A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Ah those beautiful pictures of flowers

The ones on the cover of the package that is. Looking at all the available seed packs in the stores in their glorious array brings spring so much closer, especially after a long winter. Around here it seems that we get 6 months of it, the other 3 are cool so that leaves 3 months of growing time.

Even though I can seldom grow flowers from seed I'm still trying every year. It looks so easy but it's not. Once again I put my seed in starter pots, the little heads are starting to peek through the soil, but every year it's the same, they come out, grow spindly like threads and die off. All I have is a ledge on a south window in the kitchen which brings in a lot of light and sun but that is my only sunny window. I just don't have that special touch that some seem to have to keep these starters thriving.
Can anyone give me a few pointers so I can actually grow some flowers like the pictures on the package. Thanks.

P.s. I'm referring to seed they say can be started indoors 6-8 weeks earlier.

I read the site on seeds and for the most part I did what I'm supposed to but I'm getting spindly growth. Should I have transplanted before this stage. Guess I will try because I'm going to lose the threads anyway.

Could I have used the wrong size starter pots? They are sets of 4 little plastic pots joined together which were included in a mini green house with see thru plastic tray top.
each pot is aprox
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It seems these pots are good for some of the larger seeds but small seeds don't do well in them, atleast for me. Is it best to use flat trays like it stated and sow in little rows? Are the pots I have good for transplanting only?

I apologize the measurements are getting moved over. I've tried to edit it, and the pot shows accurately on the edit but the actual post comes out differently. But I'm sure you get an idea of how big my starter pots are.

You probably have the 2 inch pots. I don't use them. I don't use a green house either. I find most of that stuff to me money hungry and unnessary. Here is what I do. Buy yogurt cups of any other thing you want that comes in an 8 oz plastic cup with a lid. Eat the yogurt or whatever. Poke holes in the bottom of the cup. Fill to within an inch of the top with potting soil. (I suggest a name brand potting soil like miracle gro.) Plant the seed as recommended on the package. Water carefully especially if the seeds are close to the top. Find a place where you can hang a florescent shop light 12 inches above the tops of the cups and turn it on for 12 hours a day. Keep the soil moist like a wrung out sponge.

Why they florescent shop light? Your plants are getting leggy because they are reaching for more light than they are getting in your window. Believe me I understand the problem. You should see my tomatoes and peppers and they are in my southwest facing window.

Okay, just dug my last few yogurt containers out of the trash...lol. Thanks for that tip! I've been buying the expensive seed starting kits & stuff, didn't think about doing it with something cheaper.

Thanks tkhooper, when you say I should see your tomatos and peppers, I'm taking that to mean they are lovely and thriving lol. I have a growers bulb, maybe I can dig that out of our garage and use it. We moved this year but I have to chuckle, nothing changed for my seedlings, same kind of window and on the same side for the most sun exposure. We have a bigger west window, and luckily only a bathroom window with north exposure.

The yogurt containers around here are approx 750 ml and look like they hold about 2 cups. There are the mini cups and they probably hold about 4 Oz's or so. Nothing in between. The only thing I have that probably would be suitable is the Styrofoam coffee cups and a few days ago saved a few Tim Horton's medium size coffee cups.

Using the bought starter stuff is not necessarily better. I should know that by now.

styrofoam cups are great.

I'm being stubborn this year and refusing to put up the shop light under my kitchen cabinets so mine are spindly. I've already lost one tomato plant to damp off disease.

If it gets to bad I'll brake out the light and put it up.