My First Starter attempt...

somegeek · Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:44 pm

Some pics of our garden.

Spinach / Carrot / Five Lettuce Mix / Walla Walla Sweet Onions / String beans(back half / Snap Peas(front half)

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_34.jpg[/img]

String beans starting to sprout...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_35.jpg[/img]

Soaker hose layout. Connected them to the sprinker zone a few weeks back=good stuff.

My son spent the morning with me doing yard work. Hoping he inherits a green thumb and appreciation for nature doing things like this. Bed is 8' x 5'. Soaker hose is 50ft.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_36.jpg[/img]

Snap Peas...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_37.jpg[/img]

Spinach...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_38.jpg[/img]

Carrots...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_39.jpg[/img]

Five Lettuce Mix...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_40.jpg[/img]

Italian Parsley(starter)...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_41.jpg[/img]

Tomato and basil currently...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_42.jpg[/img]

This bed gets sun exposure from about noon til sundown. The hardi-plank siding on the house holds a lot of heat into the evening hours so hot climate plants do well here. Empty bed space will be filled up with basil and pepper plants. I've pondered tearing up another foot of grass to expand use of this area.

somegeek

Kitty · Sun Apr 19, 2009 6:16 am

What a wonderful garden you have! Everything looks great. Keep those pics coming.

oldschoolvdub · Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:41 pm

Looks great! I'd like to get my garden area to look that clean. I'm kind of Jealous! But looks great... And I keep starting my seeds inside, and they never turn out as good as if I start them outside. I think I may end up doing that next time.

elevenplants · Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:09 pm

Here's a little pic of some of my lettuce, with radishes in the foreground and some beets just up in the mid-ground. Oh, and with onions and garlic ringing the whole plot.

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-12.jpg[/img]

Rebecca

somegeek · Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:35 pm

Thanks for the kind words.

Nice lookin lettuce, elevenplants.

oldschoolvdub wrote:Looks great! I'd like to get my garden area to look that clean. I'm kind of Jealous! But looks great... And I keep starting my seeds inside, and they never turn out as good as if I start them outside. I think I may end up doing that next time.

I've found that using a grow light this year has done the trick well.

Last year I had leggy sprouts that damped off. This year with a grow light and proper draining medium I've seen very good results.

somegeek

somegeek · Tue Apr 21, 2009 4:38 pm

Roma & Beefsteak Tomatoes...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_43.jpg[/img]

Sweet & Jalapeno Peppers...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_44.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_45.jpg[/img]

Lettuce and Genovese Basil
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_46.jpg[/img]

THinking the secondaries on these got fried by my grow light being a little low?
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_47.jpg[/img]

Added an exhaust fan on the left to compliment the intake fan there on the right. Really moves the air through now...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_48.jpg[/img]

somegeek

somegeek · Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:11 pm

Cucumbers are pushing out their second true leaf... almost time to put them out here in a few weeks...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_49.jpg[/img]

Genovese basil is looking nice...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_50.jpg[/img]

The peppers have really taken off this week. Have many that are finally pushing out their first set of true leaves...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_51.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_52.jpg[/img]

The peppers have definitely taken their time.

somegeek

somegeek · Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:25 am

Questions...

How dry should I let the soil in the seedling pots get before I water? I've been watering from the bottom every three to four days, but there is still a little bit of moisture in the soil when I do this. Curious if I am not letting them dry out enough between waterings?

What's causing the yellowing on these leaves of my tomatoes?

Do folks ever trim these leaves from these young plants to redirect the plants energy to the new growth?

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_53.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_54.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_55.jpg[/img]

They spend the days outside in the sunlight and night under a fluorescent light. I've seen pics online of good results with basil under 24hr grow lights, but curious if any plants actually need time to rest at night?

somegeek

somegeek · Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:40 pm

Cucumbers have spent the last five days or so out in the garage and outside to harden off and have been doing well so I took the next step to get them into the garden. 23 days old from seed.

Nice looking roots...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_56.jpg[/img]

The roots penetrated the paper divider in a few places, but overall the dividers did their job as the four quarters pulled apart pretty easily.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_57.jpg[/img]

Putting plastic pots over them for the first few nights.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_58.jpg[/img]

I'll be putting up string to train these up onto the frame.

Tomatoes are coming along nicely as well.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_59.jpg[/img]

The biggest of the Romas and the biggest of the Beefsteak went into the ground today, one each. Those in the image will be given away to friends here in a month or so. Will be cool to see them do well in other yards and enjoyed by friends.

somegeek

somegeek · Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:14 am

Basil is coming along. Next year I'll plant a few more seeds in a smaller area and just move them together in a clump of multiple plants.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_61.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_62.jpg[/img]

Peppers have taken off it seems...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_63.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_60.jpg[/img]

Potted using ~75% plain potting soil and ~25% perlite.

I also planted some more basil seeds but instead of just straight coir, I mixed in about 40% perlite. The straight coir seemed to stay a little too damp. Think the perlite will help with drainage.

somegeek

somegeek · Fri May 01, 2009 9:56 pm

One of my basil seed pots didn't appear to germinate with exception of one seed which died before really breaking the surface. The ten or so seeds were potted with 100% coir. Need more basil starters so I potted up some seeds w/ 40% perlite/60% coir and kept the seeds almost just on the surface. Barely covered with soil. This time I put in a few toothpicks and draped saran wrap over them to keep the moisture/humidity in but not on the surface.

48 hours later...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_65.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_64.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_66.jpg[/img]

I'm going to slowly remove the saran wrap over a few days to fully expose the seedlings. I also did this to basil seeds in five other cells 48 hours ago which appear to be doing the same thing.

somegeek

somegeek · Mon May 04, 2009 11:39 pm

Couple of questions...

What is causing these leaves to darken on the edges of this pepper plant?

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_69.jpg[/img]

I'm pretty sure the middle bottom basil plant is genovese, but I am not sure of the other two. I planted lettuce leaf basil seeds as well as genovese basil seeds. Are those lettuce leaf basil plants?

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_70.jpg[/img]

Appreciate any input!

somegeek

somegeek · Fri May 08, 2009 12:50 pm

A few plants are almost ready to be hardened off to head to our yard...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_71.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_72.jpg[/img]

Peppers are coming along nicely. Happy about the jalapeno on the right as it was not doing so well until it got potted up.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_73.jpg[/img]

Much better results with the basil this go around. Will let these come up as is in clumps.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_74.jpg[/img]

Regarding my post above, the darkness on the pepper leaves is possibly due to lack of nutrients so I poured some 1/2 strength MG water on these to see what they'd do.

Need some warmer weather now to plant!

somegeek

James282 · Fri May 08, 2009 2:09 pm

Hey SG! Things seem to be going swimmingly

Yellowing leaves are often a result of overwatering(especially with plants that are in containers). Wait a few more days between waterings and see what happens...or if you want, you can probably wait until the plants look physically different(a little droopy) before watering to get a good idea of how long you can go between waterings.

Do your containers have good drainage? This is a must for container gardening as well.

James

somegeek · Fri May 08, 2009 2:17 pm

James282 wrote:Hey SG! Things seem to be going swimmingly Yellowing leaves are often a result of overwatering(especially with plants that are in containers). Wait a few more days between waterings and see what happens...or if you want, you can probably wait until the plants look physically different(a little droopy) before watering to get a good idea of how long you can go between waterings.

Do your containers have good drainage? This is a must for container gardening as well.

James

Yes - I made this mistake previously. I now mix ~40% perlite with ~60% potting soil and wait until the mix is almost dried out before watering. The darkening of the pepper foliage is what was concerning me.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/~somegeek/somegeek_seedling_69.jpg[/img]

soemgeek

oldschoolvdub · Fri May 08, 2009 9:16 pm

WOW! All your stuff is looking great!

somegeek · Tue May 12, 2009 1:49 pm

Thanks, oldschoolvdub.

Think I have my method down now for starting seeds and getting them to starter size.

Here's my tray of starters waiting for some warmer weather...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_75.jpg[/img]

Starting basil with multiple seeds seems to be the way to go. Looking for 5-8 plants per pot.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_76.jpg[/img]

The Jalapeno plant which was barely holding on is doing well...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_77.jpg[/img]

This pepper plant seems a bit lost...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_78.jpg[/img]

The store bought bell pepper seeds I dried and planted are sprouting - will transplant a few to pots and dump the rest.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_79.jpg[/img]

The towel I had taped in place to minimize light pouring into our office looked a bit tacky so I made a trip to Michael's for some poster board and magnetic tape. Along with some weather stripping and rubber feet, I made a cleaner cover.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_81.jpg[/img]

Looking forward to harvesting seeds this year as well.

somegeek

somegeek · Wed May 13, 2009 10:47 am

Looks like a few of my pepper plant starters are pushing out their first blooms...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_83.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_82.jpg[/img]

oldschoolvdub · Sat May 16, 2009 11:11 am

my basil is doing really good also, but for some reason all my peppers don't really seem to be growing much at all. Not sure why, but they look healthy otherwise

somegeek · Sat May 16, 2009 7:30 pm

oldschoolvdub wrote:my basil is doing really good also, but for some reason all my peppers don't really seem to be growing much at all. Not sure why, but they look healthy otherwise

Some of my peppers have been really growing while a few others have not been doing much. Not sure what those doing well and those doing poorly have in common.

With warm weather here for at least a week, I decided to move a few pepper and basil plants into our beds on the side of our house. Root systems certainly look like they're ready for the soil...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_84.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_85.jpg[/img]

The Helpful Gardener · Sun May 17, 2009 10:26 am

Peppers like hot; wait for the really hot stuff and they'll jump...

Just a bang up job on the seed starting AND journaling for us, SG. Very impressive; I am inspired to do more starts myself next year...

HG

James282 · Sun May 17, 2009 7:30 pm

Agreed - it's been great to follow this story...can't wait to follow along as the summer progresses. You can be sure you inspired a lot of us to start more form seed next year

James

somegeek · Mon May 18, 2009 11:12 am

Thanks for the kinds words. If one person goes out and gives this a whirl after reading this thread then I'm happy.

I placed my cucumber starts into our garden too soon, on 4/28, and some heavy rain / cool weather got the best of three of the four...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_86.jpg[/img]

I went ahead and put another set of seedlings together last weekend. Will wait until these push out their second set of true leaves before placing into our garden. By then the warmer weather should be upon us.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_91.jpg[/img]

The basil seed groups I planted are doing well. A little more height and these will head to our garden. Ran out of pots so I used some party cups, cut to height with drainage slits cut into the bottom(used a pair of scissors to nip a few cuts on the bottom edge of the cup). Some more basil starters are off to the right covered in saran wrap. I used a rubber band to keep the saran wrap in place this time vs just draping over. Will check them tonight for sprouts.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_90.jpg[/img]

Cilantro... even at this size, the small leaves, when crushed, put off a very potent/fresh scent. Looking forward to using this fresh out of the garden this summer.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_88.jpg[/img]

Carrots...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_89.jpg[/img]

Lettuce mix... I need to plant another row of this in a few weeks so once this one is done, we'll have a second row to consume from. Very nice to be able to go out and pick lettuce for dinner salads at night.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_87.jpg[/img]

somegeek

somegeek · Tue May 19, 2009 2:37 am

48-hours later - my new batch of basil seeds have sprouted.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_92.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_93.jpg[/img]

I removed the rubber banded saran wrap, put a toothpick in the middle of each pot and loosely draped saran wrap over them. Will leave them like this for two days for the sprouts to develop more but also to let air in so mold doesn't form. Nice to be able to reproduce results.

I don't need these for our garden but wanted to verify my method. These will be given away to friends/family.

somegeek

somegeek · Tue May 26, 2009 8:20 pm

Things are coming along nicely for the most part.

The starters we started from seed, which have gone into the ground, are doing well.

Sweet Basil...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_94.jpg[/img]

Sweet Pepper...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_95.jpg[/img]

Roma Tomato...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_96.jpg[/img]

Roma Tomato...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_97.jpg[/img]

The above tomatoes I started from seed are almost as large as the starters I put in the ground around when I started these

from seed.

Genovese basil...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_98.jpg[/img]

Jalapeno pepper (I think - need to tag my stuff better next year)...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_99.jpg[/img]

Leftover potted seedlings I am keeping. Going to either use or give away..
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_101.jpg[/img]

I rooted a few cuttings of rosemary from a new plant I bought to replace our old one(took two weeks in water) - above pic.

My old plant grew large and very woody. I trimmed it back a bit too much and it died. In the future, when my plant gets

too large, I'll root a few cuttings to then just yank out the whole plant to replace with the small rooted cuttings to

start over.

A volunteer tomato plant... guessing from the kitchen scraps we tossed in the beds over the winter?
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_102.jpg[/img]

Cilantro - going to let some go to seed to keep this little plot going and to save seeds for next year.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_103.jpg[/img]

Italian Parsley starter is doing well...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_104.jpg[/img]

Lettuce mix almost ready to provide a few dinner salads a week. Need to plant another row soon.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_105.jpg[/img]

Sugar snap peas / Walla Walla Onions / Lettuce mix / Carrots...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_106.jpg[/img]

Our raspberries are doing well as well. Lots of berries on the way!
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_100.jpg[/img]

Spinach has come in unevenly - not sure what the culprit is here...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_107.jpg[/img]

Pole beans seemed to have been munched on by something - not doing well...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_108.jpg[/img]

Green onions are coming in slowly...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_109.jpg[/img]

Baby reds are doing well. They've pushed up through ~12 inches of soil so far. Will be time to stack more soil on them here shortly. Hopefully get about 2 foot total soil on top of them before we stop stacking it on.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_110.jpg[/img]

Going to put in some strawberry plants tonight.

Appreciate any input on the above plants having issues.

somegeek

somegeek · Sun May 31, 2009 6:27 pm

I've had good luck with putting saran wrap over my potted basil seeds for 48 hours to aid in germination. The saran wrap can be a pain to put on each pot so I was thinking of something easier. This should do the trick. 20oz beverage tops (picked a few up from a local Peet's Coffee). I cut one down to just above the lip and it fits perfect in this smaller pot. The small hole in the top should allow air circulation but minimize evaporation. Keep the soil moist but reduce risk of mold and also give you some room to sprout. If you do your starters in the Dixie 20oz party cups, this would work as well. The curved top is nice as well as any condensation will drip back down the sides vs onto your new sprouts.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_111.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_112.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_113.jpg[/img]

somegeek

somegeek · Mon Jun 01, 2009 12:41 pm

My cucumber seedlings are three weeks old. The second set of primaries are present and the weather will be very nice for the next week at least so into the garden they go.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_114.jpg[/img]

The afternoons have been on the toasty side and these have been hardened off for a week with morning sun, so they'll get sun shades for the afternoon(cardboard on a bamboo skewer).

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_115.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_117.jpg[/img]

I had to do this before with some tomato plants when the warm weather hit early and it did well to allow the plants to grow more without getting hit hard by the afternoon sun before full exposure.

I'm curious if these plants are similar to tomatoes in that if you plant them deep, these nodules will become roots?

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_116.jpg[/img]

somegeek

Naehu808 · Mon Jun 01, 2009 3:57 pm

I read the whole four pages from start to finish!!!! Impressive and yes, inspiring!!! I've been buying starters from Wal-Mart, with decent results, but this year, I actually planted squash, and tomatoes from seed directly into the ground last month, and they are doing fabulous. I also have kai-choy cabbage and spinach, which I've been pciking already and cooking with. Unfortunately, my corn did not do soo well, ants attacked them and I ended up pulling them out yesterday.

Any recommendations to combat the ant problem.? (I wll look it up on this site, I'm sure there's something about 'em) As I was following along with you on your journey, I shared it with my husband and we're both inspired to try it. (From germination) I still have some time, not much, but "trial and error" right? Thanks again for your daily updates, I'm enjoying the journey with you.

Aloha!!

The Helpful Gardener · Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:40 pm

You are darn tootin those will be roots, SG; I plant my maters with a post hole digger...bury two thirds of a plant sometimes... you will be glad you did come summer and heavy watering; more roots means less water hauling (even moisture is necessary for fruit development, but it is easier to maintain and you will never get wilty...) Your plants look great...

Aloha Naehu! Gardening in Hawaii, tough break...

Ants, huh? Well, diatomaceous earth works, but get the garden grade, not the heat treated pool grade or it kills your worms as well... a lot of folks swear by boiling water too and that comes from folks in fire ant country, so you know it works...just don't boil your roots...

So how did the ants ruin the corn? We don't want to hijack SG's great thread but I have to know how that turned out. What say you start a thread on ants in corn on the Veggie Forum? I'll read it for sure, and I bet a bunch of other folks will too.

HG

somegeek · Tue Jun 02, 2009 12:42 am

Naehu808 wrote:I read the whole four pages from start to finish!!!! Impressive and yes, inspiring!!! I've been buying starters from Wal-Mart, with decent results, but this year, I actually planted squash, and tomatoes from seed directly into the ground last month, and they are doing fabulous.

I didn't ponder planting directly into the ground for tomatoes but then again, we always use starters. That's pretty cool you can do tomatoes from seed in the garden.

I also have kai-choy cabbage and spinach, which I've been pciking already and cooking with. Unfortunately, my corn did not do soo well, ants attacked them and I ended up pulling them out yesterday. Any recommendations to combat the ant problem.? (I wll look it up on this site, I'm sure there's something about 'em) As I was following along with you on your journey, I shared it with my husband and we're both inspired to try it. (From germination) I still have some time, not much, but "trial and error" right? Thanks again for your daily updates, I'm enjoying the journey with you. Aloha!!

Would be interesting to hear what else does well in your climate. Glad you're enjoying this thread. Certainly learned a bunch myself this year starting from seed and from reading this forum.

THG - thanks for that - I'll need to mound some more soil up around my cuke starters to help them put more roots out. I like the idea of having more roots in the ground!

somegeek

somegeek · Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:47 pm

My starters are getting to be pretty big indoors. I've moved a few to larger pots and will place them by windows to see how they do indoors. The rest will go to friends this next week.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_118.jpg[/img]

Peppers!

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_119.jpg[/img]

Some new shoots...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_120.jpg[/img]

More peppers...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_121.jpg[/img]

Basil starters doing well...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_122.jpg[/img]

Happy root system on this starter. Moving it into a slightly large pot for the next week.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_123.jpg[/img]

Red potatoes... we've stacked about 18" of soil on from where these started. Will put on a few more inches of soil. I dug below the soil line of the box so we get more yeild. This box should be covered with potato plants when they all catch up.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_124.jpg[/img]

Cucumber plants taking to the garden better this round(last ones croaked due to being put out too early)...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_125.jpg[/img]

Italian parsley and cilantro really taking off now. Should be able to start pulling for use in our cooking - woo hoo!

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_126.jpg[/img]

New rosemary plant and rooted cutting from it doing well...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_127.jpg[/img]

Sugar snap peas...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_128.jpg[/img]

Green onions... will put more seeds in the ground next year. Kinda sparse.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_129.jpg[/img]

Extra starters still doing - off to some friend's gardens this weekend...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_130.jpg[/img]

Pepper plant...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_131.jpg[/img]

Roma and Beefsteak tomatoes. These are from seed and seem more stocky/bushy than the store bought starters I planted...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_132.jpg[/img]
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_134.jpg[/img]

Tomato blossoms...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_135.jpg[/img]

Raspberries are doing well. Cool to look at this pic and the previous which was just a bunch of 6" suckers. Upper set of cables is at 5 ft.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_136.jpg[/img]

Raspberries!

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_137.jpg[/img]

somegeek

somegeek · Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:59 pm

Starting to warm up here and our plants seem to like it.

One of our first peppers... think these are jalapeno or some kind of sweet pepper...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_151.jpg[/img]

This pepper plant has had some issues. It dropped all buds when I moved it to this larger pot. It dropped them all again when it got a bit dry. I will be moving this to a large pot soon and wonder if it will drop them all again? Otherwise it's doing well here by the window.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_139.jpg[/img]

Bell pepper plant started from seeds out of a store bought bell pepper...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_140.jpg[/img]

Baby Red Potatoes...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_141.jpg[/img]

Strawberries are coming along now...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_142.jpg[/img]

My cucumber plants are finally taking off. Have some twist ties tied loosely onto the string and plants to start training them onto the string to climb...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_143.jpg[/img]

Beans finally taking off after several baths in insecticidal soap to keep bugs from munching on them...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_144.jpg[/img]

Italian Parsely and Cilantro. Letting the cilantro bolt to get seeds...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_145.jpg[/img]

Rosemary, Oregano & thyme cuttings taking off...
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_146.jpg[/img]

Basil plant decimated by bugs. This is damn near the same size it was when I first put it into the ground. Bought some Ortho brand insecticidal soap last night to put on this. Very lack luster performance here. Hopefully that soap does the trick.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_147.jpg[/img]

Tomatoes, basil & peppers. The tomato plants on the far left and right were started from seed. The one on the far right is very solid with a stalk nearly 1" in one part.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_148.jpg[/img]

More tomatoes, basil and pepper plants.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_138.jpg[/img]

Romas!
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_149.jpg[/img]

Nice to see some tomatoes and peppers. Now I just need to get my basil inline.

Where do you guys typically buy your neem oil? Pondering trying that on my basil.

somegeek

The Helpful Gardener · Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:33 am

Neem can be a pretty strong scent all its own; might be one of the few things I would NOT try neem on for that reason...

I think that may be slug or earwig damage; do some reconoitering first to find the actual culprit (if you don't see them in the day, and it sounds like you don't, then the night time is the right time

) Bet you it's one or the other (I think slugs); if you can clean them up you should be fine. Suffered some very similar nibbling and [url=https://www.paghat.com/slugcontrol.html]iron phosphate[/url]took care of the issue...

HG

somegeek · Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:15 am

The Helpful Gardener wrote:Neem can be a pretty strong scent all its own; might be one of the few things I would NOT try neem on for that reason...

I think that may be slug or earwig damage; do some reconoitering first to find the actual culprit (if you don't see them in the day, and it sounds like you don't, then the night time is the right time ) Bet you it's one or the other (I think slugs); if you can clean them up you should be fine. Suffered some very similar nibbling and [url=https://www.paghat.com/slugcontrol.html]iron phosphate[/url]took care of the issue...

HG

We do have our share of earwigs around our yard. What don't they like?

GitarooGarden · Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:58 pm

Hey SG! I'm admiring your success! Especially with the herb cuttings. I'm renting in a house that was previously owned by a garden enthusiast (and I credit my recent undertaking of my gardening hobby to her) and she has a huge rosemary plant in the backyard garden! It's very woody like the one you described, so I've been taking cuttings from it and the nearby culinary sage plant in hopes to be able to give the scions to friends and family. I didn't think of replacing the whole plant (yet) because it's the commanding presence at the moment, and the garden wouldn't be the same without it! It's been taking mine a little longer than 2 weeks to root in water, and I haven't had much success transplanting them after roots appear (read: no success). I'm thinking the cuttings I tried were too woody already back in early Spring, and now that it's been growing this season, I can pick some nice, fresh, greener cuttings and try again.

I'm admiring your peppers! I planted some peppers that I bought from Lowes in containers and they've been doing very well. The mystery pepper two posts ago looks just like the new jalapenos on my plants, but I suppose it'll make itself clear to you which one it is in the next week or so

I just read all five pages in a row *huff puff* whew! What a great journal thread. If only I could streamline my photo uploading I might do something like this, myself!

Best of luck to you and your growing!

somegeek · Thu Jul 02, 2009 1:35 pm

Hey, GitarooGarden... sounds like you're still learning as I am. It's pretty cool to figure stuff out after a failure. Fortifies your technique I think.

My peppers are finally moving along nicely.

Bell pepper started from seeds out of a store bought bell pepper. About six or so peppers on this plant at the moment...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_152.jpg[/img]

Bell and sweet peppers along with a Jalapeno there off to the left...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_153.jpg[/img]

Sweet peppers...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_154.jpg[/img]

Jalapeno plant taking off! About fifty buds or so on this plant.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_155.jpg[/img]

Happy to see these plants doing well after last year's failed attempt(two plants, one single pepper yield). Even though they were rocks, Charlie Brown had a better yield trick or treating.

somegeek

wolfie · Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:22 pm

Hey SG, everything looks great, I never thought of doing rows in a raised bed like that, my stuff is all mixed in lol what type of wood are your boxes made from?

somegeek · Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:10 pm

wolfie wrote:Hey SG, everything looks great, I never thought of doing rows in a raised bed like that, my stuff is all mixed in lol what type of wood are your boxes made from?

Pressure treated pine boards from Home Depot. Check the labels on the lumber you're looking to use if you're pondering going the pressure treated route and do your research. I live in the NW and the lifespan of untreated wood is a bit short. Everything I read about the boards I used in particular, stated there is minimal risk with the chemicals used to treat them, but just to be sure, I'll use plain wood next time to remove any doubt and deal with rot over time if that happens.

wolfie · Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:33 pm

I read that using pressure treated was bad for growing anything edible, so I used a plain wood and wrapped it in black plastic to help with the erosion..... I like the look of yours better tho!

somegeek · Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:29 pm

Raspberries are in full swing now. Been able to pull roughly 1C a day of berries from our small strip of plants. Getting pretty tall too.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_157.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_156.jpg[/img]

This image was taken from the ground up. The berries seem to hide under the leaves so when picking, you need to look up a little to find them.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_163.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_162.jpg[/img]

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_161.jpg[/img]

English Cucumbers... training them up onto this trellis.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_158.jpg[/img]

Cucumber starting to grow...

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_164.jpg[/img]

Cilantro going to seed(corriander) in order to plant more plants.
[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_159.jpg[/img]

Chili pepper plant... these will turn red when ripe. Looking forward to seeing this.

[img]https://somegeek.home.comcast.net/somegeek_seedling_160.jpg[/img]

somegeek