Re: Seedlings

miinva 3/14/2011, 10:42 pm

We cook beets by washing them, then rubbing them with olive oil and baking them at 300 until they're soft enough to stick a fork in. Mine grow sporadically so I don't have any growing advice, but it's worth continuing to try. Smile

sceleste54 3/14/2011, 11:47 pm

Thanks for the tip Miinva. I really like other root veggies done that way, and beets are so nutritious that I'd really like to develop a taste for them Smile

CindiLou 3/15/2011, 1:02 am

Eww Ewww Eww and Ewww! Sad

I have never liked beets. But once again there is another way to try them. Maybe I will put in a square or two this year and try them baked that way. Humm, darn.. that means another stop at the seed rack, rofl....

duhh 3/15/2011, 2:14 am

dixie- I like the golden beets better than normal. They aren't as strong flavored. In my opinion.

Megan 3/15/2011, 7:32 pm

Cool. Now I am even more excited about planting some Golden Beets! Maybe I can convince hubby to try them. (Or just tell him they are turnips?)

jmosciaro 3/15/2011, 8:16 pm

I sprouted romain, riley and chard seeds in vermiculite and planted them right in the garden. That went well for 3 days. 2 days of cold and about half of them died. The chard that was bigger survived. My question is: am I wasting my time sprouting the seeds? Should I just plant them in the garden and wait? The ones that did survive are looking really good to me now and the casualties were all smaller. I just planted new sprouts and we are supposed to have a stretch of warm weather.

CindiLou 3/15/2011, 9:52 pm

I got my hoops put on three beds today. My two 2x4 salad beds that are spaced for a cattle panel arch between. And on of my new 4x4 beds. I already had hoops on one from last year.

Tomorrow I get the compost for the salad beds! And Plastic on Saturday. That gives me the salad beds and one 4x4 that get planted on April 1st! Oh yea! Spring is here!!!!! The other two beds don't have mix yet.

Oh and I bought beet seeds today. My sister says if I don't like them she will take them rofl....so I have a back up plan! I hate wasting seeds.

**camprn** 3/15/2011, 10:32 pm

jmosciaro wrote:I sprouted romain, riley and chard seeds in vermiculite and planted them right in the garden. That went well for 3 days. 2 days of cold and about half of them died. The chard that was bigger survived. My question is: am I wasting my time sprouting the seeds? Should I just plant them in the garden and wait? The ones that did survive are looking really good to me now and the casualties were all smaller. I just planted new sprouts and we are supposed to have a stretch of warm weather.

My suggestion is to double check your last frost date and the hardiness of the things you are trying to currently grow, it may simply be too early by a week or three to plant. Another suggestion would be to have a bit of insurance, hoops or some other covering available in the event of something more than a light frost.

jmosciaro 3/16/2011, 10:35 am

My suggestion is to double check your last frost date and the hardiness of the things you are trying to currently grow, it may simply be too early by a week or three to plant. Another suggestion would be to have a bit of insurance, hoops or some other covering available in the event of something more than a light frost.[/quote]

Thanks, I do have a hoop house with clear plastic on every night. I think you are right about the starting early. My last frost date is April 14th through 21st according to one site. That puts me about 5 weeks out. Does it make a big difference if you use a blanket rather than plastic?

BackyardBirdGardner 3/16/2011, 1:11 pm

jmosciaro wrote:Thanks, I do have a hoop house with clear plastic on every night. I think you are right about the starting early. My last frost date is April 14th through 21st according to one site. That puts me about 5 weeks out. Does it make a big difference if you use a blanket rather than plastic?

I would have a 2nd layer of plastic ready to go on as a "floating row cover" when temps are forecast to hit 32 when you have such tender vegetation inside. That first plastic covering really only keeps the frost off and maybe buys you one degree of heat retention. I was shocked to find this out AFTER I built mine. I also have 18 one-gallon milk jugs in my 4x12 hoops. The 2nd cover of plastic unfolds over the jugs and hopefully traps that latent heat under the floating row cover.

Another idea I have been kicking around is 2 Liter soda bottle cloches. I cut the bottoms of of them....for vermiculite starting trays.....and use the tops as more covering. I have some broccoli outside my hoops that are still doing great. They have only had the 2L cloche for protection. And, we have had multiple nights below 32 in the past two weeks.

Hoops and a cloche would likely make a great combo of protection; although, I have yet to test that theory myself.

FYI, my frost date is also mid-April. However, I've been in the ground since March 1st, and haven't lost anything yet....because of the 2nd row cover.

jmosciaro 3/17/2011, 10:56 am

I started eggplant. and pepper several weeks ago in small trays about 2 inches square. Can someone offer any advice as to whether or not they need to be potted up before the final transplant to the garden?

Thanks

**Furbalsmom** 3/17/2011, 1:26 pm

I guess the first question is how long before you can transplant into your garden? The second is how big will the seedlings get before you are able to transplant?

You don't want the plants to get rootbound before they are transplanted. If there is a chance they would get root bound, I would up-pot to a 3 inch pot at least 2 weeks before transplanting.

My eggplants outgrew their two inch pots last week and I up-potted over the weekend. I still have at least three weeks before they go out. And three weeks is assuming that I will be able to protect them with cloches. I admit I did start mine a bit too early, I was anxious for green.

**camprn** 2/12/2012, 12:39 pm

For those of you trying to grow from seed for the first time, here is a tip: If you have seedlings that are starting to show their true leaves, it is time to give them a little plant food. Here is a blurb from Gardener's Supply.
Also, make sure your lights are really close to the seedlings, as close as you can get without the plants touching the bulbs. Very Happy

GWN 2/12/2012, 4:38 pm

I wonder if you had a choice of which plants were best under the lights, say if you only have so many lights which would be more important.
I am growing perennials , spinach kale, spinach artichokes.
The spinach does not seem to mind just the regular light in the greenhouse minimal sunlight some days.

**camprn** 2/12/2012, 5:09 pm

GWN wrote:I wonder if you had a choice of which plants were best under the lights, say if you only have so many lights which would be more important.
I am growing perennials , spinach kale, spinach artichokes.
The spinach does not seem to mind just the regular light in the greenhouse minimal sunlight some days.

if the spinach is happy in the window, that's good for freeing up space for the other little guys under the light. Very Happy

tomperrin 2/12/2012, 6:06 pm

What do you think about compost tea for our seedlings instead of store bought fertilizer?

Just trying to avoid store bought if possible.

Tom

**camprn** 2/12/2012, 6:42 pm

tomperrin wrote:What do you think about compost tea for our seedlings instead of store bought fertilizer?

Just trying to avoid store bought if possible.

Tom

hmm... I think unless you sterilize the compost that you make the tea out of you may run a risk of damping off. Now, mind you, this is just years of practical knowledge speaking and I have nothing scientific to back that up with... if you do any research on this, let us know what you find out. Wink

I will use a weak generic 'miracle-grow' plant food solution for my seedlings.

tomperrin 2/12/2012, 6:54 pm

My seedling box is just one sq ft that sits by my elbow in the one place I have morning sun. It's supplemented by a single 43 watt natural light incandescent bulb. Plants were initially leggy but now doing ok. Anyway, they get watered with the tag ends of my coffee cup. I'm not sure I want a high nitro fertilizer as that would make them leggy, and I just don't have enough sun anywhere it's warm. The box is more of a learning exercise - and I just want something green to look at every morning. Later on I will build a cold frame and start up some seedlings where they will get some sun.

This is the square on Feb 1 2012.

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Seedlings - Page 2 6807265619_1f770db1c5

TejasTerry 2/12/2012, 7:56 pm

Oops. I just transplanted my little tomato seedlings in their jiffy pots into Mels Mix.

Is this going to kill them all? This is my first garden and obviously my first seedlings.

Windsor.Parker 2/12/2012, 9:22 pm

TejasTerry wrote:Oops. I just transplanted my little tomato seedlings in their jiffy pots into Mels Mix.

Is this going to kill them all? This is my first garden and obviously my first seedlings.

They should be fine, but they'll need plenty of "close" florescent light. I "mist" my seedlings a couple times daily to avoid drowning them while not letting them dry out. I have two plants in 6.5" - 7" MM in a 5gal. SWC (self watering container), and two others in a deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic system. Both approaches are new for me.
Seedlings - Page 2 773650

I'm planning to transplant seedlings from the DWC into protected SFG squares later this Spring.
Good luck with yours.

Windsor.Parker 2/12/2012, 9:24 pm

camprn wrote:
GWN wrote:I wonder if you had a choice of which plants were best under the lights, say if you only have so many lights which would be more important.
I am growing perennials , spinach kale, spinach artichokes.
The spinach does not seem to mind just the regular light in the greenhouse minimal sunlight some days.
if the spinach is happy in the window, that's good for freeing up space for the other little guys under the light.

+1

TejasTerry 2/12/2012, 9:47 pm

Windsor.Parker wrote:
TejasTerry wrote:Oops. I just transplanted my little tomato seedlings in their jiffy pots into Mels Mix.

Is this going to kill them all? This is my first garden and obviously my first seedlings.

They should be fine, but they'll need plenty of "close" florescent light. I "mist" my seedlings a couple times daily to avoid drowning them while not letting them dry out. I have two plants in 6.5" - 7" MM in a 5gal. SWC (self watering container), and two others in a deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic system. Both approaches are new for me.

I'm planning to transplant seedlings from the DWC into protected SFG squares later this Spring.
Good luck with yours.

Thanks...I have the grow light about 4 inches above them. I have them in cups with holes punched in the bottom and sitting in a tray of water. I just went back in there and added MM up a ways closer to the leaves. I watched a youtube video that recommended this. Thanks for your help. I will also mist a little each day.

Windsor.Parker 2/13/2012, 12:01 am

TejasTerry wrote:....
Thanks...I have the grow light about 4 inches above them. I have them in cups with holes punched in the bottom and sitting in a tray of water. I just went back in there and added MM up a ways closer to the leaves. I watched a youtube video that recommended this. Thanks for your help. I will also mist a little each day.

TejasTerry,
Do get the light as close as possible to your seedlings without overheating them.
Hold your hand under the light with your palm just above your tallest seedling. Lower the light to just above the back of your hand. The light isn't too close so long as you can't feel the heat from the light on the back of your hand!

Seedlings should sit in water only briefly, until their soil is evenly moistened, not waterlogged!
Either remove the water from the tray or remove the seedlings and allow them to drain.
Check them every day or two, and when surface dryness is visible water them from beneath again. Add water slowly, only until your soil is evenly moist.
Keep them well lit and mist them 1-2 each day.

TejasTerry 2/13/2012, 8:03 am

Ok I will take the water out of the tray. The MM is dry on the top, and slightly moist about an inch down. I will also lower the light just a tad. They are reaching for it this morning.

Kinda cool watching this happen.... Very Happy

GWN 2/13/2012, 10:08 am

I guess perhaps to rephrase my question, are there certain seedlings that need the light more than others.
Last year I did tomatoes, pepper and basil and they all clearly needed the lights, this year I have tried to hold off the tomatoes and pepper until a bit later, and instead am doing perennials etc.

can some seedlings grow in the greenhouse this time of year without grow lights?

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