Re: HYB: speeding things up

Linda,

I'm a little confused.  When you say you moved the pots "indoors", it 
makes me think they'd been outdoors.  But then you talk about them 
being "out of the refrigerator" for x many days.  Could you clarify 
what the history is of these particular seeds and where "indoors" you 
have brought them to germinate, as they are beginning to do?

Thanks.  I always appreciate your experiments and print them out for 
my massive Hybridizing notebook -- four-inch and full now.

Patricia Brooks
Whidbey Island, WA, zone 8



--- In iris-talk@y..., Linda Mann <lmann@v...> wrote:
> I'm working on two experiments now -
> 
> (1) germinating seeds:
> A couple of days ago, I moved all the seed pots (<except> the ones 
that
> weren't burrito'd) indoors into upside down polystyrene boxes with a
> couple of apples in each one.  These seeds were not soaked - fresh,
> undried seed went straight into refrigerated burritos for 2 or 3 
months
> (replicates of most), then were planted in 4 cell, used flimsy 
bedding
> plant paks in a mix of sand, soil, & potting mix.
> 
> They've been out of the fridge for about...2 weeks?  A few 
germinated
> almost immediately, then nothing.  Until today!  3 seeds just 
showing
> some green in the 3 month refrigerated group.
> 
> So, maybe (at least for some crosses) ethylene and humidity may help
> germination.  Or maybe they just took longer.
> 
> (2) speeding up growth:
> After reading about bottom heating of seedlings after germination, I
> have been kicking myself for not thinking of something as simple as
> extra warmth to speed up growth.  duh...
> 
> So, my other experiment has been to build some little mini-
greenhouses,
> similar to the ones I use to plant tomatos out here two months 
early in
> the spring.
> 
> Fortunately, there was a roll of woven wire fencing that was lying
> around rusting which broke, when unrolled, along the rusty side 
that had
> been on the ground, making perfectly sized section - half hoops to 
use
> for tunnel frames over this year's crop of seedlings.
> 
> Each seedling has (or will have when I get more) three water-filled 
2
> liter cola bottles surrounding it to act as heat reservoirs, then a
> layer of Reemay pourous fabric plant bed cover over the wire framed
> tunnel to retain heat.  This should keep them actively growing thru 
most
> of the winter here, as well as providing adequate protection from 
the
> very worst of our roller coaster late spring killing freezes.
> 
> I am eager to see if this will give them enough of a boost for at 
least
> some of them to be blooming size by spring.
> 
> --
> Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
> 
> Tennessee Whooping Crane Walkathon:
> <http://www.whoopingcranesovertn.org>
> American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
> iris-talk/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
> iris-photos/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-
photos/>


 

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