Success and Insanity

[Dazed_Lily]

I think I’m close to getting back to sowing daylily seeds. Even though I am still coaxing along the remains of two Jiffy trays as well as some that made it to 16 oz plastic cups but still inexplicably took a turn for the worse. I have to say that that was a whole lot of negative reinforcement seeing that. But I think : 1) maybe I started too early(even though they are inside they are near a window) 2) I just couldn’t leave the peat pellets alone even before I planted—I thought they were too wet and tried to dry them some 3) after planting I was still freaked about too wet and opened the lids and first got visited by fungus gnats(that left when I moved the amaryllis to the bsmt) and then some damping off 4) that snowballed into a too dry-water-too wet cycle 5) I did not pretreat the seeds(peroxide dip;water soak per previous threads)—there was an element of laziness and impatience in skipping that step even after seeing some seeds looking mighty shriveled 6) I planted some seeds that I bought last spring which means they were harvested 2 seasons ago—good golly—it’s a miracle any of those would grow(and some are !)—so I must plant all seeds in the season they are bought.
7) thinking too much—last year I just threw everything together and let nature take its course(I also had great seeds-Rebeccas-that were quite forgiving if I was doing anything wrong then)
So, where does success and insanity come into this. I was thinking this morning that I have heard the definition of success is getting up one more time than you’ve fallen and that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and thinking you’ll get different results.
So, that being said, I’ll try to learn from what has happened so far this season and try something different based on this experience and the advice I’ve gotten on the board. I’ve got a couple hundred seeds left—plenty of opportunity for success if I can avoid insanity. (Hey, I heard what you were just thinking-LOL!)

[Ann B.]

Hey, Sweet Pea!

I have sat back, listened and watched and listened and thought some more...

I tried the peat pellets. Actually, I didn't have problems with fungus gnats because I poured boiling water over the pellets to get them to expand.

Anyway, I found that I didn't like them. They were cumbersome, and they just didn't do well for me. I tend to not pass judgement, though, because what works for one person doesn't always work for another.

They say that the biggest cause of death of plants is overwatering, but being in one of the most heavy rainfall ciities in the US, I tend to be just the opposite. I try to do everything I can to retain the necessary humidity without having to water the plants every day. I can't. My schedule is too hectic.

Cathy, Somehow you have to find your nitch and what works for you. I have tried some nitches that didn't work well, and I don't like to talk about those. I move on, and I try another.

I think the hardest part is learning YOU, and what YOU are good at and what you are not good at, then proceeding from there.

Fungas gnats tried to start in some of my seedling pots, and I realized that I did not sterilize peat like I normally do. My fault, so I have to deal with that, and I learn from it.

But what works for me doesn't necessarily work for you. You have basements. We don't. You have long winters, and we don't.

We all learn from each other, and it is a complicated world.

Everyone wants exact answers, and sometimes they are hard to come by because there are simply too many differences.

The good news is that by comparing differences and not judging by restrained experiences, we all learn and we GAIN by it.

Keep trying! Keep learning, and you will find a method that is right for YOU!!!!!

[Rebecca]

Cathy and Ann,

I've read both messages and you both said it well. That is the trick about gardening; finding what works for you and then just doing it, "your way".

Cathy, I've yet to plant the first seed (other than the mercy sowing I did a couple weeks ago of the seeds that had already sprouted). I will not be treating most of my seeds. No peroxide bath and no soaking, except for those seeds that are really dried out.

Plump seeds don't need to be soaked or pre sprouted, plant them and they'll grow.

Seeds that have been dried don't really have to be soaked either and if I were fall sowing, directly in the ground I wouldn't. Since I am planting in pots and in the house, I will soak them for at least 24 hours, but no peroxide. 24 hours at room temperature should be all dried seeds need to re-hydrate them. I have always soaked and drained the pots of soil before planting and then only had to give a light spray to settle the seeds in place, but I mat skip that step this year and just sift a bit more potting mix over the seeds. With soaking the pots of mix before planting there should not be a need for watering until after the seeds sprout. Of course that doesn't mean I won't check them daily!

I'm taking a lesson from that pot of hosta seedlings I have. All I did was scatter the seeds over the top of the soil, fluff the soil a bit and keep it moist. I didn't even think they would grow, Ha! Shows what I know, cause at last count, I had close to 50 of the little buggers! And here I thought there were only a dozen seeds scattered in that pot. LAS! I even had to buy a second Jiffy Pellet greenhouse to transplant the rest of these seedling to!

Less fuss + less muss = best results! (And fewer jangled nerves!) It is when we do to much that we have problems!



Rebecca