Sorry everyone, I threw in the towel

As some of you know from my posts, I had my seedling up and going in a week in my homemade deck railing boxes with my mini-greenhouse containers. Things were going well until the last two weeks with all the rain. First I left the containers off, thinking the rain would be a good thing. It turned into a bad thing when it rained hard everyday, was too cold and cloudy, and the soil became saturated for the little seedlings. They were dying, drowning. I put the containers back on to try to protect them, but it was too late.

Due to the lateness of the growing seasons, I bought flowers at Lowes and transplanted them into the boxes. Well, that was quick and simple, but I did want to grow them from seed myself.

Just wanted to be straight up with everyone.

I'm so sorry! Sometimes Mother Nature just isn't fair. But perhaps you'll try again either in the fall or next spring. I also hope you'll hang around here and participate in our discussions. I've enjoyed your posts.

It's okay - you aren't disowned. We still love you.

Last year I did have one or a few tomatoes from plants I had started from seed. This is the first year that I have tons of happy looking plants that I started from seed, and buh-lieve you me, it sure isn't the first year I tried!

I am not yet a purist. I have a lot of things from seed - but planted directly into the bed and a lot from plants from the store. - esp tomatoes and peppers. Starting my own seed is down the list.

I am actually considering getting one of those mats that has flower seed in it and dedicating one bed to that. And I do not feel like a cheater at all! LOL.

Where are you that your growing season is so short?

Maybe you can just throw in the towel until Fall. Then you can try again, because now you have more experience.

As a beginning vegetable gardner, I don't know what it is about dead and dying seedlings that gets me bummed out.
I was very upset when my 1st set of seedlings got too leggy in early spring.
I had to feed them to the chickens.
Pics of those seedlings are still in my album!
Next spring, it will serve as a good reminder about seedling requirements.

To improve the situation, I bought a pop-up greenhouse and started new seedlings outdoors. Worked wonderfully, wind and rain couldn't touch them.
Also, the sunlight worked so much better than my plant lights.
Next, I did the same thing you did, and bought plants in 6-packs. These have served me well, I have harvested a good deal of lettuce and mustard greens from them. Gotta love 'em !
Hey, I had to tend to them carefully or they would have died too.
Now let's see some pics of those new plants you got!

MJK

Don't give up. JUST POSTPONE. It wasn't your fault it rained hard. Next time use an umbrella ( I say with tongue in cheek). Do what we do here in Florida, start over. Of Course our growing season is a lot longer than the north US.

We have strong winds here occasionally (hurricanes). And heavy torrents of rain. When we have one of those big storms headed our way, I throw all my yard furniture in my neighbors yard. When the storm comes, it throws the furniture back. (It works for me).

Check out my post, "What not to plant in a SFG". I made a few mistakes too.

Don't give up.

John

Even Mel recommends in his book to buy the plants the first year rather than grow everything for seed, because as a new gardener you're likely to find the whole thing too difficult or too much work otherwise. So no problem, keep buying plants if you like and enjoy growing them the SFG way, or try again with seeds when you're ready.

I have been gardening for many years. This is my first SFG. I have NEVER grown tomatos, or peppers from seed. Transplants are so inexpensive that I never contemplated starting them myself. Plus I get a jump on the season with a bigger plant to start with. Don't be so hard on yourself!! Mother nature can be so fickle. I bet you will enjoy your flowers!!

mjk12 wrote:As some of you know from my posts, I had my seedling up and going in a week in my homemade deck railing boxes with my mini-greenhouse containers. Things were going well until the last two weeks with all the rain. First I left the containers off, thinking the rain would be a good thing. It turned into a bad thing when it rained hard everyday, was too cold and cloudy, and the soil became saturated for the little seedlings. They were dying, drowning. I put the containers back on to try to protect them, but it was too late.

Due to the lateness of the growing seasons, I bought flowers at Lowes and transplanted them into the boxes. Well, that was quick and simple, but I did want to grow them from seed myself.

Just wanted to be straight up with everyone.

So - what have you ended up doing? A run to a garden center or...?

It is not throwing in the towel, it is gaining experience.
I think every gardener has had failures and probably every year. You just learn from it and try again.
After 3 years of sfg I still supplement my seed growing with plants from the store, better to do that than having an empty garden.
Smile and have another go.
Cheers Ray

Well, nobody told me it wasn't really gardening unless you started it from seed. And phooey on those people anyway. They're snobs and I don't want to hang around with them!

Seriously, people who are so mean-spirited and judgemental to say something ugly because you bought plants aren't really very nice or helpful. I like to surround myself with people who will help me.

It's like breast vs bottle on a mothering forum, I guess. If the kid gets fed and the method of feeding works, quit judging each other and start being helpful to each other.

There's way more important things on this planet to debate over.

Was just thinking....hale stones are Gods way of pruning trees. We just have to clean up when the job is done.

Set backs are another way to improve on our methods through life.

I am taking the rest of the week off from working my SFG and will be listening to my vegies grow. Its raining today.

John

broccoli that I bought as a starter from lowes. It was great, and I definately don't think that is throwing in the towel - no way no how. My store bought tomato seedlings are fabulous - and you know, you can grow one of every tomato you want when you buy them one at a time already germinated, instead of 250 seeds of a plant you only want one of? You didn't throw in the towl - you just moved it to a different towel rail

Johnfromfl - every year, twice a year - the deer come and eat my iris - the first year I cried - then I realized that they come back stronger than before and the deer are just tidying my yard. Gods way of helping me out? Same happens with the daylillies, and the azaleas...did I mention I have a small deer problem - but I love them and I love my garden and we live togethe in harmony with a few cuss words thrown in from time to time lol

You didn't throw in the towel if you bought flowers from Lowes or Home Depot.
This means you are still gardening and good for you!
I planted seeds direct into my SFG garden along with veg plants.

I did the same for my flowers. I like to mix it up.

I just hope and pray I get some decent veg's in a few months, we can't control mother nature so just move on and don't be so hard on yourself. Things could be alot worse.

Good luck!

Dunkinjean

awww mjk...i'm sorry you threw in the towel. i'm sure we've all been there and can relate to the frustrations of seedlings....i have yet to sucessfully nuture a tomato or pepper plant to fruition.

perhaps you'll consider buying a few veggie starters from home depot? just slide them in amongst your flowers and continue to enjoy your efforts.

Its just a nature setback. It happens to all of us, even the experienced. I'm new last year and we got torrential rains all of July that drowned most home gardens in Maine. Thankfully my raised beds saved some of my plantings but they were mostly bought plants. The only seeds I started were directly in the beds, radishes, lettuce, carrots. My veggies and herbs were all bought seedlings. I didn't consider myself a failure, just a newbie enjoying learning experiences.
This year I started my own seeds but not until I got a heat mat and shop lights because without those, nothing worked.
Good luck with your bought babies.

Howdy:

If the towel was all cotton, cut the towel up into pieces and put the pieces into your compost bin. In a month or so they will have become compost which is just great to grow your plants in.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

I didn't bother at all with seedlings. If I couldn't sow it directly in the soil I bought it. I made trips to Menards, Wal-Mart, Home Depot Earl May and best of all a Des Moines High School Greenhouse run entirely by students.

I bought tomatoes, peppers, brussel sprouts, cukes (direct sowed some too), a red lettuce to replace a dead lettuce spot in a square, cabbage, broccoli and some zucchini (direct sowed some too). In other words, a lot of store-bought starts!

In the end, it is all still mine and I grew it. I tried seedlings last year and ended up with a messy kitchen, a perturbed wife and one zucchini plant that survived in total. In my first year of SFG I wasn't going to do seedlings too!

You didn't cheat and only lose out if you didn't pick up some good veggie starts from the store with those flowers!

I am curious why you don't just replant and start over? I thought one of then main tenets of SFG was to be able to plant throughout the spring/summer/fall to have a nice assortment of veggies harvest throughout the year. I certainly hope I'm not doing all this work for a one time harvest where everything is picked at the same time.

mjk12 wrote:As some of you know from my posts, I had my seedling up and going in a week in my homemade deck railing boxes with my mini-greenhouse containers. ... I put the containers back on to try to protect them, but it was too late.

Due to the lateness of the growing seasons, I bought flowers at Lowes and transplanted them into the boxes. Well, that was quick and simple, but I did want to grow them from seed myself.

Just wanted to be straight up with everyone.

So, what did you end up doing? Flowers only or have you broken down and put together another box?

You could sow seed of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and others in the summer for a fall crop. The season doesn't end with just spring.