I wanted to remind myself of this possibility, though I think I have enough seedlings started this year, I may adapt this to put them outside earlier than would be possible
applestar wrote:How are they coming along?
Having posted the above, I decided to experiment, and started some tomato seeds loosely based on "wintersown" like this: These are cap less 2L soda bottles with drainage holes cut open with 1" connected as a hinge. Soaked the potting mix then sowed I think 5-6 seeds in each, then casually taped them shut (a little gap for ventilation). I left these bottles out in the sun with no caps during the day, then brought them in at night -- in house temp around upper 60's. They were placed by the window with morning sun so they got a little boost right away.
Seeds were started on 4/3 and one bottle first germinated 4/9, the rest all germinated yesterday 4/10.
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I'm going to leave them outside now day and night. We are actually having mild days right now 70's during the day, nights in the 40's some 50's but expecting upper to low 30's Tues-Thurs.
WOW! My old thread got resurrected? Guess I should report?
I did get some tomato starts from my efforts out in the shed and they did well when moved out into the plot. It turned out well enough that I am doing it again this season. Have some small tomatoes up out in the shed now and some more seeds planted. We have had a cool though sunny season here so they seem to be doing OK. Not very large yet. May 5 is planting out in the garden date for these parts, so they still have time to grow?
I just started tomatoes (among other things) in flats a few days ago. This year I'm using 4 or5 seeds of each thing in each cell just to be sure some germinate! The reason I'm planting so many is that some of my seeds are 2 or 3 yrs. old. That way, surely something will come up! Eventually, I will thin to just one plant per cell. It's really easy when you just snip off the unwanted seedling with scissors, that nips them in the bud. Better than pulling them out and disturbing the roots of the adjoining plant you wanna keep.
I just noticed today that some of the cells are getting a little mold on the soil surface. So, I took off the little dome that came with the kit. You have to be so careful when creating an airtight environment when sprouting I've found. Wondering if I should mist the moldy cells with a little baking soda water? Maybe it will kill the seeds and sprouted plants too? Baking soda kills mold, no?
Last year for the first time I used a gro lite setup with heat mat as I learned from this forum! It was the best success I ever had at seed starting. Thank you! Too bad I lost so many cabbage, broccoli, and peppers when I set them out in the garden. Nothing bothered the tomatoes tho. I suspect cutworms, not sure! Gotta fix that this year!
Dan
I didn't realize this was an old thread either! Some subjects are always pertinent though.
To answer my own question, I remembered that sunlight kills mildew and mold really quick, so I took the whole seed flat outside to sit in the bright sun for a couple of hours, that should do it.
These are cap less 2L soda bottles with drainage holes cut open with 1" connected as a hinge. Soaked the potting mix then sowed I think 5-6 seeds in each, then casually taped them shut (a little gap for ventilation). I left these bottles out in the sun with no caps during the day, then brought them in at night -- in house temp around upper 60's. They were placed by the window with morning sun so they got a little boost right away.
I'm going to leave them outside now day and night. We are actually having mild days right now 70's during the day, nights in the 40's some 50's but expecting upper to low 30's Tues-Thurs.
