2015 seed starting thread!

[Lindsaylew82]

The light is about 1-2 inches above. Closer? They are T8's.

[applestar]

No, thats about as close as you want for T-8, but the seedlings looked pale -- I guess they _had_ been somewhere else then?

[Rairdog]

Burrrr....my babies are chilled and the forecast is not what they need. Just a few shots to brighten the winter doldrums.

I put this rosemary behind the tv with indirect light to overwinter. I guess it likes the warm dry air and neglected because it took off.


I thought this begonia was done for. 2 of the 3 plants died off. Next thing ya know (ole Jed's a millionaire) it started flowering. I cut off a couple stems and stuck them in the pot and they are growing.


My aloe also liked being neglected and overwintered.


The babies... the peppers are on a heat mat. Everything else has been exposed to mid 50's to mid 70's.


The toms are an amazing shade of purple...wait that's not good. Or...maybe I made them tough when they venture out on their own.


Walla's begging for light.


Lettuce and spinach. They like this crappy weather.


Kohlrabi and pak choi....they are leggy but refuse to fold.


I think the babies take me for granted. IDK if they appreciate what I do for them. Step outside the GH and get a taste of this.

[Lindsaylew82]

They germinated VEEEEEERY quickly. Like 2 days!!! I didn't realize they'd germinate that quickly so, today is their first day with lights.

How long should the lights be on? I have them on a timer now for 12 hours.

[rainbowgardener]

I'm still always learning or re-learning! So lessons from this year: Soak those seeds. Most anything probably benefits from being soaked at least a few hours. Since I bought a lot of stuff in bulk, I now have a bunch of seeds from 2012/ 2013. And I have to confess they haven't been stored perfectly all that time, spent a number of months just sitting around at room temp. So when I tried planting them straight from the envelope, I got very disappointing results for some, like peppers. So I started over soaking them for about 8 hrs or over night. Yay!! Much better results the second time.

Don't try transplanting too soon. As noted I managed to I don't know spill celery seed or something. Anyway I got literally thousands of little celery seedlings. I was really worried about them just choking each other out. So I started transplanting some out to two per cell, almost as soon as they were sprouted. But since that was a long process, I had one block of cells that was left untouched for more than a week longer. Even though they were so much more crowded, a lot of the untouched ones were significantly ahead in development compared to the early transplanted ones, with true leaves sooner, better root systems, etc.

Leave warm weather crops on the heat mat longer. I started purple basil, but again was worried some about crowding (though way less than the celery!!) and needed space on the heat mat. So I moved them to one per cell off heat mat when they just had tiny bud of true leaf showing. In this case I don't have a control group, but I know from previous years' experiences that since then they aren't doing real well, very slow progress. I think they would really have benefitted from staying on the heat until they had the second set of true leaves.

In the meantime, the past week I have planted petunias, bell pepper, chamomile, and yesterday green basil. most everything except yesterday's basil has sprouted.

[Lindsaylew82]

I would imagine soaking them would make them a little more manageable to handle. It was tedious work picking up 2 tiny seeds and putting them in each cell with tweezers. Several shot across the room! I had a few just explode too...I guess from being so dry. All of my seed have been in the pantry since fall. They came up quick though!

[applestar]

Almost all available nook and cranny have been used up and we're reaching that point of critical mass when a thorough re-org is the only way to add more growing seedlings under the lights.....

[rainbowgardener]

Looking good applestar!

Lindsay - 16 hrs would be better for the lights to be on. The light we can provide is so much less intense than sunlight that we need
to make up for it.

I've been itching to start tomatoes, but knowing that it is still a bit too early, especially if spring comes later this year.
But I looked at the tomato varieties I have on hand (11) and realized that they have a days to maturity range
from Stupice Ultra Early (55-60 days) to Virginia Sweets (90 days). So I figured it would be ok to give the Va Sweets
a little more head start. They are soaking now.

A lot of these are left overs from previous year's tomato giveaway or things people here have sent me
(thanks, everyone!) that I only have a few seeds of. But I thought especially since some are from 2012,
I might as well use them all up, see what sprouts.

My list: Red Boar saladette, Chianti Rose beefsteak, Rebel Yell beefsteak, Amos Coli paste, New Hampshire
sure crop medium size, high acid, Stupice Ultra Early saladette, Better Boy beefsteak, Virginia Sweets
yellow-red beefsteak, AAA Sweet Solano bicolor saladette, Coyote yellow cherry, Zuckertraube
cherry/grape.

You can see how you all have influenced me ! When I came here I grew Early Girl and Big Boy only - round red
hybrid tomatoes. The only reason for two varieties was to have some earlier ripening to have ripe tomatoes in
June. Gradually people here have been pulling me into the world of heirloom tomatoes. I was really afraid of it
at first, because the hybrids have all that disease resistance bred in. I thought I would have a terrible problem with diseases with heirlooms, but that has not turned out to be true. The heirlooms have had no more diseases than the hybrids, maybe less.

If the tomato giveaway happens this year, I would love to see Berkeley tie die. I got those from a previous year's giveaway and they were terrific! My customers still ask about them!

[applestar]

I couldn't stand it anymore so I planted some Baloon Ice Globes outside this morning

...6 hours later, they grew offshoots/pups!

[Rairdog]

Speaking of ice. I set all my cool weather crops out in the GH yesterday and forgot them. I lost all my spinach, kolrabi, pak choi, celery, lettuce and onions. They were looking so good in the DE. Hopefully some will recover but they spent the night at 8 deg. I brought them inside to get them out of direct light. The peppers and a few toms I started early were in the chamber and are fine so not all is lost.

[applestar]

Oh no! That sounds a bit tough especially if they weren't hardened. How long did the super low temp last? How low temp were they accustomed to? They do need to be gradually exposed.

I hope they come back for you.

My V8 Nursery Plants in the garage are good to 23-24°F so far. I left a newly hardened one (a pint size community) out there and the Late Flat Dutch cabbage were looking a bit limp this morning while everybody else were standing tall and looking fine.

[Rairdog]

New game : Pick your survivor!

Contestant #1 Spinach
He is a favorite among the crowd. Known for his cool weather temper but folds under heat.



Contestant #2 Bok choi/Muchili
She is and Asian favorite with a long tradition.



Contestant # 3 Walla Walla
He fight best in his own zone.



Contestant #4 Lettuce
The mutt of the group. She likes her feet wet and can survive with minimal vitamins.



Contestant #5 Kohlrabi
A German favorite. He does great starting off cold or finishing cold. Don't expect him to produce if he don't get him some cold!


Attention: We have more possible survivors. A lawyer for the parents of the minors also suspected to be involved has just released a statement.

Contestant #6 Chard
A powerhouse known for generating good from the worst conditions



Contestant #7 Celery
He is a slow but steady finisher just coming into the game.




All subjects were exposed to a night on the town. Unfortunately they missed the last ferry home and spent the night in a plastic shed where temps dropped to 8f. It was the ferry driver's fault....yeah right. Limited quantities available void where prohibited.

[rainbowgardener]

Keep us posted whether any of them pull through or not. ONCE HARDENED things like spinach can be incredibly tough handling snow/ice/cold, but not when they've just come from inside.

I've done the same thing myself a little later in the season. I'm not putting anything outside in what we have right now. But last year, I had a whole tray of beautiful marigold plants already blooming plus a few other things, that didn't get brought back in, in time when the frost came back and were dead.

[Rairdog]

I pulled all the frozen plants and started over today. Baby choi, Mulchili, Kohlrabi, kale, chard, spinach, celery and 3 kinds of lettuce. While I was at it I went ahead and started some wild seeds that have been stratified in the basement to near 30f. Butterfly weed, Button bush and Monarda. I also started some seeds from the garden I collected along with purchased seed. Robinson red mums, Oriental poppy, Viola, Powder puff aster, Hosta and soaked some Lantana seeds.

[rainbowgardener]

So I'm planting a couple new varieties of tomatoes every couple days. Here's what it is looking like now:

2015-02-24 06.46.35.jpg (20.47 KiB) Viewed 2640 times

7 trays under the lights. Nothing in pots yet, but the broccoli is getting close to when it will get potted up.

I've been using plastic knives (picnic ware) for plant markers as has been suggested here, but they are a pain. With the lights down close to small plants, the knives are too tall and keep catching on the light fixture as the trays get pulled in and out. Once the plants get bigger and the lights can be raised it will be fine.

[imafan26]

When I have to cover my trays to keep the birds from eating the seeds. I put the knives under the pot. When the seedlings come out, then I put the knife/label in the pot and hope, I got the right one. Actually, I try not to put two different varieties of the same plant next to each other like different kinds of peppers. I would do instead one each of papaya, tomato, pepper, eggplant. They look different enough that I can usually tell what they are when they sprout. When they come out, then I can do other varieties.

[applestar]

I found the same thing about those knives. One thing -- cheaper plastic knives are shorter. Brand name, sturdier knives -- especially ones intended for "Dinner" are longer with better grip and balance that are completely unnecessary for using as labels. I prefer spoons anyway and they are usually shorter than knives -- cheaper ones of those are shorter as well.

I'm also using cut up Rice Milk carton panel covered with clear shipping tape. If you feel like spending a little time, aluminum foil ducting tape (not duct tape) folded twice makes a nice silver/reflective label. You can write with marker or write with pencil or pen for an embossed effect. I'm not feeling up to doing little fiddly work with the labels since I'm doing enough of that sort of thing with the seed bag germinating experiment, but I did like the effect last time I made labels with the tape.

I divided the Golden Self Blanching celery into individual K-cups. Last year, I started the celery seedlings in 3/4" micro cubes. That was actually easier to uppot into the K-cups -- It was difficult to handle the tiny seedlings a pinch at a time.... 1/2 of an ice cream sample "spoon" works well for K-cups, but I usually just write on the side of the container.

I got tired of it after 10 K-cups and divided the rest of the seedlings between two pudding cups:

-- I also divided the Peacock Purple Gene Pool Broccoli (I've no idea what this means but that's how they were calling these seeds at Fedco) that started out in one pudding cup community.

You can also see an onion bottom from yesterday's lunch being rooted in a K-cup. Once the roots start growing, I'll uppot it and put it out in the garage V-8 Nursery.

[applestar]

Waaah! With the rush of seedlings sprouting everywhere, I lost track of the lavender that I'd brought inside from cold stratification, and, unbeknownst to me, they had sprouted a few days ago while under humidity cover and lower down from the lights!

Hopefully they can still recover and I can put some more sandy mix around the hypocotyl to bury them after they get a little stronger and hopefully straighten up a little bit.....

...the lavender used to be back there where the black Echinacea seedling container is now...

[rainbowgardener]

I did the first potting up today - half of the broccoli seedlings are now in pots. I will get a pic for the broccoli seedling thread. The other half need to be and all the cabbage. I have to make up more potting mix to do all that, and I'm almost out of mushroom compost.....

I keep wondering when spring will be this year. We are within two weeks of when I have been planting in the ground other years and my garden is still deep in snow and ice. It went down to about zero last night, but looking at the forecast we have a big warm up coming and no more single digit temps. Weds will be 15 degrees and snowing though ...

[applestar]

Last night I was scrambling to get some sprouted seedlings in soilblocks, and posted this after midnight:
Subject: Starting pepper seeds >> spoon in zip bag germination

Tomato seeds love this. They demonstrated one objection I have with this kind of pre-germination method. I was busy yesterday and today -- this evening, came home to a mess of sprouted, cotyledons fully extended... MUST BE POTTED seedlings


This meant starting my first tray of 2" mini soil blocks

...I also already have three 8 miniblocks @ 2 1/2 gal rice milk containers of peppers and eggplants, another 4 and 6 miniblocks of tomatoes, plus one more block... 30 tomatoes in miniblocks and 17 peppers and eggplants.

I promised them I would find them a place under the lights in the morning, but I didn't wake until nearly 8AM and was too tired to play musical lights wih the seedlings, so here they are in temporary holding. They will be OK like this until I have to add mor soilblocks to this tray, since the desk light only covers these 20 blocks.

They'll get a little setting sun from the window too, when it's sunny -- it's NOT today...it is SNOWING

[NJ Bob]

March 1

Started today, 6-packs of:

3 banana pepper
1 bell pepper
1 eggplant

plus another round of:

1 mint
1 common chives
1 italian oregano

plus some up-potting of oregano and parsley

outside it's cold and icy, inside it's beautiful

[rainbowgardener]

March 1

Started today, 6-packs of:

3 banana pepper
1 bell pepper
1 eggplant

plus another round of:

1 mint
1 common chives
1 italian oregano

plus some up-potting of oregano and parsley

outside it's cold and icy, inside it's beautiful

Very nice!!

Don't you love it.... we have had piles of snow on the ground through most of February and now continuing in Mar and bitter cold some of that time. All my little seedlings under the lights keep me sane!

[River]

I just don't have enough room. The dining room table has served its purpose during the winter
Now I hope to transition my Tomatoe plants in the garage or outside depending on temps after this week. It's been cloudy and warm enough to start the hardening process except the rain today hammered them pretty good just bending them a bit.

I will be ready to repot the sweet banana and bell peppers pretty soon. This week I will plant 4 varieties of basil plus a few eggplants. After that I will start some marigolds and maybe nasturtiums for the beneficials. Who knows what after that

[rainbowgardener]

Yup, coming to spring and everything is going faster and getting crowded. I currently have 12 trays of seedlings and lots more stuff that needs to be spread out/ potted up. But I have no room for more until I replace the light fixture that exploded. I made up at least 10 gallons of my home made potting mix yesterday and used almost all of it up. Can't make more until I get more rice hulls. So far this season I have used about 4 lbs of rice hulls (a lot, they are very light), maybe 60 lbs of mushroom compost and 3 compressed bricks of coconut coir.

Planted nicotiana and borage yesterday. Potted up calendula and the rest of the cabbage and broccoli.

I think all the peppers and a lot of the tomato plants have been taken off the heat and spread out to one per cell.

I'll get a new pic of the broccoli which is growing fast since being potted up. After it went in pots it just sucked up water for the first week, to the point that I checked to be sure the tray wasn't leaking. I always make sure the potting mix is moistened before I plant things, so it wasn't that.

But there will be more room soon - a big warm up is coming, just ahead of spring. TOMORROW (!) four trays of cabbage and broccoli go out for the first time to start hardening. A little hard to believe since it is currently 15 degrees with snow all over everything. But the weather report says tomorrow it is going up to 41 degrees!!! (yay!!). So out they go. They will be coming in for the nights for awhile until they get more toughened up. But they will not go back under the lights.
And the kale will join them as soon as I can get it potted up. Then maybe celery, parsley .... Once all that cold weather stuff goes out, frees up a bunch of room under the lights.

[applestar]

Sounds good! I'm planning to start moving things out as of next week too. The plan is for the cold weather stuff to move out of the garage and tomato and potato seedlings to move out to the garage as soon as the garage temp stays above mid- to uppper-40's °F during the night. It will also be easier to take them out to harden from the garage doors. (I envy folks with patio door walk out basement grow rooms!)

I posted latest pictures in this new thread for my garden progress
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 79&t=61064

[rainbowgardener]

So it is 42 degrees and sunny out. I brought out the four trays of cabbage and broccoli about 2 PM. I have somewhere to be at 6 PM and will bring them back in before I leave, so just a few hours taste of sunshine and fresh air. See how they do with that.

Yay!! Plants outdoors!

[rainbowgardener]

The four trays of cabbage and broccoli went back outside this afternoon, along with a tray of kale that just got potted up. With the time change, it is currently 7:30 PM and still light and 45 wonderful degrees. All the trays of plants can stay out until I am going to bed and then I will bring them back in.

Yay!! spring!

2015-03-08 14.18.29.jpg (53.54 KiB) Viewed 2555 times

you can just see in the background that even with two warm days, all the snow is not gone yet.

[rainbowgardener]

It's on! Four trays went out the first time, five trays went out yesterday, six trays will be going out today, including a tray of cilantro I just potted up. More to come as quick as I can keep making potting mix and potting things up. They are going out longer hours each day.

[applestar]

You are inspiring me to take mine outside, too, even though at first glance, it's still all white out in my back yard... Forecast high is 53°F!

[applestar]

[rainbowgardener]

Mine stayed out all night last night! Now it is raining and supposed to rain all day (which should get rid of the last of the snow hanging around). I got them all moved from the solid trays in to web trays so they don't drown in the rain.

[Lindsaylew82]

My seedlings are a little leggy...

They are hardening off in the 60's and 70's weather we've been having. They are tolerating it well, I just worry about transplanting with their skinny stems.

[applestar]

If they are tomatoes, put more damp potting mix up around the stems right now. They'll grow more roots. I'm actually using sand/DE (UltraSor) mix around the stems of seedlings hoping to keep them drier.

With tomatoes, you can bury the stems as much as you want. Cabbage and lettuce can be buried up to their true leaves. Peppers are said to be fussy, though I bury them a little when I uppot.

[rainbowgardener]

yeah, Lindsay, it always helps to say what kind of seedlings you are talking about; different plants have such different needs.

Your seedlings are looking great, applestar!

I am up to eight trays of seedlings outdoors now, having potted up a tray of parsley and one of celery. It's a very overcast day today, good for putting new things out.

[Lindsaylew82]

These are brassicas and lettuces. I haven't started tomatoes yet. Definitely on the to-do list for this weekend.....along with sooooooooooooo many other things!

[Lindsaylew82]

OH! I meant to mention also, I bottom watered them with dirty fish tank water, and they really seemed to like that! Bonus use of otherwise wasted water!

[applestar]

I need to start some lettuce! I have 24 micro soilblocks ready to plant here. Just need to decide which to start with. Friend sent me a HUGE selection of sample lettuce seeds to try....

Here are "some" of them

[Meatburner]

Lindsay, what a great idea! Thanks for the tip.

[applestar]

I started some peas

This year, I'm pre-germinating them, sowing the germinated ones in 2" mini soilblocks, then planting the little plants (hopefully at 2-4") in the garden. Yes, lots of little fiddling around, but I'm hoping for a solid stand of peas, not patchy empty spots, AND to defeat the chipmunks that dig up and gobble up the pea seeds just as soon as I poke them into the ground.

I started soaking them on 3/17 just before going to bed.
I drained and rinsed twice around 8 hrs later, draing well
and repeated the rinse 2x and drain process at dinner time
and bedtime yesterday.

This morning, Mammoth Melting Sugar and Golden Sweet are ready to sow

Marrowfat could wait until later this afternoon, and Green Arrow has one or two germinated peas, but could wait until tomorrow, hopefully when Knight will also be ready, but the first two will have to be taken care of right away. Those little roots will be 3/4" and curling -- hooking onto each other and generally being a nuisance, and needing extra care not to break -- most likely by tonight and definitely by tomorrow morning.

[applestar]

As usual I crammed the soilblocks in the tray. I'll separate them later.
...I remembered to take a picture of the Marrowfat peas BEFORE covering them with soil mix slurry...

Maybe I'll try doubling up some of the Green Arrow and the Knight peas in each soilblock tomorrow.... Would NOT be able to do that with the Marrowfat peas -- look how BIG they are!

Here's a comparison of the germinated peas yesterday morning and evening (approx. 12 hrs difference) I was kind of worried about the way Green Arrow germinated so much during the afternoon, so I put them all in the fridge for the night to slow them down.


Just for fun, I took another picture of the peas this morning. As I suspected, Green Arrow is ready to sow. If I had been smart, I would have left just the Knight zip bag out of the fridge so they could catch up... But I didn't think of it last night.


-- you can see some germinated (none of the leftover Marrowfat peas had germinated yet last night, though the extra long root in today's photo must have been growing under its skin), and the already germinated roots grew some more overnight. But it's curious that Knight didn't progress as much as the others.