Comments on: Starting Pansies from Seed http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed Helping You Get the Most Out of Your Garden Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:05:15 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Spring is Here - Time to Garden! | The Door Garden http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-548 Spring is Here - Time to Garden! | The Door Garden Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:00:06 +0000 http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-548 [...] February it will be time to plant early potatoes. Not to mention anything that you are planning to start indoors.  So, this is just a heads [...] [...] February it will be time to plant early potatoes. Not to mention anything that you are planning to start indoors.  So, this is just a heads [...]

]]> By: David LaFerney http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-158 David LaFerney Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:09:50 +0000 http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-158 Laurie - Thank you for the kind comments. About your eggplants - I'm no expert, but the people at Texas AMU are, and in the <a href="http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/vegetables/eggplant.html" rel="nofollow">TAMU publication on eggplant</a> I found this: <i> Q. The fruit on my eggplant was delicious during its early production. Now, the fruit we harvest is bitter and has brown areas on it. A. The bitter fruit is caused by plant stress and subsequent slow growth stimulated by hot, dry weather. The brown area is caused by sun scalding. If the scalding is not too severe, it can be removed and the eggplant eaten. Q. What causes eggplant fruit to become misshapen and odd colored? A. Poor-quality eggplant fruit are generally associated with low moisture and high temperature conditions. Also, overmature eggplant fruit will become dull colored and often develop a bronze appearance. For maximum production, remove the eggplant fruit before they are fully mature to allow additional fruit to develop.</i> Excessively hot and dry conditions seem to be your problem. Try to choose a more sheltered place to grow them, or plant them in the shelter of a taller mid season crop (maybe sweet corn) and of course avoid water stress during hot weather. Hot temperatures together with wind can really be hard to deal with. Good luck Laurie – Thank you for the kind comments.

About your eggplants – I’m no expert, but the people at Texas AMU are, and in the TAMU publication on eggplant I found this:

Q. The fruit on my eggplant was delicious during its early production. Now, the fruit we harvest is bitter and has brown areas on it.

A. The bitter fruit is caused by plant stress and subsequent slow growth stimulated by hot, dry weather. The brown area is caused by sun scalding. If the scalding is not too severe, it can be removed and the eggplant eaten.

Q. What causes eggplant fruit to become misshapen and odd colored?

A. Poor-quality eggplant fruit are generally associated with low moisture and high temperature conditions. Also, overmature eggplant fruit will become dull colored and often develop a bronze appearance. For maximum production, remove the eggplant fruit before they are fully mature to allow additional fruit to develop.

Excessively hot and dry conditions seem to be your problem. Try to choose a more sheltered place to grow them, or plant them in the shelter of a taller mid season crop (maybe sweet corn) and of course avoid water stress during hot weather. Hot temperatures together with wind can really be hard to deal with.

Good luck

]]> By: Laurie http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-156 Laurie Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:51:30 +0000 http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-156 I literally stumbled across this website and I LOVE IT!! I love the detail in plain language. LOVE LOVE IT! :) I am trying to figure out how to garden where I live. It's a coastal area right by the waterway with lots of wind and sunshine in my backyard. The front is covered with oak trees and no grass. I want to plant black and green mondo grass in the front (wish I knew someone who had some). This summer I tried growing eggplant and herbs out back. At first they did fabulously, but during the heat of the summer, the (black beauty) eggplants began to turn orange and striped. Once it became cooler again, the new ones were black. Very odd. The local extension agent couldn't tell me why. My herbs also turned yellow and were a mess. I personally thought they were getting sunburned and windburned, so I moved my herbs to the front porch (no direct sunlight) and they turned a deep dark green in just a week or so, and grew much better. Do you have an explanation for that? Everyone tells me plants can't get sunburned (ones that love the sun anyway), but one of my neighbors had the same exposure and some of the same issues iwth her herbs. Her citrus is doing great. Thanks! I literally stumbled across this website and I LOVE IT!! I love the detail in plain language. LOVE LOVE IT! :) I am trying to figure out how to garden where I live. It’s a coastal area right by the waterway with lots of wind and sunshine in my backyard. The front is covered with oak trees and no grass. I want to plant black and green mondo grass in the front (wish I knew someone who had some). This summer I tried growing eggplant and herbs out back. At first they did fabulously, but during the heat of the summer, the (black beauty) eggplants began to turn orange and striped. Once it became cooler again, the new ones were black. Very odd. The local extension agent couldn’t tell me why. My herbs also turned yellow and were a mess. I personally thought they were getting sunburned and windburned, so I moved my herbs to the front porch (no direct sunlight) and they turned a deep dark green in just a week or so, and grew much better. Do you have an explanation for that? Everyone tells me plants can’t get sunburned (ones that love the sun anyway), but one of my neighbors had the same exposure and some of the same issues iwth her herbs. Her citrus is doing great.

Thanks!

]]> By: Donna http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-74 Donna Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:43:47 +0000 http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-74 You want to keep the lights as close to the plants as you can without touching the leaves. Leave the lights on for sixteen hours a day. You want to keep the lights as close to the plants as you can without touching the leaves. Leave the lights on for sixteen hours a day.

]]> By: David http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-73 David Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:57:22 +0000 http://doorgarden.com/08/starting-pansies-from-seed#comment-73 Donna, 1) When growing the tiny plants under fluorescent lights how close should the lights be to the plants? 2) How many hours a day do you leave the lights on? I know that some plants produce vegetative growth best with a long day length (18 or more hours) while others will be stressed. On the other hand many fall-flowering plants will grow poorly and try to produce flowers prematurely if the day length is too short. Donna,

1) When growing the tiny plants under fluorescent lights how close should the lights be to the plants?

2) How many hours a day do you leave the lights on? I know that some plants produce vegetative growth best with a long day length (18 or more hours) while others will be stressed. On the other hand many fall-flowering plants will grow poorly and try to produce flowers prematurely if the day length is too short.

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