I try to explain that is a "sun"flower and not a "lightbulb" flower by showing her how the stem is, like 8 inches long with just the seed leaves on it. She wont really understand until she seeds how the seed grows outside.

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