Hello, we are nearing the end of January and I have a trove of seeds. Many nice crosses. I was wondering about the process of other growers. I love the thought of having new plants but not the weeding So many seeds are copies of one of the parents. You have the issue of space, expense, and the energy. I just dabble for fun or harvest bee pods. Any input will be appreciated. What do you do ?

Thanks,
Teresa

Even if you grow them in pots---you still have to weed. I was thinking like you a few years ago and planted in pots with commercial potting mix. Weeds came up in the pots anyway. Some weed seeds are brought in by birds. Some are spewed onto the pots by the lawn mower and wind. Most weed seeds are in the mix already. A long time ago the companies that make these mixes stopped heat treating the mix to kill pathogens and weeds.
If you have the same problem that most people have---bending and kneeling---then do what a friend of mine did: make raised box beds. They are made of treated wood. Basically it is a box 8" deep, 3' wide x 8' long, on legs that raise the box up 3 ' off the ground. They require more, and more careful watering, but they do work.

I grow them in mini square pots... In trays, In a greenhouse till spring-

Morning Teresa,

I have started both in pots and small raised beds for my seedlings. Its a race to see which bloom first, the two year olds in pots or the ones planted in the beds.

I started my first in 3 gallon green house pots back in 2015. They have yet to bloom. Some of those are maturing this year and should produce scapes and I can hardly wait. I did have to pick a few weeds out of them, but not as bad as if they were in a garden bed.

Last year I did build a couple raised beds for my seedlings. Some of my crosses and some of those won on the LA from Fred and Judy. I am hoping that a few of them bloom this year too. I practiced a little of what Fred has suggested and uses with his seedlings. They receive water every other day, and feeding of liquid fertilizer biweekly. As soon as the temps constantly stay above 50°f again, I will restart feeding them the liquid fertilizer.

edited to add, that I too only dab for fun. I have more seed in the fridge than in the soil.

GaNinFl said: I have more seed in the fridge than in the soil.

and you're not the only one!!

I start mine in little ziplock baggies, transplant to 3x3" pots (3-5 seeds of the same cross max per pot) as soon as the seeds have a nice root and a 2" green sprout, than, depending on how fast they grow/how long the Winter is, I repot to a bigger pot or plant them in the ground as soon as the roots appear through the holes in the bottom of the pot.

That being said: this is my second Winter sowing DL seeds, so what do I know?


Mayo

Thanks, everyone. I just wish I could afford a full time gardener lol. I love making the crosses and dreaming of the what may be. My garden is as large as I want it to be right now. Does anyone use Treflan in their beds? I have heard that is good if you start with a clean bed.

After trying a variety of approaches, what works best for me is starting the seeds indoors in 4" pots, under lights (after stratifying and pre-sprouting the seeds in the fridge). I can control the amount of water, fertilizer, and temperature better than I can outside, PLUS I don't have to worry about birds, slugs/snails, or other critters. Once the seedlings get large enough, then I can harden them off and transplant them to a seedling bed.

(I've tried those single cell trays, but if the seedlings survive long enough to get big enough, then it is a pain to get them out without destroying the tray and/or having all of the labels fall out as you wrestle the seedlings out. I've tried growing the seedlings in the 4" pots outside, only to have them succumb to (apparently, and depending on the circumstances) drought, rot, critters - to the tune of losing almost the entire crop of seedlings. Indoors is what works best for me... (that, plus potting up the inevitable volunteer seedlings that pop up from lost seeds once they get big enough).)

bluegrassmom said:Thanks, everyone. I just wish I could afford a full time gardener lol. I love making the crosses and dreaming of the what may be. My garden is as large as I want it to be right now. Does anyone use Treflan in their beds? I have heard that is good if you start with a clean bed.

Teresa,
I have not used Treflan but do use other pre-emergents and yes a good clean bed is what you want. My only chance to keep up with the grass and weeds is with pre-emergent and high yield grass killer. It sill gets out of control in some of my beds. But we have too much for my busy schedule. We keep on for now but will have to slow down before long.
we have tried about everything for starting seedlings and this year was a new adventure. We directly planted lots of seeds after harvesting them. We went directly to containers from the pods. It worked really well. We also started seeds in the fridge in moist vermiculie. We have so many that getting them planted is work in progress. We have about 4000 planted so far which is probably more than half of what we have total to plant. In the fall I built a hoop house 8' x 16' so I would not have to start thousands of seedlings indoors. It is behind our old farmhouse and I built it very affordable. It is working out very well It has gotten below freezing in there a couple of times but no harm to the baby plants. They are getting going very well.

Seedlings started by direct sowing right out of the pods at harvest.


A new hoop house to plant all the winter started seeds.




Starting to fill up with new baby daylilies.

4000! Wow that will be a huge crop of new daylilies! Good luck, do you have plants registered yet?

I have tried every method over 20 years now. The cost of starting them is too high, electricity cost here is terrible. I just keep seeds in the fridge till spring then plant in the soil. Ddig a shallow trench, drop the seeds in , put a marker in and cover with fine vermiculite. Then look up to the sky and give a little prayer.

Sscape mentioned raised beds. I was at an ag fair in Maine last year and noticed these. Perfect working height for someone have problems working near the ground. Probably fewer weeds to deal with too.

I have back issues and those certainly would work for me Mac.

By the way,

Hi Cindy. I though they were rather ingenious. I found them at The Common Ground Country Fair in Unity Maine: http://www.mofga.org/thefair . That get-together is amazing. By the way, thanks for the welcome.

DAVIDRETALLICK said: I have tried every method over 20 years now. The cost of starting them is too high, electricity cost here is terrible. I just keep seeds in the fridge till spring then plant in the soil. Ddig a shallow trench, drop the seeds in , put a marker in and cover with fine vermiculite. Then look up to the sky and give a little prayer.

What is your success rate with this method?

Mac, I worked over the weekend at our local Lawn and Garden fair. One man had a similar one for sale. I wished that I had taken a picture. It would also be great for those in a wheelchairl.

Anyone know how long a dl seed will stay viable? I have some 2 yrs old that I may try to plant.

@bluegrassmom, You could germinate a few using the "wet paper towel in a baggie" method. You'd know in a few days if they were still viable.

I may try that with the best crosses. Would anyone be interested in some seeds? I could trade for a plant. I am looking for bleeding hearts. Or of course a daylily

I started 2 year old seeds and had a germination rate between 60 to 80%. Certainly worth giving them a try.

I have some seeds from 2014 that someone on here gave me that are currently germinating. I put some in bags of moist vermiculite and they sprouted roots within 3 days and now have green shoots that are about an inch tall...I really need to get them into seed starting trays. I also put some of those seeds in a damp paper towel (with peroxide water used) and they have yet to sprout any roots...

Some seeds may need stratification first.