Pics of your seedlings

[Nightowls]

I am trying to plan what seeds to start indoors and I am worried that I would not have room for everything as they mature.

So, if you'll can post your pics of your seedlings - noting what they are and their age - it would be greatly appreaciated.

[applestar]

mine are posted here
http://helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50775

What are you planning to grow? Different things are started at different times and it's possible to stagger them depending on what they are and what kind of growing conditions they need. I just shuffled my broccoli seedlings out to the unheated neary freezing garage to make room for tomatoes and other seedlings that are starting to sprout. Peppers haven't sprouted yet even though they were started before tomatoes, so for now, they're not taking up much space. Onion seedlings will be ousted next.

[gixxerific]

This is aournd January 2013

This was a few weeks ago

[gixxerific]

It can be a challenge getting everything up in the right amount of time and in the right amount of space. Those pics are of winter growings. I am starting my dwarf toamto seedlings this weekend. They can can be moved away from the starter area early and put in pots to make room for other starters. My main garden tomatos and peppers will go in next weekend. This may be a bit early but I have so many to do I need to do it in waves.

If I had a greenhouse I would wait a few weeks. Than I could start just about everything at once at least tomatoes. But in my cold basement they grow slow and I use that to my adavntage.

You could be starting greens like lettuce, chard, espeacially spinach now. Not really sure what you are looking for in particular. Other things to think about is Brassicas: Borccoli Cualiflower.

I have good luck with scaterring seed in the snow even and having a early harvest of lettuce, spinach, radishes etc. (Better yet right before a snow )

Hope this helps

Dono

[hendi_alex]

About a month behind last year's schedule/progress. The background plants are in 1 gallon nursery pots. A couple of community pots are in the foreground. Will move those to individual pots when true leaves arrive. Have three other community pots on the heating mat but no germination yet. Will continue to start community pots every couple of weeks from now through mid March for April planting. Will continue to plant replacement plants for tomatoes through mid summer.

The highs are supposed to remain near 60 or higher for the next couple of weeks, so hopefully these rather scraggly looking plants will start to grow very quickly and will get both thicker and greener.

[rainbowgardener]

I start way more than I really have room for under my 16 linear feet of lights.
I do it by succession planting. I started the cold weather stuff mid January. So a lot of that stuff, cabbage, broccoli, alyssum, is now out from under the lights, getting hardened off. Currently they are going out in the daytime and coming back in at night, but I don't put them back under the lights, so that freed up space under the lights for the later started stuff.

That process just continues. I have been planting new things (see my Started Seeds thread) every week or two ever since. So I will keep moving more things out and planting more. Celery will probably be next to go out The last things to be planted will be the squashes, but by then a lot of the other stuff will be planted or hardening off outdoors. It takes a bit of planning and knowing optimum temperatures, germination times etc, but I grow easily 600 plants that way, maybe more, between mid Jan and first of May. I already have right about 300 little plants either in pots or in individual cells and my seven varieties of tomatoes haven't even sprouted yet.

I start them in little cells and then transplant to 3.5" square pots, with 18 of those to a 10x20" tray, so that gives you an idea of how much room each one takes up.

[IndyGerdener]

Dry seed 11 days ago (Ghost peppers)

Dry seed 25 days ago (Green Bean)

Dry Seed 26 days ago (Ghost Pepper)

Dry seed 23 days ago (Jap Pepper)

[Ohio Tiller]

Brussel sprouts 11 days old they came up alot faster then I thought they would.

[rainbowgardener]

They need more light!

[rainbowgardener]

PS since my space is limited, I would never have giant plants like gixx's still under the light. He was growing indoor tomatoes through the winter (very impressive!).

Just growing seedlings to plant out in the spring, I usually don't up pot them from the 3.5" pots; they stay in those until they get planted in the ground. Occasionally if my tomatoes are getting too big, I move them into the red solo cups like Indy showed.

[Nightowls]

Thanks for the replies and the ruler Indy

Since I was really impatient, I did start a 20 cell tray of, what I hope is, frost tolerant veggies (x4 Broccoli: Major Hybrid & Strawberry Spinach, x2 Broccoli: Romanesco, Swiss Chard, Cabbage: White, Cabbage: Jersey Wakefield, Pak Choi, and Florence Fennel) so I can chuck them out early.
And I just might try gixx's snow seed suggestion - last frost isn't till April 20th and the snow should be gone in a week or two, enough time for some quickies.

I am planning (note: hoping) to grow a little bit of everything. Inside, I really want to get a jump start on some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and squashes. Last year, I put out some small seedlings and the snails got them - proper transplants should survive them, right ?

The only places inside that I can keep the plants are on top of the fridge were I jerry-rigged a grow light and the angled ceiling is one to two away. And on two 2 ft x 4(?) in windowsills (south & west facing). The windowsills are the double window kind, so it has an exterior window/screen and interior window; the interior window would have to be closed because I have three young and curious cats. And hence, the worry about size.

[684]

[img][img]http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af85/jordanleereynolds/2013-02-21154711_zps123100d0.jpg[/img]

Tomatoes 4 days after planting. This is in the afternoon...that morning i went to tend to them and one plant was visibly sprouted, 7 hours later almost every cell was up.[/img]

[erins327]

http://s1303.beta.photobucket.com/user/ ... 8.jpg.html



This is last week (so growing about 5-6 weeks at this point.)

I would say since I started fertilizing, they are about 30% bigger than this already. March 15th here we come! (Our no more frost date!)

[Cola82]

Basil and tomatoes--I know the tomatoes look a little yellow, but I think it's just the light I have them under. When I look at them in natural light, they seem greener. They are a little spindly, though, so I left the window open for a while to get a cool breeze on them. I've been keeping it too warm in here, I think.

I'm extremely eager for my basil to get true leaves--they sprouted more than a week ago and haven't grown more than 3/4 of an inch. I know, I know, be patient. ;p

[rainbowgardener]

The tomatoes are a little taller and thinner than we would really like for not having true leaves. The breeze can help toughen them up, but the tall and thin is an issue of not enough light. It is difficult to grow good tomato plants with just window light. Is there a way you could add some artificial light?

[gixxerific]

Woke up to this all but 3 have germinated so far.

[Cola82]

Rainbow: I have the CFL from the light on my drafting table right on them, although I know it's not really ideal--it's just been so cloudy and my house has no South facing windows. In fact, it only has West facing windows--the East facing windows in our bedroom are tiny and blocked on two sides by the peaks of the roof. :/

Unfortunately I can't really install anything more serious, although I might be able to get a better light if it'll screw into my table light. Do you think they'll make it or are they too skinny? It's probably not too late to start over and I still have seeds.

[rainbowgardener]

Starting over wouldn't help unless you have better conditions for the new seedlings....

I have to say I admire your spirit in making the best of what you have! A west facing window is really not a great situation for your seedlings. Do you have other, non window areas for lights? My seedlings are in my basement, with no natural light at all, just lots of fluorescent tubes.

But if what you've got is what you've got, if you have room for it, what I would do is in a few days, as soon as your little tomatoes start putting out their first true leaves, transplant them from the cells in to little pots. When you do that, bury them deeper, just about up to the seed leaves. Tomatoes will send out roots all along the buried stem, so that will increase their root system and make them sturdier. That might just keep them until you can start hardening them off. And since your indoor space is so unsuitable for them, start hardening them off as soon as you can, even though that means taking them out for a little while and then bringing them back in. Once adapted tomatoes are tougher than we sometimes give them credit for.

That's a whole lot of tomato seedlings, and you don't have a whole lot of yard and are planning to garden all in containers. What are you going to do with them all? You know those half barrels you were talking about are enough for one tomato plant?

[Cola82]

I actually saw one of your posts elsewhere about transplanting even little tomato seedlings when you're thinning them and I have a ton of little rejects in dixie cups--I figured it couldn't hurt to give them a chance. But the ones under the CFL in the seed starter are just now putting out tiny little leaves, so I'll definitely do what you suggest and transplant them sooner rather than later.

I just went out and got a compact grow light today. It fits into my table lamp but it doesn't have great coverage. Would it be a good idea to erect some tinfoil barriers around it to reflect the light back in?
You're right that there are way too many seedlings. Rookie mistake, planting almost the whole packet. I won't plant so many next time (though I'm hoping to build on what I have now so that my set-up is better next year). There are two varieties of tomatoes in the seed starter, as well some thai basil and sweet peppers (those haven't germinated yet, but I'm going to give them a few more days). I've been giving them just enough water to wick up from the bottom of the tray every morning, but the pepper cells still look really damp. :/

As for what to do with them, if they survive, I plan to just to give them away to anyone who will take them. I only actually wanted a couple plants of each variety for myself. Like you said, barrels can only hold so much. My mom has a lot of space and already grows a ton of fruit every year. D:

[valley]

Nice pictures, How do you post pictures? Do you have to use Fotobucket or the like?

[gixxerific]

Nice pictures, How do you post pictures? Do you have to use Fotobucket or the like?

Check here http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... php?t=3724

Cola I do agree nice pic.

[Cola82]

Aw, thanks. I just use my phone and Imageshack. All I did with these was crop them.

[kimbledawn]

Here are mine!

These are Pok choi, various tomatoes and peppers and basil!

[rainbowgardener]

Just getting started, but looking good so far!

[applestar]

Tomato seedlings... Oldest looking ones were started on 2/16 on the right, 2/19 on the left.



They are not on heat mats any more and growing area temp is high 60's to low 70's during the day and overnight dips down to low to mid 60's.

[IndyGerdener]

update on my japs from seed on the 2nd of February



and the ghost peppers

[Cola82]

Aw, how lush and beautiful!

Well, my tomato seedlings have been under the grow light for two days now and here's where they are. Do you think they're ready to be transplanted or should I wait a few more days?

[IndyGerdener]

personally I would wait until the 2nd set of leaves are more established. I also tend to wait until there is a few roots coming out the bottom holes. That is more of an indicator for me than the leave size.

[IndyGerdener]

Ghost peppers going strong



as are my Jalapeno Peppers



MONGO LEAVES

[Cola82]

Improbably, things are still growing.

Sweet Basil:

Thai Basil:

Cherry tomatoes:

Sweet peppers:


As you can probably tell, I moved a lot of seedlings to new containers. The basil, for one thing, was in too shallow a container with no drainage. It's been a few days, and they seem to have suffered no ill effects, so I think it was a good choice. The tomato seedlings I've been putting outside are doing okay, too, but are now growing markedly slower than the ones still under the grow light. :/

I like to hedge my bets.

ETA: meanwhile, the windowsill tomatoes are barely hanging on at all:

[applestar]

Very nice! Basils and Tomtoes in the red(?) containers look great! What ARE those containers? ...the tomato in he window looks lonely...

[Cola82]

Well I've been trying to get nursery pots as cheap as possible wherever I can, and I decided to check Wal-Mart (I don't normally shop there if I can help it, but I wanted to cover all my bases). I found a seed starter much like the one I'd used, but with these bigger, deeper cells which is exactly what I needed right now to keep them all under the light. In fact, they nest perfectly within the seed starter tray that I was already using, so I've just been replacing the sections from the tray as I go.

They appear to be made from the same plastic as the original seed starter, just a different color, so they're very thin and prone to tearing. I don't think I'll be able to use them again, but they were only $4.

As for the poor windowsill rejects, well... I figured a poor chance was better than none.

[rainbowgardener]

Everything is looking very good and healthy!! But it is likely to be only a few days to a week before all the things in the red containers are getting too crowded and will need to be up potted again. That's the point where I put them one per 3" pot or red solo cup and don't up pot anymore until they are ready to go in the ground or their final container.

[Cola82]

I agree--it will necessitate another great culling. Poor babies.

[Cola82]

So a couple of my basil seedlings have these curling leaves. You can see this one is starting to split, too. Is this from over watering? It's really hard to tell, since most of the other seedlings seem fine.


Furthermore, the sweet basil leaves just seem to be getting bigger while their second set of true leaves stay these tiny little buds in the center, which is driving me nuts, because the thai basil is already putting out buds for a third set of leaves, and they were planted and germinated two weeks after the sweet basil. The one in this photo does have a weird brown spot on the leaf I can't account for, though.


Peppers seem to be doing fine.


I think the tomatoes are okay--I'm not sure, though, having so little experience.

[rainbowgardener]

Everything is looking great! They are starting to look crowded though. The peppers particularly, I would get in to their own pots, like you did with the tomatoes.

[IndyGerdener]

Here is my whole set-up, With the heating problem in the greenhouse I have brought all plants back inside. My grow room is so crowded!!



I have a pea pod!!



Amish Paste



Indigo Apple



Praxxus Method on Ghost pepper plant. See the growth coming out the sides!!



Closest leaves to the camera are my cloned ghost peppers and the rest are a combo of banana, bell, and cayanne pepper starts

[Cola82]

Praxxus method, eh? I'm going to look into that.

[IndyGerdener]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiO8xrYQeys

This is I think a 3 part series. you should watch all parts to see the difference over time