Sprouts III: The Revenge

[Holodoc]

With one week to Ostara and the apex of spring, I have thus far two contained dirtbags* of unknown sprouts, and two contained dirtbags of Browalia sprouts just starting to develop their second leaves. I've planted several seeds, which have either not sprouted or died of damp off or whatever it's called.

This time, it's war.

Armed with new dirtbag pellets, I've just planted the following in small storage containers:

• Lavender Lady from two seed companies
  
• Campanula Isophylia
  
• California Poppy
  
• Ageratum
  
• Alyssum (it better flower this year)
  
• Centaurea
  

I'd better see some spectacular stuff this year after the two false starts.  


*Normally, I use small Jiffy peat pellets, which grow into these little cylindrical plugs of dirt 1-1/2" high. This year, I've been using larger pellets, which expand into these loose soil in netting of about 2" high.

[Holodoc]

Update:

The following are sprouting:

lavender
ageratum
allysum


In addition, the following are in a large ziplock storage container (bowlshaped):

2 browallias (one is growing a second set of leaves)
1 alyssum
1 california poppy

(Last time I looked two days ago, I barely saw a sprout in the poppy's dirtbag)

So far so good.

[Holodoc]

The following sprouts are sprouting:

Lavender
Ageratum
California Poppy
Browallia
Lobelia (I think)

Have I left anything out? I keep thinking I have.

Anyway, poppies were transferred from the larger container to their own pot. They grew too tall too fast to hold them even there. The ageratum sprouts came up the last couple of days and grew at such an exponential rate, that they took the poppies' place in the larger container.

In other news:

The blueberry bush continues to disregard my cropping and insists on growing in places I don't want it. The geranium I think needs a new pot.

It's high time I gave some old used starter pots a bleach bath for the new infants. I have a feeling by the end of this week, the poppies won't be the only plants who've graduated from the Ziplock cradle.

[Holodoc]

Ah yes. The alyssum are sprouting too of course. They might have been the ones I potted. Now I'm not sure

[Holodoc]

I'm wondering whether I'm going about this all wrong? I had a late start last year because a few plants had the damp off problem.

I thought about what I did differently between before then. I realized I used clay pots.

Could that be it? Should the first pot be a clay pot?

[Seven of Nine]

Clay dries out faster.  Usually for indoor use, clay pots are more difficult because the humidity level indoors is usually lower.  

[Holodoc]

But don't you see? The issue is with the moisture lingering. I'm thinking better to have more new water than old lingering mucky muck.

What do you think, Seven?

[Seven of Nine]

If the problem is too much moisture then certainly a clay pot will help.  While the roots are small, they will use up less moisture but  as the plant grows larger, so will the roots so eventually, you'll have to be wary of that and make sure the plant doesn't dry out.  

Later on in the summer  when the plants are larger,  it's a good idea to make sure the clay portion of the pot gets good and wet--let the water soak up into the pot for a while then discard any that pools at the bottom.  

[Holodoc]

So young sprouts should graduate to small clay pots, then advance to plastic when they're tough enough and their demands for water are greater...

I see I have a small job ahead of me after dinner.
They'll end up with me in my room, since clay pots are too heavy for the AC ledge...

[Holodoc]

Holodoc said:

So young sprouts should graduate to small clay pots, then advance to plastic when they're tough enough and their demands for water are greater...

I see I have a small job ahead of me after dinner.
They'll end up with me in my room, since clay pots are too heavy for the AC ledge...

It's been a week, and the cholorophyll pets on my bedroom window sill have gained strength started to grow in earnest. Well, actually in clay pots.

I have two stragglers in incubation and some specks of tiny green plantlets in a plastic pot. They're next I suppose.

Unfortunately, I'm stlll not 100% certain what I'm growing at this point. I think I have two California Poppy, and I think I'm growing two flimsy alyssum. But I know I'm growing an ageratum. Unfortunately, they should have all looked like this by the first week of March.

[Holodoc]

Update:

Some recently transplanted sprouts have taken their time catching up with their friends. Some nice plantlets are reaching about 4" with large leaves. I think they're the California poppy, but I'm not certain. Waiting for the roll to be finished so I can have it developed

[Holodoc]

It's been awhile since I've updated (not that anyone is looking), but the plants which survived the rot incident are now teenagers.

I can recognize a pot with two ageratum, and a bud is forming.

I can see an alyssum which is doing the same thing the one I had last year is doing: sprouting a lot of stems with fernlike leaves at the end, but no flowers.

I have another pot with something with similar leaves as the ageratum, but isn't behaving the same way. I wonder whether it's a lobelia?

Two wimpy sprouts which just started straddling the soil. It's hard to say at this point whether this is a symptom or a characteristic.

And two large plants with large triangular, scallop-edged leaves, which have yet to form buds. One I pinched, so I'll observe how they each grow. If I didn't know better, I'd say the leaves resembled that of the mini carnations, but so far as I know, those didn't survive the dampoff. I wonder whether they're the California poppies?

[Seven of Nine]

I saw ageratum growing wild in Hawaii.  I don't think it is native but it was pretty growing alongside the road.  Also saw a plant that looked like impatiens growing there.  It seems that there are a lot of things growing there that aren't  indigenous.  Sure is pretty, though.

I don't understand that alyssum at all.  That stuff's hard to kill.

Lobelia has very small leaves and branches out like crazy.  I've seen it looking like a giant blue ball of color.  The flowers really take over.

Not sure about the rest.

[Holodoc]

Seven said:

I saw ageratum growing wild in Hawaii.  I don't think it is native but it was pretty growing alongside the road.  Also saw a plant that looked like impatiens growing there.  It seems that there are a lot of things growing there that aren't  indigenous.  Sure is pretty, though.

I don't understand that alyssum at all.  That stuff's hard to kill.

Lobelia has very small leaves and branches out like crazy.  I've seen it looking like a giant blue ball of color.  The flowers really take over.

I hope so. I'm doing it for the flowers

[Christina]

Seven said:

I don't understand that alyssum at all.  That stuff's hard to kill.

*shrugs* I managed it very easily a few years ago. From a profuse spring border of low growing colour to nothing in one easy post-flowering pruning session...
Shame, I kinda miss it's reliability. But not the stems trailing all over the place and scratching my fingers when I'm trying to weed.