Seed Starting!!

I've done paper pots in the past.  They worked pretty well for me.  I just opened the bottom up a little before planting!

I only did it the one year though.  I'm too lazy to make the pots every year, lol.  What I've been doing is I start my seeds in a flat of sterile seed starting mix (i'm going to use fine vermiculite this year), then up pot into left over 3 inch plastic pots full of MM.

Scorpio Rising wrote:CC then do you pot them up after they have true leaves?  Into peat pots?  

Nope, they'll stay in their six packs, just like when you buy them at the nursery. And then get transplanted directly into the SFG when it's time.
I'm just too lazy to mess around any more than that.  

Although they will get fed some liquid fertilizer, probably Neptune, if they need it between sprouting and the time they go into the garden.
CC

OK, thanks, CC & LS. I know, I seem to always overestimate the amount of expendable time I have....might make some newspaper planters and supplement with peat ones.

So, I planted all of my seedlings on Wednesday, and to date, I see a whole lot of nothing! I had hoped to see at least a sprout or two by today. No such luck!

Very frustrating.... Especially when you're so eager!

Look at your seeds packs. They should tell you germination times...

My husband tells me that a watched seed never sprouts! The seeds know when their time is right. One of the faster seeds to germinate is radish. I know if the radishes are coming up, then things are good. Soil temp is very important and maybe your soil is not quite warm enough yet. ???

These are seeds that I started inside in trays.  I would imagine at almost 70 degrees, it's warm enough-right?

Should be but still may take longer than if the soil was, say, 80*F.

Kathy Gizzi wrote:So, I planted all of my seedlings on Wednesday, and to date, I see a whole lot of nothing!  I had hoped to see at least a sprout or two by today.  No such luck!

What seeds did you plant?  Inside or out?  

If out, I see temps from 30's to 60's at Myrtle Beach.  The MM is probably still on the cooler side. It'll take a while for them to sprout.  See the back of ANSFG book for the temp germination chart.  

If in, what did you use for planting medium?  Did you water them in after planting them?  Are they on a heat mat?  are they in an enclosure, like a mini green house?

CC

bump

We're still a ways off for starting tomatoes here, usually not until early April.  Meanwhile, I finally finished building my new grow light stand, and I'm starting off the season with some lettuce, cabbage, and spinach seeds, all indoors.

Wow, Kate! Are you using a heating pad for germination? I have a rack I my basement, and I don't think it is warm enough to get germination to happen dependably.

Have you had luck getting earlier harvests using indoor spinach and lettuce starts?

I use a heat pad for some things, it just depends on what germination temperatures the seed likes best.  Lettuce seeds seem to do okay for me at room temperature, but tomato and pepper seeds like it warmer.

I started lettuce and spinach indoors at the beginning of last year's growing season, and that went pretty well.  Only I didn't do that until around late April, thinking I couldn't have anything out if it was still freezing some nights, but then found out some gardeners in the area were putting them out earlier.

This year, my beds are already thawed out and workable, so I think I'll be able to put out early season crops a little earlier this year.  Then again, I've been fooled before.  

My beds are workable, too, but I think it is way to early for me to put anything out. I am still ( ? ) bracing for WINTER but it hasn't happened?

It definitely is too early now, and there is a possibility of snow in our forecast for the 2nd week of March.  But it will take until after then before the seedlings have to be transplanted, anyway, so I'm just going to see how things go.  Worst thing to happen is, I'll have to start another batch in March.

IillkkKathy GizziSo, I planted all of my seedlings on Wednesday, and to date, I see a whole lot of nothing!  I had hoped to see at least a sprout or two by today.  No such luck!

Did you plant seeds? What kind?

Great charts, camp, thanks!

Yes really good seed starter charts. I've saved them electronically in my SFG folder and I've printed them out for future use.

My heated UV bed is set at 17 oC directly under the seed trays  , Today Sunday 21 Feb  I've taken out six tubes of germinated long trailing red, white & blue Lobellia , so that in a couple of weeks I can plant up all six of our hanging baskets.

I've also spent a hour or so sowing 40 seed tubes with AYR cauli , kabuki dwarf broccoli , dwarf  French marigolds,  more Lobellia , Petit Pois  garden peas ( I loathe these sort of peas but Alison &HollyRobyn love them ) and a load of Busy Lizzie seeds .

 I was supposed to be admitted to hospital this morning , but there is no bed available for me so the operation has been put back to an unknown date .

What a way to run the that second biggest employment business in the world ....... The Chinese Army takes first place. This is the third time it's been cancelled for the same reason . Grrrrrrrr !

Camp - are the temperatures air temps or soil temps ???

Camp, thanks for the charts.

Kate, yep, way too early for some plants here in NE Kansas.  I've already found craigslist adds for tomato seedlings. Below are some pics of what I've started.  

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage seedlings...starting to set out in filtered sun on warmer days.  I plan to set these out in early March with some protection if needed.  Second round of these have just germinated (room temp).


cole crops and buttercrunch lettuce potted up...I love these plastic tulip crates...I think I can score some more free ones from various landscape contractors...good for seed trays (they stack), and harvest.


I also wanted to experiment with starting some seeds in soil blocks. Below is a medium block maker I made last week.  A carriage bolt run through a plastic spice container with several nylon spacers to make a dimple...inside a clear plastic tube that goes around candle lantern for camping.  The next step was to build a small blocker...the block diameter needs to be slightly smaller than the nylon spacers. 


...so I found some plumbing parts from Restore for about $.10 each...top is a toilet paper roll holder inside a smooth chromed pipe...spring loaded with perfect dimple makers on each end...bottom is the same roll holder which slides into a cylinder made from a small aluminum juice can. 


here are the blocks as of this afternoon...with buttercrunch lettuce.  I had problems getting about half the blocks to stay together in one piece...and I think they may dry out faster than using plastic seeding cells. these blocks can either go right into the garden or slip into the larger block dimple.  soil blocks are supposed to prevent root-bound plants so we'll see.

Nice, Landarch!  I need to get motivated for indoors.  My shelving unit is assembled, one of my boys did that for me for Christmas, but I don't know how to stick the fluorescent tubes into the fixtures.  Nor how to attach them to the shelves, but I will say the how to by Kate was very helpful!  Still nervous about the tubes, don't want to break them.....

landarch wrote:Kate, yep, way too early for some plants here in NE Kansas.  I've already found craigslist adds for tomato seedlings. Below are some pics of what I've started.  

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage seedlings...starting to set out in filtered sun on warmer days.  I plan to set these out in early March with some protection if needed.  Second round of these have just germinated (room temp).

Good, then I know I'm not too far ahead of the game, after all.

yolos wrote:Camp - are the temperatures air temps or soil temps ???

I believe the top chart is air temp.and the bottom chart is soil temp, does it say so at the top?
No it doesn't. I'll try to find that info later.

I will be starting my seeds in my garage. The garage is directly connected to my home with an interior door.  Obviously the temperatures in the garage won’t be nearly as stable as inside, but will also not be as extreme as outside.  The outdoor temps will range anywhere from the 20’s (very rare lows) up to the 70’s.  I did get a viagrow heat mat for the trays to sit on.  Will I have problems with germination in this environment since the temperature will be fluctuating?  I have it set up where once the seeds sprout , I can slide them right over under the grow lights.  I doubt very seriously temperatures will ever get below 40 in there as I have a small heater to use when the temps drop below 35 outside.  This is my first time starting seeds for a spring garden so I would appreciate any and all tips of suggestions.  I started my first set or green and yellow onion seeds on Saturday.  (3 days ago).