Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

  • Home
  • Recommended Tools
  • Products
  • Categories
    • Complete Guides
    • Gardening
    • Growing
    • Landscape Design
    • Plant Care
    • Propagation
  • Contact
  • About Mike
Home » Recent Newsletters » How to Grow Seedlings/ Using Preen

How to Grow Seedlings/ Using Preen

Published : September 11, 2011

Leave a Comment

I’d love to see you growing and
selling small plants from home.  It’s the most fun
you can have with your bibs on!

My Backyard Growing System has been a life changing
experience for many.  If you love plants, this is
for you!  The  price is only $37.00
http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm

Two things today.  A little help with growing garden
plants from seed and weed control in your landscape
plantings.

Several people have asked me why their seedlings
germinate, shoot up about 2″ tall, then droop and fall
over.  Usually this is caused by a fungal disease called
damping off.  Damping off is caused by extremely humid
conditions and it attacks the seedlings right at or
above the soil level.  The stem gets really thin and
weak right above the soil.

Seedlings need water, but they shouldn’t be soaking wet
all the time.  Use a light fluffy seedling mix that has
lots of perlite or vermiculite in the mix.  This gives
the mix good drainage.  Water your seedlings, then allow
the soil to dry and warm up a little before you water
again.

Keep your seed flats in a warm place, 70 degrees F.,
and place a fan near the flat and blow some air across
the flat.  This keeps the humidity lower and greatly
reduce the chances of damping off.

Weeds!

You don’t have a problem with weeds do you?

When it comes to weeds everybody is looking for the
magic wand and often think the magic wand is on the
garden section.  Is it?  Or is it not?

One of the most popular weed control products on the
market is Preen.  Does Preen work?  Yes.
Does it work like magic with no work on your part?
No.

Preen contains a pre-emergent herbicide which means
that it only controls weed seeds that have yet to
germinate.  That’s a good thing because that’s why it’s
safe to use around so many different plants.  But it
does not have the ability to control any weeds that
are already up and growing in your garden.  You have
to first get rid of those weeds completely, then
apply Preen or another product and then you can enjoy
weed free gardens all summer.  Well, almost weed
free gardens.  Gardening is not for the faint of heart
and it does involve some effort.

Hey Mike!  What about those weed barrier fabrics?
Urrrrrrrrrrg!   Don’t get me started!  But if you
must know how well I like them:
http://freeplants.com/free-article-weed-control-facts.htm

Check me out on Facebook!
http://tinyurl.com/4ya4mc5

My book, Easy Plant Propagation” makes an excellent
gift for the gardener in your life.  Surprise somebody
with a signed copy!
http://www.freeplants.com/easy-plant-propagation.htm

Do me a favor and send this newsletter
to at least three of your gardening friends and tell them
why you like me,or why you don’t like me.  Okey dokey?

Take care, have a great day and by all means stay inspired!
-Mike McGroarty

Take a gander at these posts...

  • How to Prune Ornamental Trees
  • How to Build a Potting Shed That Looks Like an Outhouse
  • How to Grow Strawberries
  • How To Remove a Stump
  • How to Grow Grapes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

$180.00 per Square Foot? Is it really possible?

Posted On March 28, 2023 By Mike

Rooted cuttings of variegated weigela in bunches to harden off.

Over Wintering Rooted Cuttings.

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

Mike's Big Perennial Bed.

Mike’s Big Perennial Garden

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

A Profound Thank You from Mike.

Posted On September 1, 2022 By Mike

Finnegan keeping the sun off his head.

An Old Guy, Two Donkeys, a Puppy and a Hammock. What could possibly go wrong?

Posted On July 17, 2022 By Mike

This upside down donkey is a hoot!

An Upside Down Donkey and Cute Puppy.

Posted On July 14, 2022 By Mike

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ Hosta

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

Complete Guides

Growing, Rooting and Propagating Dappled Willow in Tree Form from Cuttings.

Growing Seeds, Winter Sowing, in Milk Jugs and Kitty Litter Jugs.

The Correct Way to Pot Rooted Cuttings, Nursery Stock Liners and other Plants.

Training Arborvitae and other Conical Evergreens to Grow with a Single Leader.

How to Propagate, Root Cuttings, of Dwarf Alberta Spruce.

Recent Posts

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

This beautiful Bee Balm is part of the 'Sugar Buzz' series. I planted these in my perennial bed last summer and this year they are beautiful and blooming like crazy! They grow from 16" to 24" tall, are hardy from zone 4 through zone 8. They love full sun … Read Full Article

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

'Blue Angel'hosta is by far one of my favorite blue hostas. A big hosta like this in a perennial bed covers a lot of area and that keeps a ton of weeds at bay! These giant heart shaped leaves are very slug resistant. We have this plant in full sun. With … Read Full Article

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ Hosta

'Big Daddy' hosta is one of my favorite big hostas, mostly because it's big, it's blue and it has very interested leaves that are a bit dimpled. Big Daddy hosta gets about 24" tall and 36" wide. It's hardy in zones 3 through 9, the flowers are blends of … Read Full Article

'Humpback Whale' hosta.

‘Humpback Whale’ Hosta.

We sold out of 'Humpback Whale' hosta pretty early this year. Humpback Whale is pretty impressive hosta and this one really hasn't matured yet because they can get three feet high and 7 feet wide. I've also seen photos of them that show them to be a lot … Read Full Article

Ice Plant, delosperma

Ice Plant, delosperma

How pretty is that? And it's a ground hugging perennial that comes back year and year. These plants were new to our nursery last year so Pam and I planted three of them in our landscape at home. Not only did they do really well last year but they wintered … Read Full Article

Copyright © 2023 · Hill Country Digital Media, LLC · Privacy Policy · Earnings Disclaimer · Terms of Service