Indoor sowing gone in the compost anyone?

17 years ago

Let's have a confessional here... anyone throw any indoor sown seedlings out yet? Planted too soon, grew too fast, didn't like the looks of it? Or was that just me? LOL

I threw out my vendiums. They were huge and messy and I didn't like the way the foliage looked like thistles.

I threw out some of my ornamental kale early on - although those that I didn't throw out kinda stopped growing and are not out of hand. I will plant them and see how they do.

I threw out my tomatoes, which I started way too early, well I should say I planted them before a hard frost which is essentially throwing them out. Thankfully I have several plants started later that will be fine until June.

Believe it or not, I didn't throw out my nasturtiums. I won't do it again, but the indoor sown ones I started in March have been reasonably happy in a hanging basket in the porch window. They're flowering.

This is in addition to the couple of things that either didn't germinate or died of unknown ailments. (cypress vines...)

All in all, I have been loving the indoor seedling experience!

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Comments (6)

sierra_z2b
17 years ago
Confession time huh!

Ok lets see.......yesterday when I was tending the plants..some plants had over taken others and hogged all the light.....so I had to seperate them, in the trays to give them more light. In the process....one of the lavatera that had been doing so well had keeled over and so had a malope plant......so they got tossed. One of the 4 inch pots of Amaranthus 'Velvet Curtains' was really droopy so I set it aside, but haven't tossed it yet...hoping it will come back.

Not sure if this counts but I moved most of my petunias out to the greenhouse this morning. Gave them a good watering and fertilized with 20 20 20 and iron....they were looking pretty pale....so needed it. They will be left in the greenhouse to fend for themselves over night with the heater...Oh ya and one of the petunia trays was half pansy's...they should be okay out there too.
I DID NOT move the waves out....to expensive to replace should they happen to freeze.

I can't think of anything I tossed out because I planted early....there were a few things that didn't grow....like I planted 3 caster beans and only 1 grew. I only have one small whimpy caladium out of the whole pack that grew. Its white and green. I'm sure there was a couple of other things but can't remember now.

I think losing a few or tossing a few first time plants because we decide we don't like them is pretty much part of the process, and learning experience.

Happy Gardening,
Sierra
hunnerbun
17 years ago
Jeez...I still had some WS containers that I hadn't dumped from last year...I think I might have some attachment issues. That being said tonight is thr first night I am leaving the stuff outside. Hubby just helped me put the plastic cover on the mini greenhouse, so they are going to fend for themselves...all except for my roses and one clematis I started from seed last year...the thing is about to take over the living room, but I will gradually leave it out once it gets warmer, and I see what ones don't come back so I can find a place for it..and the new one I bought today!
So you never know... I may have some fresh compost tomorrow if the temps take a nosedive.
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rj_hythloday, The pragmatist in me says: If you're going to be gone, who will tend and harvest? Sounds almost like a year not to bother. I tried last year with the unexpected death of my parents, and although I had already WSed many items, it was quite a challenge to keep things up last summer. the optimist in me (hoping that your partner would indeed water and pay more attention to the garden in your absence) says: I can see how you would want to push things up a step and direct sow so that there would be no transplanting. You can use the tops of milk jugs as cloches, but that really wouldn't be Winter Sowing. It would be Direct Sowing. I still keep looking at your abreviated list thinking "oh my god...if i sowed that and had to be away for three months, everything would be dead and brown when i got back." (lol) Linda
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Depending on they brand name of your starting soil, alot of these brands have added nutrients in them to last a couple of waterings or so. Before I used to always fertilize my seedlings with a seedling starter with a higher middle number such as 10-52-10, however I can't remember who or where, I think it was at the annual forum, someone gave a good tip that you should be using a balance fertilizer such as 10-10-10 for young seedlings, although I can't find a 10-10-10 soultion anywhere, I use the brand called Plant Prod 20-20-20, a soluble, complete fertilizer with trace elements (also called micro-nutrients), and use it at 1/4 to 1/2 the recommended strength once a week with bottom watering - i.e., if label directions indicate 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, use only 1/4-1/2 teaspoon. Seedlings growing in soil-less mixtures will require the addition of fertilizer, once transplanted outdoors in containers, that's where I switch to Miracle Gro 15-30-15. Way tooooooo early to start Nasturiums, they're very easy to start directly outdoors once the soil warms up, but if you want an earlier start and earlier blooms, start them around the first week of May for June planting. Sharon
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Hi! My name is Karen and I've posted some questions on the geranium forum and got some good advice, but noone is terribly chatty over there so I was wondering if this is a good forum for me to join. Are you taking new members?? I'm in IL and we started over 700 (agh!)pelargoniums, or whatever they are called. We call them geraniums. Anyway, I was told to pinch and went to town and I hope I did it right because I have some sad plants. And it's about time to start hardening off...and I haven't a clue what I'm doing! We have two portable greenhouses outside with heaters in them and we put the impatiens and pansies, I think, in there. But the geraniums are inside under grow lights and in sunny windows (as sunny as it gets during the long awaited IL 'Spring' if that's what you call it!) Can anyone help me keep them alive?
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Crazy_Gardener
17 years ago
I indoor sowed Mimulus cardinalis way to early on Jan 11th, they were up on the 19th. I haven't thrown them in the compost pile yet, I'm hoping to get them in the ground on Monday, maybe they will perk up. Will see.

Sharon
CrazyDaisy_68
17 years ago
I tossed out my Impatiens this weekend. I started them in Jan/Feb and they got too full of bugs, etc. I may have one going in the greenhouse in my "experiment" spring-sowing containers -- one looks like it has little roots growing. If this spring-sowing method works I'll be doing it that way from now on.... or just go buy them!

I also dumped a bunch of tomatoes that were started indoors. Silly me, I tried starting them in egg cartons (NEVER again -- I should have known better! LOL) I also dumped a few Sweet Italian Basil (again, egg carton... grrrrr). But I do still have 5 tomato plants and 5 basil plants, so it's not all lost.

My Cobaea almost bit-the-biscuit once or twice or more too. I started it in a way-too-small container, kept forgetting about it so it dried out a few times. Then my DD dropped it one day and it almost got snapped in half, but I used masking tape to fix it up. AND THEN... I ran out of soil for transplanting (or should I admit that I got carried away WS'ing and therefore ran out of soil?) And by the time I got to it was very sad looking. Poor thing. I did manage to get it into a nice large container and the taped part is under the soil line now. I will leave it in there for the summer (its been through enough trama I think) and ***fingers crossed*** it will do OK for me. I haven't figured out yet what I'm going to plant with it. Maybe my nice yellow Nasturtiums and some mini-Candy Tuft.

Ang
mcav0y
17 years ago
I composted my lettuce. They were leggy and ready to go out last week. The straw that broke the camel's back was the other day when I went out back and found that a whole tray of seedlings fell off a shelf (no idea how). Most faired well, but the scraggly lettuce suffered.
And if I don't get my tomatoes out soon, they might have to go. They are about 18 inches tall and ready to topple over in their little cream cheese tubs.

-kim
north53 Z2b MB
17 years ago
I haven't directly composted anything, but my basil is heading that way. I've having a terrible time with aphids on my seedlings, and the basil seems to be the worst affected. I got tired of spraying insecticidal soap constantly and tried something stronger. Needless to say the basil didn't like it. They might all die before they even make it to the compost. I think it's too late to start them over again.

Indoor sowing gone in the compost anyone?

Comments (6)

sierra_z2b

hunnerbun

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