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buckbuster
- Full Member
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:19 pm
- Location: Missouri
starting seeds on my own.
Somebody walk me trough it. what do I need besides seeds and dirt. Do I need one of those plastic green house things?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Nope, do NOT need plastic green house or peat pots or peat pellets. All those things tend to be seedling killers!
Do need seeds, potting soil (NOT garden dirt which is too heavy and dense and moisture holding), something (like trays, small pots or the little trays full of little cells or yoghurt cups with holes in the bottom, etc) to put the dirt and seeds in, and some kind of tray to put the pots/cups etc in. Then you need LIGHT. Do not think you can set them on the window sill. Regular fluorescent bulbs or tubes, hung just a few inches above the seeds, on chains or something so they can be raised as the plants grow. Leave the lights on 16 hrs a day (or more!).
Depending on what you are growing and how warm the area is where they are growing, they may benefit from bottom heat, I.e. a heating pad, under the tray, to aid in germination. Not strictly necessary.
The tray to put the pots in is so that you can bottom water-- just put A LITTLE water in the bottom of the tray and let the dirt soak it up.
If you have all that, you should be good to go! Enjoy! I love watching all the little seedlings sprout and grow!
Do need seeds, potting soil (NOT garden dirt which is too heavy and dense and moisture holding), something (like trays, small pots or the little trays full of little cells or yoghurt cups with holes in the bottom, etc) to put the dirt and seeds in, and some kind of tray to put the pots/cups etc in. Then you need LIGHT. Do not think you can set them on the window sill. Regular fluorescent bulbs or tubes, hung just a few inches above the seeds, on chains or something so they can be raised as the plants grow. Leave the lights on 16 hrs a day (or more!).
Depending on what you are growing and how warm the area is where they are growing, they may benefit from bottom heat, I.e. a heating pad, under the tray, to aid in germination. Not strictly necessary.
The tray to put the pots in is so that you can bottom water-- just put A LITTLE water in the bottom of the tray and let the dirt soak it up.
If you have all that, you should be good to go! Enjoy! I love watching all the little seedlings sprout and grow!
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elementfiftyfour
- Cool Member
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:15 am
- Location: Metairie, Louisiana
I like to use toilet paper rolls too. Those work great for starting cells and they give your seedlings plenty of extra room to grow deep roots. As an added benefit they are easy to peel off the root ball wen you plant in the ground.
Obviously you will probably not be able to use this method till next planting season unless you get some serious diarrhea. I don't wish that upon you though.
Obviously you will probably not be able to use this method till next planting season unless you get some serious diarrhea. I don't wish that upon you though.
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Tigerlilylynn
- Cool Member
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 5:03 pm
- Location: Middleburg Hts., OH
That's fantastic! You can start your seeds and then put them in the compost pile. *places bags on bathroom door knobs*elementfiftyfour wrote:I like to use toilet paper rolls too. Those work great for starting cells and they give your seedlings plenty of extra room to grow deep roots. As an added benefit they are easy to peel off the root ball wen you plant in the ground.
Obviously you will probably not be able to use this method till next planting season unless you get some serious diarrhea. I don't wish that upon you though.
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hendi_alex
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 3604
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
For me, the greatest increase in success of starting seeds came with the addition of bottom heat. Heating mats are a bit expensive but it is easy to improvise. You can place the seed container on a baking sheet and place a 100 watt bulb reflector lamp underneath to warm the sheet. You can place a container of water over a heat source like a wood stove or heat duct and then place a sheet and seed container over the warm water. You can place the seed container in a closed bad and place it near a refrigerator warm air exaust or other warm area. I generally start mine on a pet heat mat, but have also started them on a shelf that is over a propane heater in the green house. I place a rubbermaid square container directly over the heater, then place a rack over the water. Then place the seed container on the rack. Either of those set ups generally give very good results. Bottom line is that most warm weather plants like 70-80 degrees to germinate, and gentle bottom heat is a great way to achieve that temperature range.
These folks gave you some pretty good advice on the type of planting container and medium, so I'll try to go in-depth on the lights.
for starters, have a look at [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20844]this thread[/url]. Although it primarily concerns growing tomatoes, it covers some good general grow light information as well.
If you just starting out and don't want to break the bank, here is what I suggest.
Get a 4ft. fluorescent shop-light from Lowes or WalMart. It will use two bulbs and will cost around $15.
For lights, get either 2 32watt or 40watt (whichever type your light fixture takes, probably 32watt) fluorescent light bulbs that are rated at or near 6500K. These are about 10$.
Also, get a timer so that they will be on a full 14 to 16 hours a day. The timers are cheap, too, at about 7-10$.
Keep the bulbs about 2in. to 3in. above the seedlings as they grow; this will make them stocky and bushy instead of tall and spindly. If you want to learn more about the different types of grow lights and their uses, do some reading [url=https://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-organic-and-hydroponics-gardening.com/garden-grow-lights.html]here[/url]. This site is a really good resource on this subject.
Good growing.
for starters, have a look at [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20844]this thread[/url]. Although it primarily concerns growing tomatoes, it covers some good general grow light information as well.
If you just starting out and don't want to break the bank, here is what I suggest.
Get a 4ft. fluorescent shop-light from Lowes or WalMart. It will use two bulbs and will cost around $15.
For lights, get either 2 32watt or 40watt (whichever type your light fixture takes, probably 32watt) fluorescent light bulbs that are rated at or near 6500K. These are about 10$.
Also, get a timer so that they will be on a full 14 to 16 hours a day. The timers are cheap, too, at about 7-10$.
Keep the bulbs about 2in. to 3in. above the seedlings as they grow; this will make them stocky and bushy instead of tall and spindly. If you want to learn more about the different types of grow lights and their uses, do some reading [url=https://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-organic-and-hydroponics-gardening.com/garden-grow-lights.html]here[/url]. This site is a really good resource on this subject.
Good growing.