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bailey5774
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 1:22 pm
- Location: new england
starting vegetable from seed
Hi I was thinking of starting a little veggie garden next year. I would like to have cucumbers. tomatoes, hot peppers. I live in the northeast so I was wondering when I should start the seeds and should I put them right in the ground or in pots? any help would be great. thanks
Well, fist find out what USDA Zone you're in.- https://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-ne1.html
From there you can easily google planting dates for different vegetables in your zone. I'd sow the tomatoes and peppers in pots and then transplant them outside. It makes it much easier to control moisture for germination and you don't have to worry about a soaking rain messing things up. You can also get a jump on the season by keeping the young plants inside during cold weather. Cucumbers germinate readily outdoor, just make sure all chance of frost has past and the soil has warmed up well before sowing the seeds. Hope this helps, if you need more info don't hesitate to ask!
From there you can easily google planting dates for different vegetables in your zone. I'd sow the tomatoes and peppers in pots and then transplant them outside. It makes it much easier to control moisture for germination and you don't have to worry about a soaking rain messing things up. You can also get a jump on the season by keeping the young plants inside during cold weather. Cucumbers germinate readily outdoor, just make sure all chance of frost has past and the soil has warmed up well before sowing the seeds. Hope this helps, if you need more info don't hesitate to ask!
I'm in Michigan, I start my seeds around late April at the earliest, but early may seems to be ideal.
The technique I use though seems to get things going faster too. I get my seeds started by taking a paper towel, soaking it, and then wringing it out so it's damp. I fold the towel up, put seeds in the folds, then put that in a tupperware container on top of a hot water dispenser in my kitchen. I find most seeds will germinate in 24-48 hours this way.
I then move the germinated seed to reused trays from a nursery with fresh potting soil in them. I usually have a good seedling by June.
Oh, I think I'ts important to either use a small fan or brush the seedlings gently on a regular basis as they get to be around 1" tall if they are indoors. Otherwise the stems are too thin and wiry to support themselves in realworld outdoor conditions with wind and rain.
Oh and don't forget to harden them before putting them outside permanently.
The technique I use though seems to get things going faster too. I get my seeds started by taking a paper towel, soaking it, and then wringing it out so it's damp. I fold the towel up, put seeds in the folds, then put that in a tupperware container on top of a hot water dispenser in my kitchen. I find most seeds will germinate in 24-48 hours this way.
I then move the germinated seed to reused trays from a nursery with fresh potting soil in them. I usually have a good seedling by June.
Oh, I think I'ts important to either use a small fan or brush the seedlings gently on a regular basis as they get to be around 1" tall if they are indoors. Otherwise the stems are too thin and wiry to support themselves in realworld outdoor conditions with wind and rain.
Oh and don't forget to harden them before putting them outside permanently.
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smokensqueal
- Green Thumb
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- Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:36 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO Metro area
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JasonColeman
- Newly Registered
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- Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:51 pm
- Location: Michigan
Hardening is the process of prepping a plant that's been started indoors for life outdoors, specifically against sunlight.
The brushing I mentioned to thicken the stems up as the grow is also hardening, only against rain and wind.
For sun, what you do is carefully, over a period of a week or two, expose the plants to longer and longer periods of sunlight. So say, start out putting them in early morning or late afternoon sun for an hour, and slowly increase that each day, and move it more into mid day sun. By the end your plants should be able to withstand a full day of sun.
If you don't do this, most likely plants that have lived fairly sheltered indoor lives to that point, will whither and die if you just move them from indoors to out with no hardening. They just haven't enough protection against it.
Think of it sort of like giving your plants a tan so they don't burn when they go out for real.
The brushing I mentioned to thicken the stems up as the grow is also hardening, only against rain and wind.
For sun, what you do is carefully, over a period of a week or two, expose the plants to longer and longer periods of sunlight. So say, start out putting them in early morning or late afternoon sun for an hour, and slowly increase that each day, and move it more into mid day sun. By the end your plants should be able to withstand a full day of sun.
If you don't do this, most likely plants that have lived fairly sheltered indoor lives to that point, will whither and die if you just move them from indoors to out with no hardening. They just haven't enough protection against it.
Think of it sort of like giving your plants a tan so they don't burn when they go out for real.
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smokensqueal
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 392
- Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:36 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO Metro area
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bailey5774
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 1:22 pm
- Location: new england
Hmmmm...What I've learned today....
#1. Hardening....the art of training the baby plant to the Great Outdoors
#2. Brushing.....Almost the same as Hardening, sort of....
I love this place!! Everytime I log on, I get all pumped up about growing more and more veggies...My husband thinks I'm nuts, but he loves to eat veggies too...
Thanks again!!
#1. Hardening....the art of training the baby plant to the Great Outdoors
#2. Brushing.....Almost the same as Hardening, sort of....
I love this place!! Everytime I log on, I get all pumped up about growing more and more veggies...My husband thinks I'm nuts, but he loves to eat veggies too...
Thanks again!!
