Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [seed-starting]

For questions about germinating and starting seedlings

Use this tag for questions about how to plant, germinate, and start seeds. Typical questions will be about specific problems, or inquiring the best way to start seeds for particular plants.

21 questions
20
votes
1 answer

How do I start an oak tree from an acorn?

I have a lot of acorns on my lawn from a red oak tree. I would like to start a new tree from an acorn and I was wondering what I can do to ensure success. What should I look for in an acorn, for example, cap on / cap off? How deep should I plant…
uncle brad
  • 397
  • 5
  • 12
18
votes
3 answers

How can I effectively grow plants from peach, nectarine or plum pits?

I have a few plum, nectarine, and peach pits from locally grown fruit and I'd like to try growing them, mostly indoors in pots. I'd also like to try one or two outside. What's the best way to go about doing this? I looked around online and found…
Sarah
  • 729
  • 1
  • 5
  • 17
16
votes
2 answers

What is in seed starting soil that justifies wearing gloves while handling?

I was adding miracle-gro seed starting soil to paper pots with my daughter a few months ago and was a little leery about letting her touch the stuff (let alone breathe it in). What's in it that is dangerous? Do you need rubber gloves or just…
Peter Turner
  • 9,141
  • 5
  • 37
  • 83
16
votes
3 answers

Is there a fast-growing, inexpensive privacy plant that can be started in winter?

I live in a flatshare, in a room on the ground floor (first floor for North Americans). To prevent people from looking into our rooms all the time (there's a parking lot in front), we have outdoor blinds/screens (about 5ft/1.5m high and 15ft/4.5m…
Pekka
  • 1,265
  • 8
  • 16
14
votes
1 answer

How can I grow my own sweet potato starts?

I have always used pre-grown sweet potato slips, but since the source of sweet potatoes I have been using is unreliable, I am looking for how to grow my own in fairly large quantities. How should I do this if I am using a cold frame?
J. Musser
  • 51,627
  • 21
  • 115
  • 320
13
votes
1 answer

How long does it take to start sweet potato slips?

@Om Patange asked this in a comment on this sweet potato question and I'm curious about the answer: How long does each step [in starting sweet potato slips] take? I ask to know how long before spring I should start the process so that I have…
bstpierre
  • 41,452
  • 7
  • 111
  • 235
12
votes
1 answer

How can I grow maple trees from seeds?

I have a mature maple tree in my yard. Every year it drops seeds which start growing in the most inconvenient of places, like my gutters. Next season I would like to actively cultivate these seeds and plant some new maple trees where I want…
Freiheit
  • 590
  • 3
  • 11
11
votes
1 answer

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using soil blocks?

I recently read a book that suggests using soil blocks for starting seeds. What are the advantages and disadvantages of soil blocks over the more popular seed starting methods? I am mainly interested in using the seed blocks to start vegetables.
jeffreywrichards
  • 325
  • 2
  • 6
9
votes
2 answers

How viable will 5 year old or 25 year old bush bean seeds be?

My Grandfather bred a bush bean for my Grandma. They've been gone for years, but I would like to try and keep the breed alive for heirloom purposes. I've got two sources of seeds, 1 source is about 5-8 years old, and the other source is 25+. What…
thomasw_lrd
  • 343
  • 1
  • 5
9
votes
1 answer

Do seeds require light indoors to germinate?

In general, do most seeds require/do better with bright light when germinating indoors? I am trying to germinate a variety of seeds indoors (basil, chives, spinach, pepper) and am curious if no lighting (just warmth) is sufficient or if it would be…
WienerDog
  • 2,204
  • 1
  • 20
  • 34
8
votes
1 answer

Can I make my own seed raising mix?

From what I understand there is something in seed raising mix that increases the chance of germination and I guess the rest is stuff that helps feed a seedling. What is there in seed raising mix that improves chances of germination? Is there a way I…
going
  • 6,342
  • 6
  • 35
  • 64
8
votes
2 answers

How do I start tree seeds?

I've got some thornless honeylocust seeds (about 20). They've been stratified, and I'm ready to plant, but I'm not sure what the best approach is. I haven't started trees from seed before. Will they work in soil blocks? 2" or 4" to start? Is a…
bstpierre
  • 41,452
  • 7
  • 111
  • 235
8
votes
2 answers

What are some tips on growing strawberries from seed?

I have a reasonable amount of practice growing things from seed but I recently spread a whole packet of strawberry seed at the right depth and didn't get a single sprouter. I'm hoping to get some pro-tips on how to grow strawberry from seed. The…
going
  • 6,342
  • 6
  • 35
  • 64
6
votes
1 answer

What could be preventing tomato seedling germination?

I have planted Russian heirloom Black Cherry tomato seeds twice now (4 seeds in total) and I have not had a succesful germination. I have planted in potting soil as opposed to the recommended soilless growing medium, but I would expect this to not…
Om Patange
  • 2,898
  • 5
  • 25
  • 30
5
votes
2 answers

Seeds not germinating

I have planted a couple herbs 2 - 3 weeks ago and this is the result. It seems the wild rocket has pretty much all come up, the others had similar number of seeds planted but not making a show. 2x basil, 1x mint, 1x sage, 1x rocket. Its been on a…
dogmatic69
  • 250
  • 2
  • 9
1
2