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South Dakota

I want to apologize to all the great people who shared great seeds with me. I lost my all-star line up due to bad soil. I started 15 seeds. The bag of soil didnt fill up all my pots so I opened up another to fill the last 3 pots. The last 3 pots are the only ones that grew. The 1171marsh,1003marsh, and 1207 young came up right away. The others did not. I have used the same method for the last 3 years with allmost 100 percent germ. I lost 1068,998,1502,1407W,904,1041,772,1445marsh,and 1245Marsh and 3 watermelon. Thank you everyone for sharing seeds with me and I am sorry! Kevin

5/10/2008 7:29:58 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

very very sad, so sorry for your loss.

5/10/2008 7:47:01 PM

Rapid City, SD

in the words of Forest Gump, "__it Happens"

no worries......time give your great seeds a shoot at the title

grow em big........again!

5/10/2008 8:01:18 PM

Ham Lake, Minnesota

OUCH! That could sure make the Fox News Alert!

5/10/2008 8:06:40 PM

Long Island,New York

Kinda looks like we should pre-test every bag of potting soil we intend to use from now on.

5/10/2008 8:35:16 PM

Hang in there Kevin,,,bad turn of events for sure but time is still in your favor.

5/10/2008 9:24:10 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Kevin, I know it's sorta late, but will send some great melon seeds if ya need em!!! Peace, Wayne

5/10/2008 10:09:46 PM

[email protected]

I'm sorry Kevin. Glenn's testing advice is a very good idea. My preferred media wasn't available from my supplier this spring so I settled for a free substitute. We aren't supposed to look a free horse in the mouth right? Well...I wish I had.

The "Miracle crap" I got for free had fertilizer added. The seedlings grew too fast. To make matters worse, we had 3 days of clouds & cold rain so the seedlings spent a lot of time on my refrigerator (no more greenhouse) where they got leggy looking for light.

All have recovered except for a 1041 McKie that was dropped during the daily pilgrimage.

We live & we learn.

5/10/2008 10:14:47 PM

Minnesota

That's to bad,I lost my 1502 and 2 mcmullen seeds, the germination process way worked last year, don't know what happened this year.

5/10/2008 10:20:20 PM

Santa Rosa California

best of luck kevin hope you can recover

5/10/2008 10:20:21 PM

Littleton, Colo

Don't give up !! Never give up !! Use this to your advantage !! Hang in there and fight.....Biz

5/11/2008 12:14:26 AM

Wood River, IL ([email protected])

Kevin, I feel you pain, same thing happened to me last year. Someone told me to bake the soil before I used it. You'll get it figured out. Good Luck, Kenny

5/11/2008 8:07:16 AM

ordinary,VA

I feel your pain as well.
Glenn is right on the money-will test my starting media next year...
been using the same starting method and media for years never had any problems..but, yeah you gussed it......
this year i lost the 1207Young-1556Werner-1149Pukos-1235 Daletas...

but my glass was half full my 1566Rodonis-1470Wallace-835 Daletas was started with different media,and are doing very well...
(big thanks to Russ & Phil for their help)

5/11/2008 9:12:01 AM

Williamsburg,KY

Boy, sure sorry to hear you lost seeds. Last year I tried to use the Miracle grow stuff and what a mistake. I was not the only one who used it, my neighbor also did and her plants did horrible. Dont know whats in the Miracle grow stuff but not for starting seeds. This year I was able to find Pro Mix...its the best. I buy it from the local greenhouse. Last year, they were out or just did not want to part with a bag. ProMix is the best I found for starting seeds..but when it comes to my pumpkins and melons, I soak first, start in paper towel and then in the pot. So far so good for me...Gardening is an experience, some good some not so good. Good luck with the others. Croley

5/11/2008 9:47:14 AM

Long Island,New York

Hey...not to nail anyone in particular, but Tremor-green industry salesman extrodinaire- WTF? this isn't the first time we've seen something wrong with bagged starting media....whats going on? What do the Producers say? I'm sure an isolated incident might be assumed to be some grower error, but I've seen this quite a bit....whats going on and how do the producers react to "issues" like this?
Maybe we should tally up the situations and name names in a post....see if theres a recurring producer we should all avoid?

5/11/2008 9:47:30 AM

Greensburg Pa

i used mg starting all but 2 germinated. yes they got leggy, but i transfered them to bigger pots and filled the pot as it grew. i have read that roots will sprot along the stem if burried. one plant i had to put a split pot on top of the first. i should have good root developement. hoping to get them in thr patch this week. has been cold and rainy here last few days.

5/11/2008 1:00:50 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

Kevin,
I'm very sorry to hear about that. You're one of the premier heavy hitters in the north-central region(or upper midwest?).I expect you'll bounce back from this setback, as it's still early in the game. Best of luck!

5/11/2008 1:42:41 PM

Wi

Yikes Kevin, sorry to hear that. I thought losing (2) 772's was bad. Well to me it is bad. Good thing for you is you have your own top of the line genetics. May as well grow a WR off your own seed!

5/11/2008 2:56:07 PM

[email protected]

Kevin, that really sucks, but knowing your growing habits, you'll be make new desired seed lines.

Along with what G mentioned, Are these isolated bags, or is it a complete batch of, however many bags they make at a time. And are these bags dated, I've never looked for a best before date on them.
If they were a fire sale, they probably were old inventory, who knows how old they were, and how they were kept.

5/11/2008 3:02:17 PM

[email protected]

Now you all understand why us tenured Green Industry folks neither sell nor recommend soils. Never, never, never.

The soil I used wasn't "bad"; it simply wasn't what I like to use.

Kevin probably should pitch a fit but to have his material tested but for what? Herbicides? Herb tests cost at least $175 per element & all you get is a "yes" or "no" for each $175 element you choose to test for. Which herbs are suspected?

Pathogens? Good luck.

The best test is done with your own seeds a month or so ahead of the normal target date.

5/11/2008 5:05:26 PM

South East

your healthy and alive,,,what more can ya ask fore?

5/11/2008 7:50:37 PM

Bemidji Minnesota

Don't worry about it.

It could always have been worse.

I heard of one famous grower who sold a pumpkin, back when 600 pounds was still big, for a giant Jack-O-Lantern, and when he asked if he could get the seeds back, the guy who bought it said "they tasted great" (>;C)

SOrry to hear about your loss, but these things happen, and hopefully someone has a few extra starts, so you can have a decent season anyhow.

Bill Rodonis got hurt, and he will not be growing this year.

As has been said, you still got your health, so count your blessings.

I doubt anyone will be mad at you for trying your best.

5/11/2008 8:57:05 PM

South Dakota

Thank you for all the kind words! I think I will be gowing mostly my own seeds this year. I am healthy and so is my family. I cant complain. I just felt I needed to give an apology to all the great growers who shared seeds with me. Good luck to everyone this year! Take care! Kevin

5/11/2008 9:53:25 PM

Sioux Falls, SD [email protected]

There's nothing better than a Marsh seed. . .I think you'll be surprised.

5/12/2008 12:30:14 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Kevin, Sorry to hear of your loss, Guess its that type of year, my 898 and 842 also where no shows this year....and after all that planning......Oh Well...Good Luck to you Kevin.

5/12/2008 2:01:44 PM

Sandyutahusa

I Had some really good seeds to try, 1370's 845's 1225's and such. I lost 11 out of 12. They just wouldn't spring up in the peat pots a-running, Wilted and died. Now I see that it is probably the "Miracle Grow with Moisturizer" that I used this year. Thanks for the heads up. Now I'll see if it's not too late to save the season.I've got a Marsh 1245 and a Frantz 1155 soaking now. I'll try a new starting medium

5/13/2008 2:53:30 AM

Colorado

I looked for a seed starting mix that didnt have fertilizer in it.I tried jiffy seed starting mix.it has a real fine texture and my seedlings were healthy.Home depot carried it.

5/13/2008 11:21:33 AM

Minnesota

That might be some of my problem also. I bought miracle grow seed starter mix & a bag of spagum moss, only the moss bag was damaged so I got it cheaper. (I hope it was'nt contaminated)

5/13/2008 1:28:02 PM