My Own Fault, but haven completely confused myself

Hi All,

I have finished making my MM and placed in my raised gardens.  Ready to go in May.

I have set up my rack with lights to start my seeds.  Want to start tomorrow.

But..... My brain is so mixed up with different advice, I have forgotten which route I wish to follow.  I find it difficult to go back and find a specific response to a previous post.   What's worse, I found out that Facebook had their own SFG site.  I like this forum better than Facebook but still admit to looking there.  I tried to copy and paste each response I wanted, but that just did not work.

I have all of these items available to me.
The only ones I have purchased are cow pots, heat pad and Burpee  starting mix.  Everything else I had on hand or from previous years

solo cups
Jiffy peat pellets (won't use)
peat pots
cow pots
Soil block maker (son made it for me on 3D printer)
Clear covers from whatever I could save
1020 tray ( I think that is what is is called)

I have spent about $30 on seeds (my bad)

What I want to do, is sow the seeds into something with a growing medium, and then transfer to the actual garden when the time was right.  I was going to start on a plastic bag with a wet paper towel but read several posts that starting in the growing medium is just as easy.  So that is what I want to do.

Again, I am reading different info on lighting.  What I think I remember is:

No lights are necessary until the seed germinates
Clear Plastic covers come off after germination
As soon as germination, lights go on for about 15 hours a day
Plants should be about 2" from lights
Keep moist but not soggy

Seeds are going in tomorrow, hopefully

The cow pots seem like a good idea but they are a one time only use.

The 'soil block maker' also seems like  a good idea but I have not been able to find anyone who has used it to get advice except for one nice gentleman on this forum,  It would seem that I need to learn how to effectively do this.  It was a pretty messy job this morning.

Simple basic answer/advice to accomplish the above

danieggert wrote:No lights are necessary until the seed germinates

Depends on the seed variety.  Some vegetable seeds, typically the very small one, require light to germinate.  Lettuce is one example, if the seeds are buried so deep that they do not see light they will not germinate.  Other seeds that need to be very close to the surface for good germination are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, cucumbers, eggplants, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, melons, peppers, squashes, and tomatoes.  These seeds can germinate in light if surrounded by moist soil or they can be lightly covered with soil.  And, of course there are always exceptions -- I had many a winter squash seed buried somewhere in the compost pile that have sprouted and grown profusely.

[quote="danieggert" What's worse, I found out that Facebook had their own SFG site.  I like this forum better than Facebook but still admit to looking there. [/quote]The only official FB page is the long one: "Square Foot Gardening based on founder and creator Mel Bartholomew's Method" .  I'm a mod on that site. [/quote]   

I have all of these items available to me.

solo cups
Jiffy peat pellets (won't use)
peat pots
cow pots
Soil block maker (son made it for me on 3D printer)
Clear covers from whatever I could save
1020 tray ( I think that is what it is called)

You mentioned you wanted a one step method of seed cup to planting.

I have spent about $30 on seeds (my bad)

Cheap!

[quote]Again, I am reading different info on lighting.  What I think I remember is:

No lights are necessary until the seed germinates
Clear Plastic covers come off after germination
As soon as germination, lights go on for about 15 hours a day
Plants should be about 2" from lights
Keep moist but not soggy[/qyote]

10-12 hours are plenty. To keep the seed moist, use a spray bottle. Once they have sprouted, water from the bottom of the tray.

I have spent about $30 on seeds (my bad)

Nothing bad there for someone starting up. They only sell seeds by the packet, so even if you only need 4 seeds you're still going to pay $2 ~ $5. Be sure to check out the seed storage techniques Mel outlines in All New Square Foot Gardening (3rd ed.). That way you won't have to spend so much next season.

You are in the right place for sure…

First off you have gotten off fairly cheaply to start up your SFG.  It is pricey to begin.

Like Mark said, you will not need a lot of those seeds—need to figure out how to preserve them!

TAKE NOTES!!! Every year is a little different.  This is key.

I do sow seeds and give them a few days (5-ish) to germinate.  No light needed.  Then they get a spot on the heating pad for a few days!  

Then light, that might be the fluorescents. (I use cheap fluorescent bulbs but some swear by the LED versions…I may go to this someday..)

I hope to see you on our regional post!