Our seeds have sprouted!

ftroopmom 4/18/2011, 3:53 pm

Hi All,

We are complete and total newbies to gardening. Please forgive my total lack of knowledge.

We planted some seeds in jiffy pots in the house about 3 weeks ago. As of this weekend, we have carrots, red onion, yellow onion, and sweet peppers that have sprouted.

I've heard of "hardening" the plants which I am assuming means to place them outside in the shade to allow them to acclimate to the elements.

At what point is it advisable to do so? And when should I put them into the beds?

Have we totally missed the planting time for these plants? I am in 8b/9, since I live 5 mins from zone 9, I'm not really sure what to label us.

My SQF book is still enroute from Amazon, so I appreciate your help!

Praying for rain and hoping for our first ripened strawberry!

K

BackyardBirdGardner 4/18/2011, 3:58 pm

A lot will go by the date by which you want to transplant them outside. Generally, we wait for the plants to develop a couple of sets of "true" leaves. What you likely see today are "seed" leaves. They will be different looking from the true leaves. Once you get 2-4 of the true leaves, start making preparations to transplant.........ie hardening them off outside.

This process will be different for different plants. Some take much longer to get their true leaves than others.

And, one word of caution...carrots don't transplant well from most starting mediums. I would look into getting your carrots out asap.....or just starting the seeds directly in the garden the next round you plant.

Happy SFG'ing!


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Our seeds have sprouted!

Our seeds have sprouted!

Re: Our seeds have sprouted!