Re: starting seeds indoors
- To: i*@Rt66.com
- Subject: Re: starting seeds indoors
- From: t*@Lanl.GOV (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 09:10:07 -0700
J. Irwin writes
:Does anyone have a reliable method that they use for starting bearded
:iris seeds indoors? I would like to get a jump on the season by
:starting the seeds indoors.
The trick is that they need a good solid period of chilling before they
will sprout; repeated cycling of warm and cold is even better. So if
you start their obligatory 2 months in the fridge NOW, you won't be
gaining much.
I've actually been trying something along these lines. Since I have
such a small garden, I can't afford the space of a direct-in-the-ground
seedbed. I planted my seeds in cellpacks in October, gave them warm
stratification in the house for over a month, then moved them outside
into an unheated cold frame, where they got a good 2-3 months of Los
Alamos winter cold. About a month ago, I turned the heating cable on
in the cold frame to make them think spring is coming early.
Alas, I can't yet report whether this works at all!
===============================================================
Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
---------------------------------------------------------------
Telperion Productions http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
===============================================================
