Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Friday, April 03, 2009

I'm a failure

Here I am whining about my lack of success with Nasturtiums, Quote from the web.
"
they are easy to grow" So what went wrong?

On March 15th I planted 24 little peat pots, lovingly tended them and what do I get in return, Three, just three puny little seedlings. How disappointing, I keep hoping some of the others will germinate. Perhaps I should be patient for a few more days. sighhhh!


18 comments:

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

no harm in trying ..... cheers!

dinzie said...

Oh no!! is it the area you live ??

or too rich a soil?

they just run rampant at the back of our garden....year after year....perhaps you care for them too much :O)

d

Peggy said...

I think you molly coddled them too! They reseed all over the place of their own accord. When the weather improves just put the seed directly into where you want them to grow and let them off, you can transplant any you want to move at that point.

Cathy S. said...

did you use a heating pad? or a spot light? and a clear dome over it, in all my past experiences the successful seeds to germinate is when I used heat, and a clear dome.

Unknown said...

KeeWee, I hear ya girl. That was me last year. I would just look for them at the nursery and let nature do the rest for next year. That is why I direct sowed this year, and so far... things look really good. Most of my seed is getting "true" leafs now. ~Brooke

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

I surrender. When the weather warms, I will toss seed out doors and see what happens.
Dinzie, these seeds are in peat pots on my kitchen table.
Peggy, I think I have molly coddled them too much.From here on out I am going to ignore them.
Cathy, I don't have a heating pad. Note to self. put it on your wish list.
Brooke, that is exactly what I will do.Out side the rest of the seeds will go

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Maybe just try them right out in the garden when it warms up a little. That's what I do. I tried starting sweet peas inside and got 2, all the rest rotted.

Unknown said...

I'm with you KeeWee, my seeds started growing like crazy and I was so proud of them (and myself) and now I just want to strangle their little stems - of the few that haven't keeled over. No more seeds I'm done! Gonna throw them outside when it warms and cross my fingers!!! Don't tell my Grandsons ;-)

Becca's Dirt said...

Soil too moist? Sorry. Try again.

Anonymous said...

Hi KeeWee~~ I've never had luck with peat pots. Peat holds water and it's my theory that, although the soil should never dry out, it does need free drainage which perlite, sand or pumice provide--none of which are in peat pots. The legginess means a lack of daylight. Also, I think the bottom heat is important and sometimes for some inexplicable reason they won't germinate. Bad seed maybe. I wouldn't give up. I'm watching my N. 'Cherry Rose' sown a few days ago. Love them.

Victoria Williams said...

Don't give up. I usually plant my nasturtiums where I want them to grow, and even then I don't get the swarm of blooms I'd like. I know they don't like a lot of fertilizer.

VJJ1692 said...

treat em mean thats what I think. If you plant them direct (or into pots outside) they will soon take off... (assuming you are using fresh seed of course)

Lona said...

Last year I had seedlings coming out my ears. This year I have had an awful time getting them to germinate. I use lights and clear covers but about a third is all that is growing.I refuse to give up because I still do better getting plants to grow indoors than sowing seeds outdoors.Outdoors I have sowed packs and packs of seeds which never come up.I am glad I wrote down where the seeds were purchased and then I am going to compare to see which seeds did best.

Phoenix C. said...

I've given up with seeds, KeeWee. I always seem to do something wrong, so I either scatter them over the garden or give them away!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Keewee,
Nasturtiums, sunflowers, lettuce, spinach, and I can't think of which others do best planted where they are going to grow. Nastutiums do well for me some years, but other years do not bloom much.

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

Two things I can think of...

Nasturtium seeds have a really tough shell (so do Morning Glories). Often touch shelled seeds need to be nicked or filed before planting because the germinating seedling can't get out as easily.

The other I can think of is that I don't ever have good success with small pots--peat or otherwise. The nutrients in soil go really quickly in smaller pots and if the germinating seed uses it all up before it really sprouts than it dies.

I always had horrible luck with seeds because I was always trying to start them in the cute little starter sets or peat pots. When I switch to big pots with lots of soil or just sowed them directly in the ground, I finally had success!

Cindy

lynn'sgarden said...

Hi Keewee, I find nasturiums easiest sown directly outside but soak them first. Just chalk it up to a bad batch of seeds..that way it's NOT your fault...repeat after me..NOT MY FAULT!

ryan said...

Be nasty to your nasturtiums. I'm not sure what that actually means or if it actually works, but that's what Gene Wilder says in Silver Streak, a Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor movie from the 70's.