Many of my little seedlings are growing now: Cosmos: I have about 20 seedlings growing now, and every day a few more of the seeds sprout in their little paper towel/ziploc bag environment. I think they would have done better if I hadn’t had that one day that they got scorched. Some seeds are clearly dead, but others are coming along. White coneflowers: I did not get enough sprouts from these. I am still waiting for the ones I gathered anew last Saturday to sprout while sitting on top of the soil in the planter cells. I threw away the…

Well, all is not lost in my little seed-sprouting laboratory. Yesterday, I transferred many seeds into their “cells” or little pots for growing. Here’s a plant-by-plant update: The pink California poppies sprouted quite well. They weren’t on the heat pad, so no damage happened to them. The packet had about 125 seeds, and I got 72 good ones that were sprouting into little “Jiffy Pellet” planters. These are just a peat-moss/soil mix in a little net sac — I think they’ll be easier on the poppies when I transplant them, since these poppies don’t like transplanting. The white coneflowers may…

I’ve been extremely busy for several days, and I just checked my seeds in the basement, and the heating pad was getting way too hot. The other day, the pad wasn’t heating up very well, so I turned it up all the way. Today, it was at 100 degrees. I think some of the little sprouts got burned. I sprayed cool water on all of them and took them off the heat until it cooled down. Not sure it will save them. The Cosmos seeds look the worst. The Salvia transylvanica is not too good, either. I think the others…

Today, more sprouting is going on: Salvia nemorosa: clearly beginning to sprout. Salvia transylvanica: hard to tell (I need either my reading glasses or to take my contacts out!). Cosmos: many sprouts now. Echinacea: don’t see any new sprouts; they’ve slowed down, and I think it’s because I turned down the heat. I turned it back up to high today. Coreopsis: Nothing yet, but of all the ones I’m germinating, these are the ones that need the longest time. Eschscholzia (CA Poppy): I think some tiny sprouts are occurring, but I need those reading glasses. :-) I think turning the…

Some of my seeds are sprouting after only one day. This method with the moist paper towels is awesome! Especially when combined with a hot pad — things can happen quickly. The white coneflowers are definitely sprouting — several had little “tails” poking out. And they’re supposed to take 10-21 days to germinate. The cosmos are starting, but I only saw one actual sprout in my quick look. I also think the Salvia transylvanica are just getting started, but the seeds are so tiny, it’s hard to tell. The Salvia nemorosa seeds all have secreted a little clear sticky stuff…

All right — the growing season begins! I started my seeds today that I’m going to grow in the basement until I set the plants out in the garden in May. Here’s the list of what I started today: California poppy ‘Summer Sorbet’ – seeds from Thompson & Morgan Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Double Click’ – seeds from Thompson & Morgan Salvia nemorosa ‘East Friesland’ – seeds from my garden – I grew these from Wal-Mart seeds last year Salvia transylvanica – seeds from my garden – I grew these from T&M seeds last year White coneflower (Echinacea, unknown variety) – seeds from my…

Exactly one week after I ordered them, those seeds from Thompson and Morgan arrived today. I’m excited to get them started, along with the ones I gathered from the garden last week. I also found some seeds left over from last year that I didn’t use, including some purple alyssum. I thought perhaps I wouldn’t have as many seedlings this year, but it’s clear I’m going to have at least 100! I also have some things I’d like to directly sow outside, including some nice single marigold seeds I gathered in the fall-before-last when I grew them in the corners…