The UnOfficial Seed Starting Thread

[gixxerific]

I brought home some plastic from work. Would it be worth it to lay this out on my garden bed to help warm up the soil? It is frozen solid right now.

[Ozark Lady]

Yep.

To really get the soil warmed. Lay black plasic down... then make a tunnel of clear plastic... it will warm it up sooner, with the double plastic.

[Gary350]

I don't start many plants from seeds there really isn't much need to. I plant about 30 tomato plants very year that is the most expensive thing to buy they are about $3.50 for 6 plants. I may grow tomatoes from seeds this year. I put the trays in a plastic garbage bag to hold moisture when the seeds sprout in about a week I remove the bag and turn on a fan to keep them from getting stem rot. Then I put them outside during the day and bring them in the house at night. In 30 days they are ready to plant in the garden about late April or early May. Not sure its worth it I have to buy composted cow manure in bags and seeds it is a lot of work to save to same $10.

You can throw pea seeds in the snow and when the weather gets right they will grow. Pick the harvest about the time the weather gets warm enough to plant the rest of the garden.

Carrots require about 3 weeks of pretty cold weather other wise the seeds will not sprout. Sprinkle seeds in a row or patch in the garden cover them over with sand.

I never grow anything in my garden that I don't eat a lot of.

I plant corn, okra, bean, squash seeds right in the soil in rows 3 ft apart.

I can't grow a good onion or potato the soil and weather here is not right so I buy those at the store.

When the sweet potatoes in the pantry sprout I plant them in the worse soil spot I have. Lots of gravel and sand I have added some peat moss but it composted away you can't tell the peat moss was every there. Soil is pretty bad weeds have a hard time growing there. Sweet potataos do very well in this spot I planted 4 plants last year and dug up about 25 very large sweet potatoes.

[garden5]

That is interesting, Gary. I've always heard that sweet potatoes preferred rich, better quality soil.

I've wanted to try sweet potatoes for some time. Do start yours from seed potatoes or slips (shoots that come from the seed potatoes)? How far apart to you space the plants and do they take up a lot of space? I can't seem to find much information on this.

Thanks and good luck with your harvest.

[Ozark Lady]

We have.... germination... so 2010 is up and green...

These were all started 2/21

Today, moved to the light is:

Green Mountain Broccoli, Natale Lopa Broccoli, Waltham 29 broccoli, calabrese Broccoli.

Danish Ballhead cabbage, Golden Acre Cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage.

Long Island Improved Brussels, Catskill Brussels.

Early Snowball Cauliflower, Snowball x Cauliflower.

And Pak Choi.

Up in 4 days, no bottom heat, no added water, just in moist soil, in plastic shoebox on top of the fridge.

Now, where am I going to put them? The light is still in the box...
The south window will have to do for now.

Germination percentages look to be better than 67% but I will give them a few days, in case some seed are slow.

[gixxerific]

Sounds good OL but have patience, something I don't have. I said before I have sprouts just coming up while their direct neighbors are getting the second set of leaves. So take your time, and remind me to do the same.

[Gary350]

That is interesting, Gary. I've always heard that sweet potatoes preferred rich, better quality soil.

I've wanted to try sweet potatoes for some time. Do start yours from seed potatoes or slips (shoots that come from the seed potatoes)? How far apart to you space the plants and do they take up a lot of space? I can't seem to find much information on this.

Thanks and good luck with your harvest.

I had 4 grocery store sweet potatoes in the pantry that were growing sprouts on one end. I cut off the end with the sprout and planted it. Covered it with about 2" of dirt. Sweet potatoes grow a vine that spreads out over the ground. I kept turning the ends of the vine around to make it grow back the other way this kept the 4 plants in a spot about 5 ft circle. You let them grow until frost kills the plant then you grab the vine and pull the potatoes out of the dirt. Then use a shovel to find any potatoes that are still in the dirt. Potatoes are pretty large, much larger than the original grocery store potato.

[garden5]

That is interesting, Gary. I've always heard that sweet potatoes preferred rich, better quality soil.

I've wanted to try sweet potatoes for some time. Do start yours from seed potatoes or slips (shoots that come from the seed potatoes)? How far apart to you space the plants and do they take up a lot of space? I can't seem to find much information on this.

Thanks and good luck with your harvest.

I had 4 grocery store sweet potatoes in the pantry that were growing sprouts on one end. I cut off the end with the sprout and planted it. Covered it with about 2" of dirt. Sweet potatoes grow a vine that spreads out over the ground. I kept turning the ends of the vine around to make it grow back the other way this kept the 4 plants in a spot about 5 ft circle. You let them grow until frost kills the plant then you grab the vine and pull the potatoes out of the dirt. Then use a shovel to find any potatoes that are still in the dirt. Potatoes are pretty large, much larger than the original grocery store potato.

Thanks for the reply. About what time of year, in relation to your last frost date did you plant them?

A five foot circle is not that much space to take up to get about four dozen sweet potatoes . Although I'm going to be crowding the garden this year as it is, I'm already thinking on how I can free-up some more space. Now, let's see; if I put the radishes there, I can move the onions over here, which would give me some open area over here...... .

[applestar]

THAT is the perils of pre-season garden planning. It goes something like this:

You had a full day and are just drifting off to sleep when the BEST IDEA for where to plant that vegetable just pops into your head. Your limbs are already limp and your body feels like they grew roots into the bed, so you just turn the thought over in your mind. But gosh darn it, it is an EXCELLENT IDEA. You say to yourself, well, I'll write it down in the morning....

Then your eyes SNAP OPEN. NO! It'll be gone by morning, lost in the recesses of your mind. You have to write it down... no DRAW a diagram, that's it. So the lights go back on, and you're scrambling/scribbling. But! How does this relate to the seed planting schedule? Direct seed or start seeds ahead? Succession planting? What did I grow in that bed last year? How long until maturity? Can something else go in that spot after it's done?

...but all that data is in the computer downstairs. You look down at the notes you've made so far... They're UNBEARABLY incomplete. Gotta get down to the computer and figure out the rest.

... well, now that I'm sitting at the computer, might as well present the question to the HGG Forum, see what everyone else's been up to.... Oh look, the West coast folks are still up and posting away....

Lost sleep....

[gixxerific]

I couldn't have said that any better Apple. I am probably going to wing it somewhat like I am used to. But I will have a basic plan. And yes every night I lay there and TRY to organize everything I have thought about all day.

[Joyfirst]

I started seeds a bit late(I garden in zone 24 or 10), but some of my cucumbers already are opening true leaves. They sprouted out first. Except West Burr Gherkins - those were slow for some reason, but two out of three already out. Watermelon and peppers are still not out after more than two weeks...I don't want to spend money on heating pad. Is it too cold for them? Tomatoes finally came out, but slowly.
I have some fish emultion - how much per gallon of water should I put in for the seedlings?

[gixxerific]

It normally is a tablespoon I believe for a gallon of water. So half that for starters and you might want to wait for them to get to upotting size and maybe a little after that. You want them to get strong on their own first. They are still feeding off the cotyledon, the first leaves. At least that is what I'm gathering so far. I don't fertilize much maybe that is wrong but it's just how I am, maybe I should start. But when I do I go for fish and kelp emulsions.

Sorry just looked my stuff say 1 teaspoon of Fish for transplants. 1 tbl per quart for transplants with kelp but check your stuff it may be different, maybe more or less concentrated than mine.

[rainbowgardener]

JoyF - Welcome to the forum ! It's hard to know if it is too cold for your seeds unless you tell us how cold it is there .

But it's a good guess. Peppers need soil temps of 70-75 for germination. So if you have less than that, that's why it is germinating very slowly. Risk of that is if the seeds sit in cold moist soil too long, not germinating, they can just rot, and never germinate.

Your watermelon seeds like it even warmer, around 85.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on fancy seed heat mats. Browse seed starting (Search the forum) and you will find lots of alternatives people use - drugstore heat pads like for back pain, putting the trays over christmas lights, setting it on top of the frig, adding an incandescent light to the lighting set up, just for heat production, water your soil with hot tap water (NOT boiling), etc.

Here's a thread going on now about how to provide heat:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22059&highlight=

Don't fertilize at least until your seeds have not only sprouted but put out at least one, probably better two pair of true leaves (the first leaves that come are the seed leaves, which look different from the true leaves). You want the baby seedling to focus on establishing a root system, not on growing stems and leaves yet.

[Joyfirst]

Thank you, guys! I think, it would be the easiest to get a heating pad without automatic shutoff with low setting. Do they have to be for the moist heat too or just waterproof?

[rainbowgardener]

Just waterproof, and they come that way...

[garden5]

OK, here's one: how do you measure the soil temperature? Do you just stick a regular thermometer in there and let it sit for like a half hour?

Thanks for clearing this one up.

[gixxerific]

OK, here's one: how do you measure the soil temperature? Do you just stick a regular thermometer in there and let it sit for like a half hour?

Thanks for clearing this one up.

Yes I just picked up a digital that is pretty accurate at Wal Mart for about $5. This one is a whole lot faster than 30 min though.

[Gary350]

That is interesting, Gary. I've always heard that sweet potatoes preferred rich, better quality soil.

I've wanted to try sweet potatoes for some time. Do start yours from seed potatoes or slips (shoots that come from the seed potatoes)? How far apart to you space the plants and do they take up a lot of space? I can't seem to find much information on this.

Thanks and good luck with your harvest.

I had 4 grocery store sweet potatoes in the pantry that were growing sprouts on one end. I cut off the end with the sprout and planted it. Covered it with about 2" of dirt. Sweet potatoes grow a vine that spreads out over the ground. I kept turning the ends of the vine around to make it grow back the other way this kept the 4 plants in a spot about 5 ft circle. You let them grow until frost kills the plant then you grab the vine and pull the potatoes out of the dirt. Then use a shovel to find any potatoes that are still in the dirt. Potatoes are pretty large, much larger than the original grocery store potato.

Thanks for the reply. About what time of year, in relation to your last frost date did you plant them?

A five foot circle is not that much space to take up to get about four dozen sweet potatoes . Although I'm going to be crowding the garden this year as it is, I'm already thinking on how I can free-up some more space. Now, let's see; if I put the radishes there, I can move the onions over here, which would give me some open area over here...... .

I planted them very late. Wife was going to throw out the sproting sweet potatoes so I got them and planted them about the first week of July. We don't get frost here usually until late October so that is almost 4 months of growing.

Tennessee State University has been doing some research on the addition of gypsum to the soil. In all cases it increases plant growth. They collect sheet rock scraps from constructions sites and till it into the soils. There data shows gypsum has increase the sweet potato crop by 3 times. It was on TV. I did a web search and found it too last Fall.

After reading this link I can see why sweet potatoes did so well where I planted them. The soil is sandy with lots of lime stone gravel. The peat moss I used for compost probably helped to loosen the soil. It is very hot and very dry that may be one reason weeds don't like to grow here but sweet potatoes love it. My herbs like this soil too.

https://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-sweet-potatoes.html

Here is a link I found from Australia https://espace.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:141083

[garden5]

Thanks for the reply, Gary. That's really interesting about the lime and gypsum, but I wonder, wouldn't it increase the alkalinity of the soil? I'm not certain about the gypsum, but I know the lime would.

[gixxerific]

Gary both great links and have inspired to go bigger than I wanted to this year whit sweets. I grew them last year for the first time, and they were awesome. I love sweet potatoes but the ones from the garden blow anything I have ever had away. Like the first link said the will take over and choke weeds out as well. Can you say companion planting for weeding issues?