What have you started growing for 2016 season?

I didn't see a thread for 2016, so I thought I'd start it.

I put my bulbing onions, Red Ring Hybrid & Yellow of Parma under lights last weekend and already have all the Red Ring sprouting. So excited as I have never done bulbing onions, just scallions before.

Plan on starting my peppers, hots & sweets this weekend as well.

I'm going to start my leafy greens this weekend - chard, collards and kale, maybe some mustard spinach.  They can grow as big as they want in my window til it's time to plant.   That way I can nibble on them early.

CC

Sweet potatoes in water with tooth picks for slips.

sanderson wrote:Sweet potatoes in water with tooth picks for slips.

Do they do well for you where you are? My hubby loves SP and I did read somewhere a nice way to incorporate them in the garden. I think it might have been on a blog. She took the very large half wine barrels filled with potting soil, a few simple annuals on top and her sweet potatoes. The vines trailed down and the flowers were pretty. At the end of her season she just dumped it and collected her sweet potatoes.

Yes, they do well in this area. I used Mel's Mix in 2 large green storage totes with holes drill in the bottom. I got started too late in 2015 and they spent a couple months in the shade, so they were "fingerlings" when I dumped them after the vines died early winter. I'm excited to do them right this year.

I started some Black Krim and Heatmaster tomato seeds 6 days ago and they are just pushing up through the soil today. The heat mat I'm using really does get them up fast! I'm wondering though, how long after they sprout should I keep them on the heat mat. Should I get them off or let them keep their feet warm a little longer? I'm putting them under grow lights now, so they won't start getting leggy. Anyone have any advice?

MelF77 wrote:

sanderson wrote:Sweet potatoes in water with tooth picks for slips.

Do they do well for you where you are? My hubby loves SP and I did read somewhere a nice way to incorporate them in the garden. I think it might have been on a blog. She took the very large half wine barrels filled with potting soil, a few simple annuals on top and her sweet potatoes. The vines trailed down and the flowers were pretty. At the end of her season she just dumped it and collected her sweet potatoes.

That is such a good idea, 2 birds with 1 stone!  

Do you use store bought ones, Sanderson?  Picture?

YS, do you use a plant heating pad?

I don't think I had deep enough Mel's Mix.  I will use more this year.  Here they are, waiting to be harvested by the 2 young grandsons during their visit to G & G.  

Clarity; do you use store bought sweet potatoes? And how exactly do you have them in water? Sorry! Yes, my regular potatoes liked my extra deep windowboxes, lots of action underground!

Yardslave wrote:I started some Black Krim and Heatmaster tomato seeds 6 days ago and they are just pushing up through the soil today. The heat mat I'm using really does get them up fast! I'm wondering though, how long after they sprout should I keep them on the heat mat. Should I get them off or let them keep their feet warm a little longer? I'm putting them under grow lights now, so they won't start getting leggy. Anyone have any advice?

I've never done a comparison test.  Any chance your set up would allow leaving half the plants on the heating mat and half not?

With one exception, leaving them on the mat won't hurt anything.   I have a couple larger CFLs (125-150w) that put out enough heat, that in combo with the heat mat, create temps right above the soil line that are 90° plus.  I only use the mats under cooler lights.

I've left seedlings on mats for more than a month.  But if I need a mat to start more seeds, I'll remove the mat days after sprouting.  

I've done comparison tests on 10-12 inch seedlings transplanted to SFG boxes in my greenhouse, one with heated MM and a cover over the box, and the other without, both in natural light.   The initial growth was faster for the plants with warm feet, but they did not end up producing any sooner, nor could I tell a difference in harvest quantity or quality.  However, I think the lack of direct sun in Mar, Apr, and May, which is common here, had a big influence.  In your warmer, sunnier climate you might get different results.

Yardslave wrote:I started some Black Krim and Heatmaster tomato seeds 6 days ago and they are just pushing up through the soil today. The heat mat I'm using really does get them up fast! I'm wondering though, how long after they sprout should I keep them on the heat mat. Should I get them off or let them keep their feet warm a little longer? I'm putting them under grow lights now, so they won't start getting leggy. Anyone have any advice?

My research said to take them off the heating mat as soon as they sprout.  That is what I do but I do not know if it is the best way.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to move the Krims off the mats to make room for more seed plantings, but only 4 of the 6 Heatmaster seeds have sprouted. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that if I leave the 6 pack on the mat a little longer the other 2 seeds will germinate. I just didn't want to jeopardize the sprouts that are up by subjecting them to heat if it's detrimental.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Clarity;  do you use store bought sweet potatoes?  And how exactly do you have them in water?  Sorry!  Yes, my regular potatoes liked my extra deep windowboxes, lots of action underground!  

Yes, store bought. Last February.

sanderson wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Clarity;  do you use store bought sweet potatoes?  And how exactly do you have them in water?  Sorry!  Yes, my regular potatoes liked my extra deep windowboxes, lots of action underground!  

Yes, store bought.  Last February.  

Sanderson, That picture reminds me of the elementary school nature project I did in the third grade. I took my project home after it was graded and I kept it growing in my bedroom window for quite a while. It sent runners all over the place. My mom made me toss it because the stagnant water was smelling worse than my old sneakers.

Well I will be darned. Did you start them last February? I am not sure if I have enough growing season here! Thanks for the picture !

I too remember doing something similar in school with an avocado seed, does that sound right?

SR ... I've got an avocado seed growing right now. It was doing fine in water (held up by three tooth picks) and produced a nice long root and a small stem. Since planting it in MM it's not done much except I can see some pink shoots coming out of the very short stem. Mrs TD bought a half-dozed avocados this week so I will have more seeds to try.

ss (sanderson) ... those potatoes look just fine.

An avacado. That reminds me of the 60's when everyone grew them, along with terrariums.

Finally got sowing in my bottomless tube pots & put them on the heated bed out in the office today .

This evening  I've sown :-
30 Ailsa Craig  onions,  6 salad green onions , 4 all year round cauliflower , 7  Parsley , 8 Dill  , a lot of home grown dahlia  , 5 capsicum long , 5 capsicum bell , 60 or more of two long blue trailing Lobelia's and two tubes with a lot of very very fine  Busy Lizzie seeds .

Late again...! Hopefully we're done traveling for a while. And HOPEFULLY I'll get stuff seeded tomorrow morning!

I also started my peppers hot/sweet, a few tomatoes, sweet basil and celery about 2 weeks ago. Potted my bulbing onions up about 1 weeks ago. May try to start some lettuce and radishs under 1 of my ho t5 lights.

About 9 varieties of tomatoes and three varieties of peppers in my new Park's BioDome.  I am going to have to buy transplants from the garden centers this year for early spring planting.

I got it goin' on!

Sitting in my box window right now are 4 types of kale, 3 types of collards, broccoli, a bowl of spinach mustard and 4 types of lettuce:

The blue blankie is for Miss Lilly kitty's sunbaths.  

CC

yolos wrote:About 9 varieties of tomatoes and three varieties of peppers in my new Park's BioDome.  I am going to have to buy transplants from the garden centers this year for early spring planting.

Yolos, please tell us which tomato varieties (inquiring minds want to know).  Also, which peppers.  How do you like Parks BioDome?  I saw it go on sale a few days ago and I seriously thought about buying one.

Windmere - Last weekend I started 8 varieties of tomatoes.

New Big Dwarf (1st time)
Big Beef Hybrid (1st time)
Gilbertie Heirloom (paste but great taste)
BrandyBoy Hybrid (very productive and almost as good as Brandywine)
Brandywine (sudduth strain)
Juliet (grape tomato, very productive)
Opalka (paste, 1st time)
Goliath (productive but not as good taste as brandy boy or brandy wine)

I started 3 varieties of peppers and still have two more varieties to plant.

Fort Knox Pepper (sweet bell)
Cherry Blend Pepper (sweet - miniature - 1st time)
Tuckers Pepper (sweet bell)

This is the first time I planted in the BioDome so I don't know how it will work.  Nothing has sprouted yet.  But it sure was easy and quick.

I will be trying romaine lettuce, kale and swiss chard in addition to my regular vegies this year. I am trying to eat healthier and if I grow it , I will eat it