First time growing

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests I am trying to grow at home for the first time as an amateur for my own "pleasure" and am looking for advice and I guess reassurance I did not mess smth up.

I have been growing vegetables and flowers from seeds for couple of years now so I am not a complete beginner when it comes to growing plants.

Still I got these 4 seeds online, feminised, autoflowering ... From what I understood I should just pop them in the soil and they will grow.

So, I took 2 of them, left them in the rainwater for 24h...they sank only when I pushed with my finger below the water... They did grow a bit in the water. After 24 hours I planted them in peat moss (the "tablets" you soak in water and they grow - sorry, English is not my mother tongue), placed them in a plastic container that I partially closed with glass and left them on a window above the radiator in my bedroom... I placed them around 1, 1.5 cm in the soil (that would be like half an inch I guess?)

It has been 5 days now... The soil is moist, not wet, the radiator is giving off heat... and ... I am freaking out... because I am used to most of the plants already showing up by now and these guys are still... Well... They are not showing up...

Can someone reassure me that I did not mess smth up? How long does it take for them to show up in such conditions? Thanks.

Runa said:

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests I am trying to grow at home for the first time as an amateur for my own "pleasure" and am looking for advice and I guess reassurance I did not mess smth up.

I have been growing vegetables and flowers from seeds for couple of years now so I am not a complete beginner when it comes to growing plants.

Still I got these 4 seeds online, feminised, autoflowering ... From what I understood I should just pop them in the soil and they will grow.

So, I took 2 of them, left them in the rainwater for 24h...they sank only when I pushed with my finger below the water... They did grow a bit in the water. After 24 hours I planted them in peat moss (the "tablets" you soak in water and they grow - sorry, English is not my mother tongue), placed them in a plastic container that I partially closed with glass and left them on a window above the radiator in my bedroom... I placed them around 1, 1.5 cm in the soil (that would be like half an inch I guess?)

It has been 5 days now... The soil is moist, not wet, the radiator is giving off heat... and ... I am freaking out... because I am used to most of the plants already showing up by now and these guys are still... Well... They are not showing up...

Can someone reassure me that I did not mess smth up? How long does it take for them to show up in such conditions? Thanks.

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Two potential problems, the heat from the radiator could have cooked them. Touching them with your fingers could have infected them with your commensals and killed them. I put my seeds straight into wet Jiffy Pellets and mine are usually up in 3-5 days. I'd go several days longer just in case. Good luck, I hope they are just slow.

Lots of variables in that story could be contributing to a longer sprout. If you damaged the taproots when moving them from water to peat tablet, if you planted them in tight potting soil (or packed it down), if they landed upside-down in the starting soil.

A damaged taproot could be the end of the plant. Packed soil could go either way. Upside-down sprout will just take an extra day or two to emerge.

With more practice you can make this system work. Many do just fine with germinating first, then transferring. There are many different ways to sprout seeds and a different method might work better for you.

Give the seeds a couple more days. Keep them moist in the soil but not wet. You might be just fine.

Keep them moist, like a squeezed out sponge, and there is a chance they will come up. I think most people fail at germinating due to pre-soaking for too long and for letting them get too cold. Here is a good guide: mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Germination-Guide

Next time, I would plant them directly into good seed starting mix or potting soil, keep them at 78-80 degrees, mild light on 24/7 (like fluorescents). That's it! I just had 4 seeds sprout in 24 hours doing this. Don't give up though, and don't dig up your seeds, just leave them for another week, and warm them up if they need it.

Rurumo said:

Keep them moist, like a squeezed out sponge, and there is a chance they will come up. I think most people fail at germinating due to pre-soaking for too long and for letting them get too cold. Here is a good guide: mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Germination-Guide

Next time, I would plant them directly into good seed starting mix or potting soil, keep them at 78-80 degrees, mild light on 24/7 (like fluorescents). That's it! I just had 4 seeds sprout in 24 hours doing this. Don't give up though, and don't dig up your seeds, just leave them for another week, and warm them up if they need it.

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I had a feeling you'd show up to this thread.

I also plant directly into soil and never have a problem. If soil is the final growing place, you (OP) have two fans of that method right here.

Thanks guys for all the comments and pieces of advice...

LOL... With a name "weed" you would expect it to grow anywhere in any condition...

I will leave them for sure and see if smth happens. I decided to wait 2 weeks and if nothing happens I will plant the remaining 2 seeds... LOL properly this time!

I am only concerned about the heat... They are 15 cm (6-7 inces) above the radiator but not directly above it... The plastic container was never warm to the touch but the mist did appear on the glass that I placed on top of the container...

I am noticing flowers I planted in other tablets next to weed showing up... Maybe these guys will just need more time for having thicker seed...

Runa said:

Thanks guys for all the comments and pieces of advice...

LOL... With a name "weed" you would expect it to grow anywhere in any condition...

I will leave them for sure and see if smth happens. I decided to wait 2 weeks and if nothing happens I will plant the remaining 2 seeds... LOL properly this time!

I am only concerned about the heat... They are 15 cm (6-7 inces) above the radiator but not directly above it... The plastic container was never warm to the touch but the mist did appear on the glass that I placed on top of the container...

I am noticing flowers I planted in other tablets next to weed showing up... Maybe these guys will just need more time for having thicker seed...

Click to expand...

They usually pop pretty quick. Best case scenario is two days.

I'm glad to hear you have a couple more seeds to try some more. The original ones still might sprout!

I just need one plant to grow... And flower... LOL and it will be enough... For starters...

My mother-in-law told me she grew it like a regular plant in a pot on her window back in 80s and that it was super easy, though I presume she did not grow hybrids we have today...

Anyways I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. LOL

Seed straight into moist dirt, baggie on top like a little greenhouse. Works every time.

You might have kept the seeds too wet.

So, I am a crazy, impatient person. Seeing the flowers in other peat tablets started to show up today... I had to look... LOL...

I just gently rubbed off soil from the top of one seed and I see it has a root... So I placed the soil back on it.. Did not touch the other one...

Need to learn patience...

Runa said:

So, I am a crazy, impatient person. Seeing the flowers in other peat tablets started to show up today... I had to look... LOL...

I just gently rubbed off soil from the top of one seed and I see it has a root... So I placed the soil back on it.. Did not touch the other one...

Need to learn patience...

Click to expand...

If you want to watch root growth I recommend transplanting the peat tablet into a clear solo cup and then place that clear solo cup inside of a colored cup. That way you get to watch the root growth without burning the roots. Although, only do this once your plant has outgrown the peat tablet.

whaler007 said:

If you want to watch root growth I recommend transplanting the peat tablet into a clear solo cup and then place that clear solo cup inside of a colored cup. That way you get to watch the root growth without burning the roots. Although, only do this once your plant has outgrown the peat tablet.

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I think once it outgrows the tablet (If ever) i will place it into soil right away... Though I still have no idea how big the pot should be... I am thinking of using a mix of compost, regular soil and perlite and plant it in an earth pot... I don't have any fancy "instalation" in my home, so I'll just chuck it in our greenhouse with other plants we have there and make sure to give it around 16 hours of light daily... Maybe more...