Matt R
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Greenhouse or Seedling Table?

Hello folks -

Let me preface by saying I'm in zone 9, southeast Texas, and there is literally no concern about snow, or temperatures below 20. We don't have gophers, moles, or basements down here, either, haha!

The feed store's supply of plants was screwed up by an extra long winter this year, and I've finally given up on relying on them in that regard.

I want to start my own seeds; however, I don't know whether to invest in building a greenhouse, or a simple seed starting table. I don't know what they have set up here, but it looks like it would be ideal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9tvhzPpDWY

Any ideas? I just don't know which way to go. Hot as it gets down here, I'm afraid a greenhouse would melt! But I'm also concerned about a seedling table, like the one in the video, being destroyed by the wind and rain. The main question I have is what to cover it with.

Thanks,
Matt

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

What do you anticipate growing?

Matt R
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 12:26 am

Well, everything! I've been following Jeavons' methods, and besides vegetable crops, I intend to start my compost and cover crops rather than broadcasting the seeds.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I like Jeavon's methods, too, and draw a lot of ideas from his techniques.

OK. So here's the thing, the seed flats shown in the video you linked to are HUGE and can start many many plants unless you have fields to plant to feed the family. For my small garden, my needs are much smaller -- like pint size sour cream and yogurt tubs kind of thing, (I wasn't ready to make wooden flats, so. I tried cardboard boxes but ran into problems. Non porous containers with holes and slits have worked better for me.). I drink rice milk that comes in rectangular 1/2 gallon cartons, and that has been working really well because of their perfect size to fit in standard nursery trays.

Now, when you are dealing with seedlings containers outside, I have found that two open-air elements are the worst -- strong sun can dry out the growing medium fast in smaller containers, too fast sometimes before I realize/notice, and heavy rain can cause havoc.

If you are doing this for the first time, you might want to try different things on smaller scale before investing in structures and other major expenses. Those could be a "sneed" that lure new gardeners into thinking "I need this and I need that in order to grow stuff."

-- you could set up a sturdy table (that won't blow away) under a tree even. A picnic table might be just the ticket.

When you are ready, I think for your purposes, you might look into a sturdy carport/tent kind of a structure with opaque tarp roof that transmits some light. They also make them as animal shelters for field animals. I understand the ones made from thinner metal pipes are susceptible to strong wind damage. If you have the funds for it, I have often thought that the ones with dimensions that would allow for switching with replacement greenhouse cover would be really ideal and could be useful year-round.



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