March in the N&C Midwest!

Marc Iverson wrote:By the looks of your tomato choices, you do a lot of canning, or eat red sauce quite a bit.

Make tomato sauce! These 3 Romas (all heirloom) do very well in my climate and growing season, and when mixed make some of the best sauce I have ever made. Also, their mutt crosses come up as volunteers in my climate all on their own, in plenty of time to fully mature and give a great crop (ask me how I know!  ). I am going to try very hard to bag some flowers to save some uncrossed seed, but if I miss, oh well!

GG

3-16-14:  24 cells planted with tomato seeds planted 
3-20-14:  20 of 24 cells sprouted

They sprouted overnight!  Last night when I checked them, not a single seed had sprouted.  Tonight I checked just in case, and every tomato variety had 5 of the 6 cells sprouted.  They were sitting on top of our furnace, so when they sprouted they REALLY sprouted.  Some of them are an inch tall, begging for light.  I moved them out of the furnace room and under my seed lights.  Hopefully by tomorrow they will have a bit more green to them.

Not a hint of a single pepper sprouting - but they are notoriously slow.  May put a heating pad under that end of the seed tray now that they are off their heat source.

GG

I have had about the same results with my tomatoes with most coming up. I have a heat pad under them. None of my peppers have shown anything. Also I have tomatillos and ground cherries with nothing showing yet. I have never planted ground cherries and I didn't write down how long the tomatillo's took last year and I can't remember.

I've been slowly giving my seedlings some natural sunlight since the weather has been warm this past week (cold front blowing through tonight though)...seedlings are taking off.

Grow Light Set-up





Pepper Seedlings - I may pot-up tomorrow

Landarch,  I'm very impressed!   

March 21, 2014

100 or so seeds went into 3/4 inch soil blocks.  18 varieties of tomatoes, several types of peppers, aunt molly ground cherries which are fairly delicate from my experience, several types of lettuce, lavender flowers, stevia, and eggplant.

Ive started my seeds, but have killed some already.  I think I let them get too dry.

Broccoli and onions are doing well.  Tomatoes are popping up.  Still waiting for most of my peppers to sprout.  I did invest in a seed mat this year which I love.  I also got 2 spaces ready outside for new beds. 

Landarch, your set up looks so pretty.

Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one small clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

Does anyone LOVE landscaping/planning?  I have a complete blank slate (my front yard) that I want to do something with this year but don't know where to start.  I've only grown veggies but want to add some flowers.

bonnie0128 wrote:Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one small clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

Does anyone LOVE landscaping/planning?  I have a complete blank slate (my front yard) that I want to do something with this year but don't know where to start.  I've only grown veggies but want to add some flowers.

I love decorating my house but am at a loss when it comes to landscaping.  Its a whole different ball game.  I have an empty flower bed myself out front and am thinking about doing some low maintenance climbing roses.  Im new to flowers myself, so not a lot of advice.  Im just slowly adding flowers to my yard and learning about the existing flowers on our property.

I'm a registered landscape architect...if you have empty landscape beds and also vegetable gardens, consider doing a pollinator garden (flowers to attract honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, etc.).

Walker's Low Catmint is a favorite of mine (low mounding woody perennial that does not spread like other mints...bees love it...nice lavender flowers and grey green leaves).

Drift roses are low mounding as well (shorter than the over-used knock out roses). 

I have Walkers Low Catmint, Purple Coneflower, Coreopsis, Liatris, and several varieties of Butterfly Milkweed.  I am not a bee expert - yet - but I understand that they need different plants for nectar and pollen.

Landarch - if I post an image with a rough drawing of the bed can you tell me if your suggestions would be appropriate?

At the same time, we've had problems with hornets/wasps/yellow jackets building nests in our attic and I have two little ones - so butterflies, bumbles, and honey bees are welcome -but do all those types of plants also welcome nasty flying things?

Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one small clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

  Do not be afraid. There really is no 'league'!  We all start somewhere, wherever we can.  Here is my beginning seed starting station.  A 36-cell mini-green house on a heating pad (borrowed for my back as necessary from building my boxes), on as many items as needed to get it close enough to the 18" single bulb fluorescent under-counter light fixture laying on the upper shelf of a secondhand baker's rack.  It worked and I had a fantastic garden! 



That was only 2 seasons ago.  Now I have moved into a repurposed free-standing oven cabinet (after my back-up oven died).  I now have 6 18" single-bulb fluorescent under-counter light fixtures on chains hanging from a $0.79 pack of cup hooks.  Still using the same heating pad.  Still borrowing it for my back on occasion!

Someday I  may spring for a larger, more efficient, more aesthetic set-up, but personally I LOVE seeing what I can do with odds & ends on hand. 

GG

bonnie0128 wrote:Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one small clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

Does anyone LOVE landscaping/planning?  I have a complete blank slate (my front yard) that I want to do something with this year but don't know where to start.  I've only grown veggies but want to add some flowers.

No worries, Bonnie.  We all had to learn it sometime.  I'm on my third year of SFG and seed-starting.  My set-up isn't quite as big as Landarch, but it has been growing each year.  The first year I had one shoplight. I also had aluminum foil all around to increase the light. It was attached to the joist overhead, so I put a table under it and stacked boxes to raise them up. As they grew I would have to switch to shorter boxes. It was quite comical, but it worked.

Last year I had the same set-up plus I bought a second shoplight so I could start more, this one I had hanging and could adjust (plus foil again).  Later, I brought the plants up to the dining room window spread out all over tray tables relying on sunlight, because the peppers and tomatoes didn't like the cool temps in the basement.

This year I bought a shelf unit and four shoplights.  I figured I had shown I was committed to gardening and it made sense to me to invest a little in doing it more efficiently.

Learn what you can about the different seeds you want to start and how many weeks before the last frost date you should start them.  My first year, because the peppers and tomatoes didn't grow well because of the cool room they were in I ended up having to buy starts.  Not the most economical, but sometimes things don't go as planned.

The lettuce, broccoli, onion, and herb seedlings got their first trip to the cold frame today.  I also walked around the soggy ground by the garden and noticed some garlic starting to poke through!!!  Too bad a number nights with lows 10-15F are on the horizon, so they'll go back to slumbering.

Goosegirl wrote:

Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one smallness clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

  Do not be afraid. There really is no 'league'!  We all start somewhere, wherever we can.  Here is my beginning seed starting station.  A 36-cell mini-green house on a heating pad (borrowed for my back as necessary from building my boxes), on as many items as needed to get it close enough to the 18" single bulb fluorescent under-counter light fixture laying on the upper shelf of a secondhand baker's rack.  It worked and I had a fantastic garden! 



That was only 2 seasons ago.  Now I have moved into a repurposed free-standing oven cabinet (after my back-up oven died).  I now have 6 18" single-bulb fluorescent under-counter light fixtures on chains hanging from a $0.79 pack of cup hooks.  Still using the same heating pad.  Still borrowing it for my back on occasion!

Someday I  may spring for a larger, more efficient, more aesthetic set-up, but personally I LOVE seeing what I can do with odds & ends on hand. 

GG

GG, I absolutely love this photo.  It looks like the stack that is now under my kitchen counter fluorescent light.  this is my third season and I'm still doing it.  I also use my drugstore heating pad to start my seeds.  why fix it if it ain't broke?  

CC

bonnie0128 wrote:Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one small clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

Does anyone LOVE landscaping/planning?  I have a complete blank slate (my front yard) that I want to do something with this year but don't know where to start.  I've only grown veggies but want to add some flowers.

Bonnie
To get some more ideas go to Google Images and type in what ever you'd like to see.
There are many ideas can be obtained from doing this.

bonnie0128 wrote:Wow.  I am impressed and afraid.  I haven't done anything yet aside from ordering my seeds.  I haven't started much from seed in the past and feel like I'm so out of my league!  We have one small clip-on style grow lamp and I think I'm going to have to make some sort of bottom heat source as I hope to grow some peppers.  I'm sure it'll all work out but seeing and hearing about all you've done and looking at your set-ups is a bit overwhelming.  I love seeing the pictures, don't get me wrong, I just have a LOT to learn and a ton to do this spring (need to re-do my beds this year...so I'm moving them and making them bigger).  I guess my next step is to actually plan the beds so I know how much to plant!

Does anyone LOVE landscaping/planning?  I have a complete blank slate (my front yard) that I want to do something with this year but don't know where to start.  I've only grown veggies but want to add some flowers.

Bonnie0128,  I live south of you sort of between Columbus and Lancaster.  My master gardener notes put my last frost date as May 15, but with tender plants waiting for transplant till at least a good week to two weeks later.   Up where you live I'm guessing your last frost date might be around May 22 or or later.  To be sure, call up your local county extension office.  They will know the best time frame for your area.  
When I first started out I bought most of mine as transplants and direct sowed some things into the bed. Last year was my first time seeding indoors. There is lots of fun things to learn, so try to relax and enjoy the journey!

What fresh hell is this? More snow?!? I'm near St Louis and SO OVER WINTER!
Last week it got up to 70. A dusting of snow is expected tomorrow night. Grrrr.

I know, I shouldn't complain. I could live in Minnesota or something. (And if you're warmer than I am right now, I just don't want to hear it.)

I've always started everything from transplants/seedlings because I've never grown a seed successfully, from Kindergarten on. So I'm looking at everyone's fancy - and not so fancy - seed starters with a sort of wistful envy.

CapeCoddess wrote:

Goosegirl wrote:



Someday I  may spring for a larger, more efficient, more aesthetic set-up, but personally I LOVE seeing what I can do with odds & ends on hand. 

GG

GG, I absolutely love this photo.  It looks like the stack that is now under my kitchen counter fluorescent light.  this is my third season and I'm still doing it.  I also use my drugstore heating pad to start my seeds.  why fix it if it ain't broke?  

CC

Exactly!!!  I love having the space in my old oven cabinet to have 6 of these little fixtures instead of just one, and I really don't need anything more than what I now have.  This season I even put the cells right on top of my furnace until they sprouted since most seeds don't need light to germinate.  Now that they are under the lights I will just add the heating pad under the end with the pepper seeds which have not germinated yet.

GG

Onions got their first haircut yesterday. Tom seedlings doing great. Still no sign of pepper sprouts.

GG

 Thanks for all the tips and encouragement everyone!  I know I just need to jump right and and give it a try.  I guess I need to crawl before I can run!  Even if I don't end up loving my new garden space, it's got to be better than what it is right now!  Time to dig up some grid paper and a calendar and get to planning!

Just start small and work your way into things; I am a fairly experienced gardener/canner, but don't start seeds indoors due to time restaints and cats. I buy transplants and direct sow what works where I am.

I would gladly help others with landscape design but my lack of time would be a dis-service compared to working with someone local...master gardener programs can be a big help...or visit a local arboretum or garden center and start accumulating thoughts in a book of plant characteristics you like...then there is nothing wrong with going slowly.  The key is to choose the proper plant for the proper location (sun, soils, exposure, etc).

GAH, finally figured out how I was killing my seedlings.  I was leaving them on the mat to try to get more seeds to sprout & under the lights for the seedlings that had popped up.  I fried them.  Live and learn right?  Because we're having such a late start to spring I think I can start over on the ones I killed.  On a side note, I have broccoli and some tomatoes ready to be potted up.

I tried to sprinkle some crushed vermiculite into fine powdery stuff, sprinkled over the seeds that were placed in mini blocks.  Thought I did a nice job but it seems I did a bad job.  Germination seems to be much slower than last year.  Still able to up pot a bunch of stuff to the 2" soil blocks to go under lights.  But I need to go back and re-seed some things.  Guess I started early anyway and this set back shouldn't be a big deal. I hope.