Seed Starting!!

If physically I'm up to it I will take some picies tomorrow of my raising and lowering system for my grow lights , its cheap, easy to do and very effective .

A big plus is that you already have plenty of string to play with it's just the way you've done it that is complicated .

Photos were too confused to obtain meaningful explanations so I've done a quick sketch for you instead.

I only use a single block and line, but have shown the use of a double block just incase you want to try it .
The drill holes in the blocks are just a bit bigger than the diameter of the cord .
Using four holes is better for gripping the cord than three holes like a tent guy rope adjuster has . I've marked my cordd with a marker pen every 1 &1/2 inches from the knot backwards so it is easy to judge the setting heights when setting up or adjusting for growth.

My adjuster blocks are cut from a cheap veg / food cutting table top block stolen of our kitchen , it was about 1/4 inch thick .

Thanks for the drawing, Plantoid! So, do you have one of these on either end of the lights?

I use rope n some tent tensioners (dog bones) to adjust the light height. I made mine out of milk jug caps, but pretty much anything with a couple holes in it will work, if you know how to loop the rope correctly (not difficult at all).

I would think pieces of chain tossed over the upper brace with a hook in the top of the light would work perfectly and easily. You lower or raise by moving the chain up or down in the hook.

A tensioner out of a bottle cap! Some people's creativity amazes me.

NHGardener wrote:A tensioner out of a bottle cap! Some people's creativity amazes me.

I certainly didn't invent this idea, but i did make some with good results. Easy, peasy.

I'm sure the chains work wonderfully, but I didn't have any chain so I went with some rope I had lying around.

Just wanted to share what I sowed today..Black seeded Simpson, Simpson Elite, All Year Lettuce...And some tom and peppers seeds as well...A lil early maybe, but I'm hoping to have the greenhouse done soon..
Tomato seeds sown, Brandywine, blk Brandywine ,celebrity, Early Girl, Cherokee purple, and gardeners delight..



These Individual containers I sowed ~20-25 lettuce seeds ea. whatever the pkt was..

I always thought seeds should be started without light, until germination, except for lettuce and a few types of flowers. Maybe the experts out there can tell me if that's true.

SusNton....Great little greenhouses you've got there for your seeds.

quiltbea wrote:I always thought seeds should be started without light, until germination, except for lettuce and a few types of flowers. Maybe the experts out there can tell me if that's true.

I'm not the expert you're hoping for but...

Seeds don't NEED light, but it won't be a hindrance.

Quite alot of seeds do actually need light to get going .
It surprised me just how many , lots of fine seeds that are like tiny grains of dust flowers or herbs or as said lettuce seeds are in that class .So are celery and celeraic , mustard cress , I think it's the same for some of the grass families are too..

Though for the life of me I can't remember what the bottany term the seeds are refered to as .

plantoid wrote:Quite alot of seeds do actually need light to get going .
It surprised me just how many , lots of fine seeds that are like tiny grains of dust flowers or herbs or as said lettuce seeds are in that class .So are celery and celeraic , mustard cress , I think it's the same for some of the grass families are too..

Though for the life of me I can't remember what the bottany term the seeds are refered to as .

I can't remember the term either, but I do know that the 'rule of thumb' is to plant the seed twice as deep as it is thick. Basically, if it is too small for you to measure and cover properly, it probably needs a bit of light!

GG

Goosegirl wrote:

plantoid wrote:Quite alot of seeds do actually need light to get going .
It surprised me just how many , lots of fine seeds that are like tiny grains of dust flowers or herbs or as said lettuce seeds are in that class .So are celery and celeraic , mustard cress , I think it's the same for some of the grass families are too..

Though for the life of me I can't remember what the bottany term the seeds are refered to as .

I can't remember the term either, but I do know that the 'rule of thumb' is to plant the seed twice as deep as it is thick. Basically, if it is too small for you to measure and cover properly, it probably needs a bit of light!

GG

photosensitive?
http://www.seedquest.com/vegetables/lettuce/expo/seeddynamics/whyprimeseed.htm

quiltbea wrote:I always thought seeds should be started without light, until germination, except for lettuce and a few types of flowers. Maybe the experts out there can tell me if that's true.

SusNton....Great little greenhouses you've got there for your seeds.

Thanks quiltbea..The light I have on is for the lettuce on top shelf and the toms n pepper seeds are in the lower shelf with no direct lighting on them..AFAIK or read I should say (no expert here) peppers and toms will germinate with or w/o light.
I'll see how they do...FWIW, I have the light on a 18/6 schedule..

Is chat still open? If so, I'm struggling to figure out when to start seeds here in Central Oregon. The charts say one thing, the nursery another, and gardening neighbors something else!

Oh I have a ton of Q's...I think I am supposed to plant seeds in the next week or so....I am Zone 6b, northeast TN...I have NEVER done this, but I have the plans to build a grow light stand...and am thinking I probably will need a heater of some kind as well. But budget is limited so am thinking maybe the heating pad will do?

I used my heating pad for two years until I could get a real seed mat this year. Problem was the heating pad had an automatic shut off and didn't stay on the entire time. But I still think it gave the seeds a boost.

Kay

Signey wrote:Oh I have a ton of Q's...I think I am supposed to plant seeds in the next week or so....I am Zone 6b, northeast TN...I have NEVER done this, but I have the plans to build a grow light stand...and am thinking I probably will need a heater of some kind as well. But budget is limited so am thinking maybe the heating pad will do?

Sometimes slowing down a bit and taking baby steps can really help and give you a better understanding and feel for gardening. I'm not trying to discourage you from doing plants from seeds, but there is no shame in buying starter plants. I know it's nice to be as self sufficient as possible, but sometimes it's not a bad thing to get a little experience under your belt. Especially if your budget is limited. You can save yourself some money and buy growing supplies over the next year to plant seeds next year.
Growing from seeds isn't difficult, and if you have access to some nice sunny windows, grow lights are needed. I've never used a heat pad and had no problems growing from seed.

Hi Rooster, thanks for the reply. The way my house is situated, I have no good sunny windows, so the grow light is a necessity. And I will confess that the only reason i am growing from seed is so I can start playing in the dirt BEFORE the last frost! lol
I think my heating pad also has a shut-off control...Hmm...I MAY have to invest in a grow-pad...darn lol

Rather than buying a heat pad trying checking around the house for a warm spot on top of a fridge or water heater. The seeds do not need light until they have sprouted and they do not need bottom heat after they have sprouted.

I have used an old Coleman cooler with an incadescent bulb to heat it. Same set up I used for day old chicks. That works too. Or a light bulb under a cookie sheet might work.

Your county extension agent is your best source for obtaining the most accurate average last frost free date. I know you live in a unique area with climates that can vary by just a couple miles. You are technically Zone 6, but parts of Oregon can be multi-zonal. My advice is to go with your most conservative date to avoid a headache. Most plants will quickly catch up if they go outside a week to 10 days later than the earlier planting dates. Unless you are growing Early Girl tomatoes and must have a fresh tomato before July 4, do like the older farmers and plant later rather than earlier.

Finding my LFD is the least of my worries! June 24 is the official date I'm going by, although some websites say July 7.

The problem lies in how soon to start seeds indoors. I made a chart based on Mel's info. For example, Broccoli should be started indoors NOW, and planted outside between May 16 and May 23. My neighbors tell me I'm a month early! (By the way, PlantMaps.com puts me in its Zone 5.)

And one local nursery (staffed with Master Gardeners, for the most part) tells me that I can direct-sow peas, beets, spinach, lettuce, etc. any time now.

Another nursery looked up indoor seed-starting dates for this area and provided quite a list, including chard, kale, lettuce, onion, pea, radish, leeks, and spinach.

And OSU Extension says to begin transplanting broccoli in April (this is its calendar for Central Oregon).

My suspicion is that I probably should start seeds a bit early, transplant at the appropriate interval, and protect from frost/snow as necessary. Our growing season is so short!

Hard Coir, you seem to have a great deal of knowledge about my new climate. Have you lived in this region? Are you a Master Gardener or meteorologist?

Incidentally, my particular address lies in a so-called "banana belt" here in Bend.

I hope all this explains my confusion.

If you have the seed starting space you could stagger-plant, say broccs one week then do a few more the next week, and maybe even the following week. This way you have a 3 week variable growth of plants. When the outdoor soil temps are agreeable to transplanting, wallah you'll probably have something ready to go at the right time. Also read that when in doubt, go by the seed packet intructions when to sow indoors. They know the individual product best and should supercede anyone else's advice. It made sense to me (provided I have good sense)

donnainzone10 wrote:Finding my LFD is the least of my worries! June 24 is the official date I'm going by, although some websites say July 7.

I would consider this the safe days to put out your most tender plants, the tomatoes, eggplants, peppers. I have a similar last frost date, but I put out my tender summer veggie plants a few weeks earlier IF THE SOIL IS WARM ENOUGH and I am prepared to cover the plants at night if necessary.

donnainzone10 wrote:The problem lies in how soon to start seeds indoors. I made a chart based on Mel's info. For example, Broccoli should be started indoors NOW, and planted outside between May 16 and May 23. My neighbors tell me I'm a month early! (By the way, PlantMaps.com puts me in its Zone 5.)

Plant maps has pretty current info and I have found the almanac dates accurate. Again, think of the plant requirements whilst calculating your timing.

donnainzone10 wrote:And one local nursery (staffed with Master Gardeners, for the most part) tells me that I can direct-sow peas, beets, spinach, lettuce, etc. any time now.

This is absolutely true, you may plant these AS SOON AS THE SOIL CAN BE WORKED and it's not mud.

Thanks, Camp.

Hmmm.... OSU Extension says to transplant tomatoes late May-early June. I'm beginning to suspect that the trick here is to set out transplants as soon as the soil warms sufficiently and the weather isn't too cold.

Generally, we have to take advantage of higher daytime temps while we can and protect from low nighttime temps. Those can vary 50 degrees F, day to night.

By the way, I'm considering getting a soil block maker, but am unsure whether MM would hold up. What do you think?