2014 Seeds Started!

[ReptileAddiction]

What I do is just enter the date and then what happened on a document on my computer. I am horrible about keeping up with it though. Most things do not make it on it...

[rainbowgardener]

I have usually not had any trouble starting spearmint from seed. Since the seed is very fine, it is hard not to end up with hundreds of them. But I'm thinking this 18 yr old seed that was not refrigerated, just isn't viable any more.

I've always been terrible at record keeping too. Mainly here is my record keeping. That's why I put a link to last year's thread like this at the beginning of this thread. But I'm trying harder this year. I made myself a spreadsheet of seeds I plan to start with days to germination, need heat, need light, need any special treatment, how many weeks ahead to plant them, cold tolerance. To ease the transition back to the computer, I printed it out and it is staying in my plant starting area, so I can easily make notes on it about when the seeds were planted and how long they actually took to germinate. Then I can add that stuff back to the document any time.

So today the basil is sprouted, on the 4th day, the first begonia sprouted on the 14th day. I planted lobelia (1996 seed). I planted impatiens on top of the lavender which was more of that 1996 seed batch. It is at 15 days without sprouting.

[rainbowgardener]

California wonder bells sprouted at 7 days. Anaheim chilis are visibly getting ready to sprout, so probably tomorrow. Everything else is moving right along. Next to be planted will be coleus and marigold.

[chriswimmer]

I'm on round two... I attempted to grow some basil in a 2 liter soda bottle but it died after it germinated. I realized later that the 'really sunny' place in my condo was also oddly drafty and cold.

I've found a new spot (in my extra bathroom with a DIY grow light.)

I'm doing basil, chives, rosemary, cilantro, and chard.

Planted them 2 days ago so I hope to see them pop up very soon

[wolfwalker]

I'm weeks away from starting my outdoor plants in doors,My indoor lettuce is now a inch high... have the lettuce under my spare shop lights.

[rainbowgardener]

I did plant the coleus, but not the marigold. Instead I planted salvia, tarragon, caraway, ageratum.

The anise hyssop, while still pretty small, has true leaves and it is about time to move it off the heat mat, into individual cells.

I plugged in the second heat mat. To have space for the anise hyssop, I will need to turn on the second set of lights. This is the season where the seed starting operation just keeps getting bigger.

[applestar]

Yay! Can you post pictures yet?
My accidental premature sowing of Cherokee Tiger Striped Plum f7 tomato seeds are starting to show germinating loops so I put them under good light.

[skiingjeff]

Well I have to admit to being an intense record keeper. Maybe it has to to with being a former accountant but I have developed a spreadsheet on excel to plan and track my plantings. It is probably too much for most gardeners but can possibly be adjusted down if you wanted.

It uses the projected harvest date and works backwards towards seed planting time. The first section (brown headers) of the worksheet is the "Plan". Since we know the "Plan" doesn't always work, the second section (Yellow headers) is where I adjust based on actual germination, etc. and get an adjusted transplant date, harvest date, etc.

Then because I'm an uber geek the next green section is where I log in home many plants germinate each day after planting (P) and calculate my % of germination. I usually print out the current date range from this section and keep it down in the basement so I can log (in pencil) the information to later transfer into the spreadsheet.

Here is the Planning section:

This is the first half of the Planning section

Annual planting schedule #1a.png (124.54 KiB) Viewed 771 times

This is the second half of the Planning section

Here is the Actual Section:

AND Finally the germination section:

Whew! until I created this post I don't know if I knew how geeky this/I am Unfortunately I could not attach the XLSX file so I had to do pictures. If someone wants the actual Excel file...lol....just message me with your email and I can send it to you.

[imafan26]

Wow, that is really detailed, I like some of the columns you had. I tried to do that on computer, but I would forget, so I got a notebook and write it in when I plant. Problem is that I plant multiple seeds or transplant multiple plants on the same day so I am missing some.

I am thinking maybe I should do what I do with the orchids and keep the record on the back of the tags. Of course that means I will have to get different labels or start sanding plastic knives.

I wish I could start peppers now, but it is too cold and wet. I have to wait until March.
I have planted kale, cilantro, green onions, Joy Choy, tatsoi, spinach, beets and romaine.
I finally harvested my ginger. I planted some back in the pot and put the rest in a bucket with some damp soil in the lanai. That will be what I will use to cook with and backup in case the rain rots the ones that I replanted. I have taken rosemary, bay leaf, Mexican oregano, Meyer lemon, lemon verbena and marjoram cuttings. I had to retake the rosemary cuttings because it was very windy and the new cuttings dried out too much.

[ReptileAddiction]

Wow! Awesome system.

I am at that stage where you realize that you planted something early and it is sprouting and now I have no where to go with it. My tomatoes are not doing to hot though. One of them looks phenomenal. It is growing super fast and doing great. The other ones planted on the exact same day are smaller and looking kinda yellow. I think once they get their first true leaves though I think they will be looking much better.

I also still have most of my ornamentals to plant but they are not my priority.

[rainbowgardener]

I planted petunias, salvia, coleus, marigold, chamomile, caraway. So I now have seeds for 28 different plants planted and a long way to go yet. The coleus which is listed as 10-20 days germination time, sprouted in 4, with heat and light.

Nothing else will get planted until the tomatoes and green basil around the 20th of Feb.

The first broccoli seedlings got potted up into the 3.5" pots. If we were having normal weather, I could start taking them outside already. Running out of potting soil, because all the materials I ordered for this year's mix haven't come yet, including the rice hulls.

[skiingjeff]

RBG,

Are you planting cauliflower this year? Even though it is a cold veggie, everything I've read about temperature indicates it is not as cold hardy as broccoli???

Broccoli says soil temp of 40 degrees but cauliflower says soil temp of 50 in most of what I'm reading.

I'm trying to figure out when to start it in order to get a spring crop. Does anyone in Zone 6a do cauliflower? If so, any ideas??

Unfortunately I can't start my seedlings until the middle of February as I'm away from home until then so I'm working on what I will plant and when and getting anxious to start.

I'm also trying to do more succession plantings this year.

[applestar]

Your post prompted me to look for my last year' seed starting thread because I had first time success with cauliflowers last year... And it turns out I did have similar thoughts as yours and staggered broccoli and cauliflower starting -- with broccoli in early Feb and cauliflower around mid-Feb

should have checked before sowing BOTH broccoli and cauliflower.

> I mentioned planting the broccoli ahead of the cauliflower in this post about planting out the cauliflower last year, but didn't note when I planted the broccoli. There's a picture of how I covered the beds against the cabbage whites.
>> Looking at my garden log from last year, I planted broccoli on 4/8 and cauliflower on 4/17, covering both with insect netting on 4/17, but noted that the broccoli could have been planted earlier based on performance.
>>> one more link to a thread about harvesting the cauliflower last year

[rainbowgardener]

One thing I still have trouble with is managing the things that have teeny-tiny seeds like dust.

I started transplanting celery even though it doesn't have true leaves yet, just because it was so crowded in the cells. I planted 18 of them in individual cells, thinned about 50 of the least thriving, and probably still have 100 in the 9 little cells they were started in. I will let them do their survival of the fittest thing for awhile longer, then probably transplant another 18 and trash the rest. Seems so wasteful.

And I have hundreds of little coleus and tarragon seedlings started, that will need the same kind of treatment.

Incidentally the coleus, which is listed as 10 -20 days, sprouted in 4 and the (Russian) tarragon that is listed as 7-14, sprouted practically over night, maybe 2-3 days.

Any tips people have to avoid over planting the dust-like seeds?

[applestar]

I tried two methods last year.

• Pick Up with Moistened Tip •
- only take out as much seeds as intended to sow and spread on a plate
- dampen tip of bamboo skewer with water, barely touch the scattered seeds
- twist the tip on surface of the prepared (pre-moistened, filled and lightly tamped) seed starting container mix (no I can't see them either -- just trust that they are coming off )
-- the tip is now moistened from the mix so just repeat picking up and twisting off at 1/2" to 1" intervals -- or in my case, next soil microblock.

• Pick Up with Eyedropper •
- soaked seeds in water or weak tea few hours to overnight until the seeds sank
- used Eyedropper to mix up and then suck up water and seeds and then squeezed/dropped suspended seeds where I wanted to sow

Both methods worked fairly well though *typically* my personal "Murphy's Law of Gardening" applied even here and I ran out of seeds before completing the seed starting container.

[rainbowgardener]

Nice, thanks! I should have asked sooner!!

[skiingjeff]

Applestar, Thanks for getting back on the Cauliflower and Broccoli plantings. I plan to put cover over them to try and avoid the dreaded caterpillars as well.

If I read the threads correctly, your cauliflower did pretty well with the April planting. I have two Spring transplants planned for April 17th and the 25th so I'll continue along with the plan. I'm planting Snow Crown as well.

I hope to get a couple succession plantings in for the fall but will be planting Amazing and a purple one. I have transplants scheduled every two weeks from June through July. The purple is supposed to have lots of vitamins in it so it will be interesting to see how it tastes if we get it growing.

Based on everyone's comments on the threads it seems cauliflower can be harder than broccoli to get growing

I hope to get the broccoli out by mid March so it will hopefully not bolt like it did on us last year.

We love both veggies and really would like to get them fresh from our own garden!

Once we get going, I'll let you know how it worked out.

[rainbowgardener]

what zone are you in? I'm in zone 6 (A I think) and mid-March is my target date also, for getting the broccoli in the ground. Course it varies a bit depending on how the weather cooperates.

[skiingjeff]

I'm right on the border of 6a, so some years (probably like this one) we tend to be colder than others. I have a May 1st frost free date but last year we had frost problems until late May.

So this year I planned most of my crops for May 15th frost free.

I'm going to be a little late starting my broccoli since I'm away until next week. I was looking at your thread on broccoli plants and I'll be about a month behind your schedule.

[skiingjeff]

When "up potting" are you using more of a potting soil or the same starter mixture? Last year we started our seeds in the 3.5" pots and didn't transplant into any other container until they went into the ground.

We did this because it seemed we were constantly "up potting" something and wanted to eliminate some of the rework. But I'm wondering if everyone's using more of a potting soil when up potting if I'm hurting the little guys because they are staying in the starting mixture????

Any insights would be helpful

[rainbowgardener]

When I say up-potting, that is to the 3.5" pots. They stay in those until they go in the ground.

But I don't use seed starting mix, which is sterile, without nutrients. People use that because it is very fine textured. But it isn't necessary. When plants are in sterile mix then as soon as they have true leaves, you need to start providing nutrients or move them to regular potting mix. I avoid all that by just starting everything in regular potting mix. I make my own which is described in my sustainable potting mix thread:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=56511

So I start seeds in this, very crowded in little cells to conserve space, especially space on the heat mats. Once they have true leaves, they are moved to one per cell. When they outgrow that, they are moved to the 3.5" pots where they stay.

[rainbowgardener]

@skiingjeff : How did you post your spreadsheets? I wouldn't mind showing my much simpler version, but I don't know how to do it. I have it in dropbox, but that still doesn't give me anything like a link to it, not like having stuff in photobucket. Thanks, RBG

[skiingjeff]

@skiingjeff : How did you post your spreadsheets? I wouldn't mind showing my much simpler version, but I don't know how to do it. I have it in dropbox, but that still doesn't give me anything like a link to it, not like having stuff in photobucket. Thanks, RBG

I saved the spreadsheet as a PDF and then I took a "screen" print (picture) of each one. Then I used the attachment function in the Forum to browse for them on my computer and posted them.

It took me awhile to figure it out because the Forum wouldn't accept spreadsheet; then I tried the PDF and that wouldn't work; then I discovered the capability of screen printing in my PDF preview software.

I have a MACAIR laptop that I'm working from but I know that there is a screen print software for Microsoft products as well.

I hope this is helpful

[skiingjeff]

Thanks for the info on your up potting process RBG. I was using the Miracle Gro starting mix which has some fertilizer in it but figured that I was missing out on giving my plants some nutrients as we went along the way somewhere

I need to rethink my potting process. Thanks!

[imafan26]

I finally moved out some plants that have been on the bench since November and have some space. Now, I can pot up the kale seedlings. I started pulling the broccoli out to plant out the lettuce and pak choy. I am still getting side shoots from the rest of the broccoli. Pak choi and Romaine are harvestable. The meyer lemon is flowering now. Unfortunately with all of the rain, the weeds are monsters too. I am going to have to weed whack soon.

Yesterday, I planted a bun long taro (Chinese taro) and mioga. The mioga is still dormant but should be coming up in the next couple of months.

Now that I have temporarily more room on the bench I can start more seeds of green onions, nasturtiums, cilantro, parsley, lettuce, spinach, and more pak choi.

The night temperatures are still in the 60's and it is still raining every few days so I will have to wait a little while more before I plant the peppers.

[applestar]

When I say up-potting, that is to the 3.5" pots. They stay in those until they go in the ground.
[...]
So I start seeds in this, very crowded in little cells to conserve space, especially space on the heat mats. Once they have true leaves, they are moved to one per cell. When they outgrow that, they are moved to the 3.5" pots where they stay.

Hey Rainbowgqrdener, I'm going to take this opportunity to ask you for more details of your technique/method.
Little Cells -- are these tray inserts? How many cells per 1020 tray? How deep?

When you uppot to one per cell (presumably same size), do you wait until the seedlings fill the cells so they pop out relatively easily or do you dig them out with some tool?

[skiingjeff]

I second the request for more specific details. I was just discussing this with my spouse and asking a lot of the same questions so I logged on to ask and saw Applestar's request.

Please more details

[rainbowgardener]

They are tray inserts. They come in various numbers of cells per tray, but I mostly use the 72 cell ones. They are about 2 1/2" deep, basically the same as the trays. Since I am separating a whole bunch of seedlings per cell into one per cell (same size cells), I usually dig them out, since often I am leaving some behind. If you are transplanting all of them at once, you could probably pop the whole cell contents out and then tease the seedlings apart. The "tool" I use to dig them out is whatever is handy, most often the plastic plant tag/label sticks, because they are sitting around by where I am working. Just insert it straight down, next to the seedling, then lift up from the bottom. As long as you are lifting from the bottom, rather than pulling from the top, you will not damage the seedling.

[ReptileAddiction]

Everything I have planted so far just got moved out to the greenhouse. Then I realized that I left the greenhouse open all night long . At least though it only got to like 52 last night. Now that I have some more space inside I am going to start some other things like petunias today.

[rainbowgardener]

Here's the over all view of seed starting right now:



10 trays, four of them with things in pots. This coming week we are supposed to be getting warm up and the broccoli, cabbage, and spinach will start coming out and being introduced to sunshine. Maybe cilantro also.


Here's some little bell pepper seedlings. They were planted 1/27, sprouted 2/3. Now they mostly have true leaves. They are still very crowded in the little cells, even though I took the first few (7) out and potted them up.

[rainbowgardener]

I was looking at all the little seedlings and realized I couldn't really tell the curly parsley apart from the cilantro, except that the cilantro is bigger, growing faster. I haven't grown the curly parsley before, just flat, and I haven't done cilantro at all, so at first I thought I made a mistake. But I looked up pictures:


http://tinyfarmblog.com/wp-content/uplo ... /02/win07_curly_parsley_seedling.jpg



http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PR-Eg9sJfYY/T ... XWU/s1600/Coriander7A.JPG

They do look quite a bit alike, at least at this stage (which is about where mine are). Are they related or is it just coincidence.

[applestar]

Hah! Interesting. My cilantro self seeds outside so I never took the opportunity to compare before....

I think maybe a distinction is parsley seed leaves are pointier... and perhaps cilantro true leaves are thinner and less stiffly held?

...I've been playing iPad games "spot the difference" "search for objects" (usually very detailed hand drawn pictures in which objects or pieces of objects are placed in plain or camoflaged areas) -- then realized I play this "game" all the time when gardening -- when volunteer seedlings emerge, plant ID, looking for pests like aphids, tomato leaf miners, or (currently) overwintering brown marmorated stinkbugs among the plants....

[inuyashalover21]

Got my herbs, veggies and flowers going right now. 4 flats under a grow light. So far my Big Dipper bell peppers, swamp milkweed, plains coreopsis, lantana and my tomatillo have sprouts.

[rainbowgardener]

Planted my first two tomato varieties yesterday: Better Boy hybrid and Early Cherry. It's a few days early from when I said I would plant tomatoes, but I couldn't resist. More to come! Also planted the green basil. Starting on the warmer weather stuff, spring is coming!

I thought your signature line was interesting, inuyasha. Lists 8 large Aerogardens, which are for indoor gardening and then says "I am addicted the outdoors." Mildly contradictory. I have one of the small aerogardens that I use for winter herbs and then turn off in the spring.

[rainbowgardener]

YAY!! It is 45 degrees and sunny and the first two trays of potted seedlings went out in the sunshine -- broccoli, cabbage, spinach, cilantro. I have more of all of those indoors, if I somehow manage to kill these, starting them out so early. But it is going up to 66 tomorrow, time to get them out in it!! This is the time of year when I watch the weather forecast very closely and things go in and out a lot.

[applestar]

I hope that weather is coming our way soon -- it's pouring rain outside right now... Melting the accumulated snow (some drifts up to around 18"-20" deep judging by how high up the rabbit fences they are)

[skiingjeff]

Finally got some of my broccoli and kohlrabi seeds started!

I wish it was anywhere close to 45 degrees here. We have highs only in the 30's still

But at least we're getting the seeds started now that we are back home - Yay!

Can't wait for the little guys to pop out of the soil.....

[rainbowgardener]

Amazing what a bit of sunshine will do!! My broccoli have now been out for most of two days (coming back in for the nights), in a spot that gets mostly only morning sun. In those two days they have nearly doubled in size and are looking fuller and healthier and darker green. Even though they will grow under the lights, it's really not the same.

[rainbowgardener]

First tomato seedlings are up! They are Stupice, which is an ultra-early, and sprouted in TWO days. The early cherry and Better Boy have not shown yet and they were planted one day sooner. The rest of the tomatoes haven't even been planted yet, but it is time.

[rainbowgardener]

I started noticing that some of my little seedlings didn't seem to be growing as much as I would expect. My first thought was the soil, so I tried amping it up a bit more with coffee grounds and alfalfa pellets. But I noticed that the celery planted in Miracle Gro was actually not doing as well as the celery in my home made soil. Then I noticed that the stuff in pots that got moved up to the upper level started doing a lot better. The upper level has the newest light tubes. The lower level especially where the stuff is that is thriving least has the oldest light tubes, at least 15 years old. So I took a couple of them out and put some of the newer ones in (since I am currently only using 12 of the 16 tubes). I'll give it a few days and see if they perk up any.

The plants were not getting leggy, but a bit pale and faded and just not thriving or growing much. The bulbs still did not seem to be dark at the ends. It may be why the stuff that has been going outside perked up so much with actual sunshine.

They say you should replace the tubes a lot sooner than that. I always said I would replace them if and when the plants didn't seem to be doing well. This may be that time.

The "newer" ones that I replaced them with were still T12's, though I do have some T8 and even a couple T5. I suppose for real comparison, I should have swapped for the T5.

It's the advantage of years of experience doing this. If I didn't have a mental image of what they should look like, I might not have noticed for longer that they weren't really doing well.