Mystery Seedlings - unplanted cell -What?

[CanadianLori]

Does this look like something wonderful or is it a weed? Yes, they are very young seedlings but the popped out of one of the empty cells where I am growing my dianthus. The water on the tips is totally the plant's work. Anyone got an ideas?

 

[alp]

Look like wheats or oats or seeds from bird feeder!

 

[Chuck]

It looks like a grass to me. All of the plant cotyledon I know of have 2 leafs and all of the grasses like corn, wheat, rye etc have one.

 

[CanadianLori]

I was suspicious of it being grass with the single blade... just goes to show that even inadvertently, I'm better at growing grass inside than out. This soil was straight out of the bag so it wasn't any of my seeds got in there!

 

[Chuck]

I was suspicious of it being grass with the single blade... just goes to show that even inadvertently, I'm better at growing grass inside than out. This soil was straight out of the bag so it wasn't any of my seeds got in there!

That is one of the main reasons that when I use a seed starting mix I always sterilize it in the oven first. I put it on 175 but I think my temperature thing on the oven is wrong. One of these days I will get an oven thermometer.

 

[alp]

In a bag of compost, you can have a lot of nasty surprises. There could be white / brown mushroom, twigs, sticks, mold .. human excrements (as stipulated by the government here - it states that compost needs to contained recycled materials and the latter could be human excrement). Unless you pay a bit more here, there could be nasty ingredients ..

 

[CanadianLori]

@Chuck the potting soil that I recyle goes through a roasting. It never occurred to me that new soil would need the same process.. where's the "i shoulda have had a v8" emoticon? Another buyer beware. Buy, bake, use. My new motto

 

[CanadianLori]

And I want to clarfy something. The Crown Royal in the background belongs to OH not me. I can get to singing on a glass of wine, don't need any high proof

 

[Chuck]

@Chuck the potting soil that I recyle goes through a roasting. It never occurred to me that new soil would need the same process.. where's the "i shoulda have had a v8" emoticon? Another buyer beware. Buy, bake, use. My new motto

What is really bad sometimes with store bought seedling mix or potting soil is that it contains the fungus for damping off disease and that is why I always cook my seed starting mixes. When I am going to do a lot of seed, like in about 3 weeks, I will use my home made compost mixed with a purchased potting soil. The volume will be way to much to do in the oven so I will put it in a #3 washtub over an open fire and use my soil thermometer to keep track of the temperature. This is usually enough to prevent damping off, but to be sure as soon as the seeds sprout I sprinkle horticultural cornmeal on the surface of the soil. I haven't had damping off in years so I know this method works.

 

[CanadianLori]

Thank you. Whenever you have time, please fill me in on the difference between horticultural cornmeal and the grocery store type?

 

[Chuck]

Thank you. Whenever you have time, please fill me in on the difference between horticultural cornmeal and the grocery store type?

The grocery store kind will ALWAYS have the word enriched on the package somewhere. The other type of cornmeal at the grocery will say either Whole Ground or Stone Ground. Horticultural, Whole Ground and Stone Ground are the same thing except Horticultural isn't food grade. Horticultural and Agricultural are the same thing but Agricultural is cheaper than Horticultural for some reason. I always buy a 50# bag of Horticultural because it is 29 miles nearer than I can buy Agricultural. Anyway, you don't want the stuff that has enriched on it to combat fungi.

Here is the difference between enriched and the others. The enriched has the colored portion of the kernel ground away. And the strange thing is is that the colored portion has most of the nutrients we need. They should call it unenriched.

 

[alp]

For seeds, I microwave my compost and let it cool down and then use it. I also sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top of the compost now that it's winter to prevent fungal growth. I have never heard of cornmeal. Very interesting.

 

[Chuck]

For seeds, I microwave my compost and let it cool down and then use it. I also sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top of the compost now that it's winter to prevent fungal growth. I have never heard of cornmeal. Very interesting.

Whole ground cornmeal doesn't directly do a thing for the plants but what it does indirectly is very important. It is the favorite growing medium for the Tricoderma fungus. This is a tremendously beneficial fungus as it literally eats bad fungus like damping off fungus. There is all kinds of online research data on this with both tricoderma and mycorrizae fungi.

 

[Palladini]

Where did you get the dirt from? There may have been seeds in that dirt, that fell of some plant growing before they bagged the dirt.

 

[CanadianLori]

I don't remember where I got the soil. Turned out it was only grass so I threw the seedlings and will reuse the soil to make more blocks.