Posted by shazzbat on July 15, 2010, 6:08 pm
>> On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:39:44 +0100, "David WE Roberts"
>>
>>>
>>>> Example, sunflowers. I've got a couple of those 24-segment propogation
>>>> trays, each segment has a newly-sprouted sunflower coming up. (I
>>>> planted
>>>> some others a few weeks ago but they all snapped in half).. so they
>>>> need
>>>> support.
>>>>
>>>> I've cut lengths of green plant sticks and stuck one in each segment,
>>>> made
>>>> a kind of "noose" with the green garden wire and looped one end around
>>>> the
>>>> shoot just below the two leaves, and the other around the stick but
>>>> it's
>>>> incredibly fiddly and I'm not sure they're going to last.
>>>>
>>>> Are there any ready-made/easier solutions for holding shoots up until
>>>> they're big enough to transplant? And are sunflowers *ever* strong
>>>> enough
>>>> to hold themselves up or will I need to use longer sticks as they grow?
>>>> Some of these are going to be 1 metre, others taller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Perhaps you should be planting the individual seeds in larger pots - they
>>>are quite large and propogation trays may not be the best place to start
>>>them.
>>>
>>>If they are in individual pots then supporting them with sticks is also
>>>much
>>>easier.
>>>
>>>However, as Kay says they shouldn't really be snapping off.
>>>They manage to grow outdoors without this happening.
>>>Have you considered planting some directly into the ground?
>>>Or are they all destined for pots?
>>>
>>>Cheers
>>>
>>>Dave R
>>
>> I start sunflowers off in 3 inch pots. Their roots develop very
>> quickly and they'll soon become rootbound in those little cell trays.
>>
>> But I'm picking up your reference to "the two leaves". The first two
>> leaves that form are called a "seed leaf" (or "cotyledon" for the
>> technically minded). They're not true leaves but serve a purpose in
>> the initial feeding of the seedling. They'll be quite llight and their
>> weight isn't going to damage a healthy seedling.
>>
>> If the plants are keeling over at this stage, I'd guess that you've
>> got a touch of "damping off" disease - a fungus that can kill off
>> young seedlings which just keel over. Not exactly "snapping" as you
>> describe but the same effect. Type "damping off" into your browser's
>> search box and you should call up a number of web articles on that.
> Thanks to everyone for your help.
> I'm confident it's not a lack of sunlight because the first ones (and
> current) were in direct sun from about 11am to sunset. But they were the
> "bring them home from school in a pot of dirt" type thing, so possibly
> they were from a bag of hamster food and/or the compost not great. Don't
> know if it's the damping-off disease, I've got some "stock" and sweetpea
> that seem to have done very well from seeds under the same circumstances.
> I bought some "proper" mixed sunflower seeds and some seedling compost, so
> far have got 23 out of 24 (8 each of 4 different types) growing well, if
> the sun ever comes back I'm hopeful for better results! They all look
> thicker/stronger than the first batch already, so fingers crossed!
> They're all between 1-2 inches so far, should I start putting them into
> larger containers yet and is there a good technique for picking up the
> whole segment of compost/root in one go without damaging the plant or the
> root? I might just cut the trays open if there's no better way to do it
> without disturbing things too much.
We always sow the seeds in the cardboard tubes from toilet rolls. Then plant
the whole deal out when the roots reach the bottom.
Steve
Posted by David WE Roberts on July 17, 2010, 7:42 am
<snip>
> Thanks to everyone for your help.
> I'm confident it's not a lack of sunlight because the first ones (and
> current) were in direct sun from about 11am to sunset. But they were the
> "bring them home from school in a pot of dirt" type thing, so possibly
> they were from a bag of hamster food and/or the compost not great. Don't
> know if it's the damping-off disease, I've got some "stock" and sweetpea
> that seem to have done very well from seeds under the same circumstances.
<snip>
Just to check - are these indoors or outside?
If they are outside that sounds plenty of sun.
If they are indoors then they almost certainly won't be getting enough light
and should really go outside as soon as possible, especially this late in
the year.
Most plants grown from seeds indoors (and which are not house plants) get
very leggy unless they are in a conservatory.
HTH
Dave R
--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
XML site map
>>
>>>
>>>> Example, sunflowers. I've got a couple of those 24-segment propogation
>>>> trays, each segment has a newly-sprouted sunflower coming up. (I
>>>> planted
>>>> some others a few weeks ago but they all snapped in half).. so they
>>>> need
>>>> support.
>>>>
>>>> I've cut lengths of green plant sticks and stuck one in each segment,
>>>> made
>>>> a kind of "noose" with the green garden wire and looped one end around
>>>> the
>>>> shoot just below the two leaves, and the other around the stick but
>>>> it's
>>>> incredibly fiddly and I'm not sure they're going to last.
>>>>
>>>> Are there any ready-made/easier solutions for holding shoots up until
>>>> they're big enough to transplant? And are sunflowers *ever* strong
>>>> enough
>>>> to hold themselves up or will I need to use longer sticks as they grow?
>>>> Some of these are going to be 1 metre, others taller.
>>>
>>>
>>>Perhaps you should be planting the individual seeds in larger pots - they
>>>are quite large and propogation trays may not be the best place to start
>>>them.
>>>
>>>If they are in individual pots then supporting them with sticks is also
>>>much
>>>easier.
>>>
>>>However, as Kay says they shouldn't really be snapping off.
>>>They manage to grow outdoors without this happening.
>>>Have you considered planting some directly into the ground?
>>>Or are they all destined for pots?
>>>
>>>Cheers
>>>
>>>Dave R
>>
>> I start sunflowers off in 3 inch pots. Their roots develop very
>> quickly and they'll soon become rootbound in those little cell trays.
>>
>> But I'm picking up your reference to "the two leaves". The first two
>> leaves that form are called a "seed leaf" (or "cotyledon" for the
>> technically minded). They're not true leaves but serve a purpose in
>> the initial feeding of the seedling. They'll be quite llight and their
>> weight isn't going to damage a healthy seedling.
>>
>> If the plants are keeling over at this stage, I'd guess that you've
>> got a touch of "damping off" disease - a fungus that can kill off
>> young seedlings which just keel over. Not exactly "snapping" as you
>> describe but the same effect. Type "damping off" into your browser's
>> search box and you should call up a number of web articles on that.
> Thanks to everyone for your help.
> I'm confident it's not a lack of sunlight because the first ones (and
> current) were in direct sun from about 11am to sunset. But they were the
> "bring them home from school in a pot of dirt" type thing, so possibly
> they were from a bag of hamster food and/or the compost not great. Don't
> know if it's the damping-off disease, I've got some "stock" and sweetpea
> that seem to have done very well from seeds under the same circumstances.
> I bought some "proper" mixed sunflower seeds and some seedling compost, so
> far have got 23 out of 24 (8 each of 4 different types) growing well, if
> the sun ever comes back I'm hopeful for better results! They all look
> thicker/stronger than the first batch already, so fingers crossed!
> They're all between 1-2 inches so far, should I start putting them into
> larger containers yet and is there a good technique for picking up the
> whole segment of compost/root in one go without damaging the plant or the
> root? I might just cut the trays open if there's no better way to do it
> without disturbing things too much.