I originally was going to use 18oz solo cups. Then I wondered if the seedlings might put out too many roots after 10 weeks for that cup to hold. Now that I'm thinking the seedlings will stay in these pots for 12+ weeks I'm really concerned that they'll need the leg room.
Just checked and I can fit 48 1-gal pots in my racks-- perfect for my situation.
Plan on bottom-watering which may help with the gnats, and I see various Gnatrol products on amazon that I'll consider too...

I plant 3 seeds per cup of the same cross. I always like to hold back a couple of seeds in the refrigerator .... just in case. I have had the roots get really dense in the cups, but was able to divide them and transplant them up into their own pot or into the ground in the Spring. But I can plant mine early because of the zone I live in, so growing them in 12 oz. cups has not really been a problem for me.

The gnats on the other hand are a real pain!!! So bottom watering should help control the gnats?

Becky, bottom-watering should only help if the top 1-2 inches of soil at the top dries out. Not sure if you can let that happen to young seedlings without deep roots.

Check out this really helpful article which states:

"The most important strategy to minimize fungus gnat problems associated with houseplants is to allow the growing medium to dry between watering, especially the top 1 to 2 inches. The dry-growing medium will decrease survival of any eggs laid and/or larvae that hatch from the eggs as well as reduce the attractiveness of the growing medium to egg-laying adult females."

beckygardener said: So bottom watering should help control the gnats?

This article on subirrigation suggests not necessarily, especially if you overdo it:

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pub...

You could try covering the seeds with a layer of sand instead of soilless potting mix when you sow them.

An interesting item from the article:

"An effective means of detecting the presence of fungus gnat larvae is to insert 1/4 inch slices or wedges of potato into the growing medium. Larvae will migrate to the potato and start feeding within a few days. The potato slices should be turned over to look for larvae present on the underside."

Thanks (Sooby) for explaining the gnat problem for me. THAT is why another FORUM stated not to use opened bags of soil. Makes sense now. NOT to count my seedlings before they germinate...my husband and I just finished preparing some expanded planting space. It's about 450 square feet. Almost 60 feet long by about 10 feet at its widest spot. I sprayed to kill the grass (and weeds) a while ago. Today we laid down a paper weed barrier (purchased from Menards). It's supposed to be tillable. We then covered it with compost (and leaves at one end because we ran out of compost). Next spring we will till the area. Oh well, if I really botch up this germination to seedling journey, I will have a new area for my other daylilies and iris's that need more space. No matter what, the new space will be easy to fill. Here are pictures.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking that newly sprouted seedling roots wouldn't be long enough to receive the water at the bottom of the cups, so my assumption was correct. Maybe I need to "cook" my potting mix before using it? But then again, gnats can come into the house and find my cups of seedlings, so I guess I should probably save myself some grief and check into the Gnatrol product or add some Butterwort plants.

I have tried seeds a number of different ways. Big pots gives me plenty of room for growth and roots and all the good stuff. Then, in the spring I simply dig a hole and plant the entire pot, and presto, seedlings are in the ground. Used the larger pots for the last eight years or so.

Picture below is from last fall.

I have also tried every possible way and did use big pots this year as well as cups and multi-cell trays. The big pots make for less work.
Terry

The way I have done this for several now and it has worked out ok. I plant all the seeds in each pod in a gallon pot and plant them outside the first week of September. (I live in zone 8b) By the time the weather gets cold the plants have gotten big enough to survive just like any mature Daylily. Then I separate them after that. (The following Spring.). When I plant the seeds I also write the number of seeds I plant along with the cross...pod parent and pollen parent. I cover everything with pine straw over the winter.

We are planting lots of new babies out in the gardens this fall. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we will get all of them planted. I have never planted new seedlings in the fall or this late. We will see how it works out. I wish I could mulch them for some protection but our OK wind will leave most mulch against the first obstacle that stops it as it is blowing away. Ashton, (the Jr. Meteorologist) is forecasting no hard freeze before Thanksgiving. Normally that would be next week around here. (Meteorology in OK is like being a great baseball hitter, if you are right 30% of the time you are a great weather person.)
Back to DL seeds and seedlings, I just started using the big pots (gallon) and planting all seeds of a cross in one pot and going to the garden with all the plants together. I think that will be the plan in the future. As you can see there is no standard way or container size for us to start our seeds.

Fortunately about 80% of this mass of seedlings are now planted in new beds.
Terry

I gave up starting seeds indoors because I kept getting dampening off and I lost a lot. I now plant directly in pots outdoors every May and I have had better luck just letting nature take its course.

I'm in zone 5a ..... I broke all the "rules" one year and started a couple hundred in small pots (4"?) .... one seed per pot, and did it in late Summer/Early Fall. Yes, many of them germinated and started to grow. I put the pots close together in rows about 5 thick, put landscape timbers down the outer edges, and the only mulching they got was what Mother Nature gave them. I think 90% of the one's that had germinated before the snow flew, survived.

This year I am going back to outside ... just a bit differently. I am starting later (some time in November), and using deep "root trainers" instead of pots. I'm a bit hesitant about the root trainers, because they are smaller ... but I think they will be ok. Most will go in a cold frame, in an attempt to get them "bigger" by planting time, and protect them from small and large varmints.

I'll save some seed to start this way in early Spring too. I may even plant as I harvest next year. Of course all this could be done in the ground, but I'm never organized enough to have a bed ready for planting.

a gnat.. is that a small musquito (2-3mm), with small glasslike larvae?

Over here we can buy nematodes, which you add to water and pour over the affected plants or seedlings.
The nematodes eat and lay their eggs in the larvae and eggs of the musquito (Sclaria).
It's a very easy and ecological way to treat 'gnats'

Mayo

Cindy,
I only loose the best crosses to dampening off. All others survive with no problems.
A couple of years ago I lost what I thought was my best Rose F Kennedy cross (all the seedlings) and this year I lost all of a Scandinavia cross that I really wanted to grow.
Terry

Tree Climber,
I find that most interesting. A program like that would work for me. They should be fine here in zone 7 if they survive zone 5. I think I will over winter all the seedlings I don’t get in the ground in a somewhat protected place without the cold frame.
Terry

That's too bad Terry. Seems like that always happens when you want a particular cross really bad.

Since I switched to larger pots, I get zero damping off.

I also did a few years using those cardboard tree starters. They were a rectangular cube that were 1"X 1"X 6". They worked great, but were a nightmare to replant. If I left the seedling in the cardboard, it would restrict root growth in the ground. If I removed the cardboard, then the soil would fall away.

Steve

I was using Park's bio sponges for planting my seeds when I got the damping off which is strange because I had used them for about 3 years with no problems. I don't know if the sponges had been reformulated or I just over watered them.

Those of you who get damping off has anyone tried the "on the rocks" method? Or anyone else for that matter try the "on the rocks" method?