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Sarracenia seeds?


SamuelRodryg

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Hi :)

Soon I will recive some sarracenia seeds (I think :?) and I would like to you answer some questions I have, please :D

I live in Portugal so we have here a good winter with low temperatures like 5 to 15 °C, can I put the seeds outside 2 months before the spring to stratify? If yes could i just put them in a box without any top and a month later put them in a 25, 28 °C pot with the respective soil and wait for the germination?

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  • 1 month later...

Whilst we're discussing this, can I ask too? I bought a few sets of sarra seeds recently, and have them sitting on top of moist peat in seed trays in our unheated room at the back of the house. The temp in there is usually a degree or two higher than outside, sometimes the same as outside.

 

I currently have the lids on the seed trays, mainly to protect them from small fingers, but was wondering if this would encourage mould, etc.

 

Anyone any comments? Will I be safe leaving them covered?

 

Thanks

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it will encourage mould,especially with new compost.

 

They need fresh air blowing around them and cooler temperatures.

I always use some old compost mixed with newer compost for seeds. Take the lids off now!   Let them germinate naturally in spring and you will have far fewer losses.

 

ada

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it will encourage mould,especially with new compost.

They are sitting on fresh sphagnum peat. I was told that was the right thing to do.
 

I always use some old compost mixed with newer compost for seeds.

Should I change the compost? Having said that, I don't have any old stuff, but if ti's better for them, I'll have to work something out.

 

Let them germinate naturally in spring and you will have far fewer losses.

What do you mean by "germinate naturally"? I thought by sitting them on the peat and leaving them there over the winter, I was letting them germinate naturally. Please clarify.

 

I just went down and took the lids off, so now the two trays are sitting in a pretty cold room. The peat is moist, but not wet, and the seeds are sitting on top. Please tell me what, if anything, I need to do to improve my chances of getting them all to germinate.

 

Thanks very much for the reply. All advice is welcome!

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I mix a bit of old compost with the new  to stop the mould forming,the old compost already has naturalised bacteria etc in the right levels.

Fresh air will help defeat any mould that tries to grow on new compost.if you leave them outside in the greenhouse you can leave the compost wetter too.The higher light levels and fresh air will help prevent mould.

Planting seeds in the house at this time of year is just asking for mould,unless you can provide heat,lights and a fan.

 

By germinating naturally,i mean that as the temperatures and light levels increase in spring,the seeds will be stratified by the cold and germinate when all conditions are best for the new plants to thrive.

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I mix a bit of old compost with the new  to stop the mould forming,the old compost already has naturalised bacteria etc in the right levels.

Hmm, shame I didn't know that before I did them. Have to hope they are OK now.
 

Fresh air will help defeat any mould that tries to grow on new compost.if you leave them outside in the greenhouse you can leave the compost wetter too.The higher light levels and fresh air will help prevent mould.

Well, although I described the room as a room, it's not house conditions by any means. It's a single-skin brick room, with a thin polycarbon roof, so it gets almost as cold and humid as an unheated greenhouse would. Although there aren't actually any open windows, the roof isn't fitted closely, so there are lots of draughts in there.
 
I might see about raising one of the polycarbon panels a little, to let in more air.
 

Planting seeds in the house at this time of year is just asking for mould,unless you can provide heat,lights and a fan.

Well, as I said, they aren't actually in the house, so I hope I should be OK.
 

By germinating naturally,i mean that as the temperatures and light levels increase in spring,the seeds will be stratified by the cold and germinate when all conditions are best for the new plants to thrive.

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

 

As the roof is polycarbon, which is basically clear, they will "see" (if you can use that word about seeds!) the change in light, and obviously the change in temperate will affect their surroundings, so hopefully I should be OK here.

 

Thanks again for the help.

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Hmm, shame I didn't know that before I did them. Have to hope they are OK now.
 
Well, although I described the room as a room, it's not house conditions by any means. It's a single-skin brick room, with a thin polycarbon roof, so it gets almost as cold and humid as an unheated greenhouse would. Although there aren't actually any open windows, the roof isn't fitted closely, so there are lots of draughts in there.
 
I might see about raising one of the polycarbon panels a little, to let in more air.
 
Well, as I said, they aren't actually in the house, so I hope I should be OK.
 

Ah, thanks for the clarification.

 

As the roof is polycarbon, which is basically clear, they will "see" (if you can use that word about seeds!) the change in light, and obviously the change in temperate will affect their surroundings, so hopefully I should be OK here.

 

Thanks again for the help.

 

 

I have an automatic air vent on my greenhouse roof, it is mechanical only, no electronics/electricity used, it has worked correctly  for the past n years (possibly nn years) since I put it in. It is adjustable in trigger temperature and closing, and height it opens to.

This type of item may work in the roof of your room if you make a frame and hinged window (using the trimmed piece cut out of the roof as the window pane).

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I have an automatic air vent on my greenhouse roof, it is mechanical only, no electronics/electricity used, it has worked correctly  for the past n years (possibly nn years) since I put it in. It is adjustable in trigger temperature and closing, and height it opens to.

This type of item may work in the roof of your room if you make a frame and hinged window (using the trimmed piece cut out of the roof as the window pane).

Thanks, that's a good idea. Please can you give more details of what you have, maybe even a picture? Would be very helpful to see how you did it.

 

Thanks again

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Thanks, that's a good idea. Please can you give more details of what you have, maybe even a picture? Would be very helpful to see how you did it.

 

Thanks again

 

It is like this one

https://www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/products/2907/auto-roof-vent-opener-xl/

 

Amazon has a variety of them like mine too where they start from £11.89

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/277-3943798-8029542?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=greenhouse+auto+roof+vent

 

I bought mine in Bourneville Garden centre, which is now Wyevale Garden centre.

 

The brass nut, you adjust this , and check your temperatures in the room, if you want it to open at a higher or lower temperature you adjust the nut, eventually you will arrive at a position where it is opening and closing within a suitable range of temperatures.

It is a strong device mine has opened in the winter with snow or frost on the greenhouse roof each year with no issues.

 

It may be useful to look at Skylight windows online as often the websites will have line drawings for installion these could be scaled to suit plans for constructing your window.

 

Edit - I found this it has a video too towards the bottom of the page

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/roofwindows.htm

 

Here are some skylights fitted in polycarbonate roofs it maye help ?

http://www.polycarbonatesheets.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p1059.html

Edited by aspie.pickerr
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Wow, what a great reply! Thanks for that.

 

Trouble is, I just spent an hour drooling over those greenhouses! I've been looking at 2nd hand ones on fleaBay, but given the modest cost of some of those, I might see if I can rob a bank and buy a new one. Never know what you get with 2nd hand.

 

In the meantime, I'll just pull up one of the polycarbon panels on my roof, which will let in enough air. The room isn't really being used at the moment (too cold), so it won't bother anyone!

 

Thanks again.

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all three of my greenhouses are second hand,nothing wrong with them at all. my father in law has one too, we took down and re erected in a weekend.still works just as well at a fraction of the cost of new.

 

Just think of all the money you'd save to spend on plants!

 

just remembered his has self opening vents too.

 

ada

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Maybe if considering a second hand one look for one that is still standing so you can check it over first, then disassemble it yourself, it would allow you to add labelling to the parts to aid reassembly so the frame is rebuild the same way and the glass is fitted in the same direction so it doesnt stress fracture it, as the glass will have bowed.

 

There are also these kind of greenhouses -

One made by US University students

one made UK primary school kids

 

It may be possible to make a smaller cold frame sized one using similar methods, to be used as a seed germination/nursery box over winter.

If so these would be ideal as they can be made in sizes to suit and located around a garden, patio, balcony, it could suit a wide variety of growers.

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There are also these kind of greenhouses -

(snip)

That's completely brilliant! What a great way to get kids thinking and doing something practical.

 

Mind you, I'd hate to think how much lemonade they drank to do it!

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all three of my greenhouses are second hand,nothing wrong with them at all. my father in law has one too, we took down and re erected in a weekend.still works just as well at a fraction of the cost of new.

 

Just think of all the money you'd save to spend on plants!

 

just remembered his has self opening vents too.

 

ada

I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with 2nd hand, I was just surprised at the low cost of a new one. All the ones I'd seen before were nearer £1000, which is way out of my price range.

 

Sadly, I don't have the money to spend on anything at the moment, so I reckon the most I'll be getting is one of those £15 foldaway ones from B&Q! Should last me through the winter, and we'll see if the spring brings any change.

 

Thanks for the reply.

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  • 4 weeks later...

And here is my sarracenia seed germination thingy :P 

On the first time I had the top part of the bottle, but then an experient CP grower sad to me to take that part off because here on Portugal the conditions are almost the same that in sarracenia´s habitat (outdoors of course)...

 

Seed (S. Farhamii) focus:

2hqgk6b.jpg

 

The bottle with the top part that I toke:

yhquu.jpg

 

Now I have to wait to germination... 

See you soon ;)

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