6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
starting seeds and potting up is not brain surgery. It is just that some things work better than others. when a kid we used garden dirt and old tin cans...now that was about as bad as it can get. You can save the starter mix for net year, use it to pot with or maybe mix it in with some regular potting mix. What ever feels good to you. You will learn as you go.
I would disagree with Al on the lettuces. I do not pot them on or single them but harden them off while still in multiples in the cells and then transplant straight into the ground by gently pulling the clumps apart. I find that the fact that they are different sizes and not all perfect large individual specimens means that they will grow at different rates and I can get a long succession of lettuce from a single sowing. I deliberately keep some back in the cells and plant out at intervals. You don't necessarily want all your lettuce ready at once. But this works in my climate because we have months of cool damp weather appropriate for lettuce. You may need to plant them all at once for a shorter cropping season.
There is no conflict my friend. When you sow the seed you cover it with 1/4 inch soil and this created darkness. When they sprout they need light 24/7. You give them that much light because they don't see the sun. I read in a book that 24/7 light under flourcent lamp is barley equal to one hour in the sun. As for heat as soon as my seeds sprout I take them off the heating Mat. By this way they grow short and fat (stucky) as opposed to very tall and thin on the Heating Mat. I learned that from some books and It works for me.
If you plant your seeds direct in the garden,climate permitting, you automatically get the fluctuating temperatures Park recommends. Many seeds will germinate much better with these conditions. Many use the "winter sowing method" which works, but the seed germinates when the conditions are right for the seed, not necessarily for the gardener. Al
The "crazy carrots" are the result of damaging the roots during transplanting. It also happens when you plant in ground and the root runs into a stone or something that gets in its way.
I don't know how deep an Aerogarden is. You might be able to grow Parisian carrots - they're very short.
I would tend to agree with you about the 54 degrees thing. Anything below 70 will cause pepper seedlings to have stunted growth & they will never be the same again. I tried putting mine out in a cold frame when temps were getting high enough last year. A little bit of cold destroyed every single one of them. Could also be a fungus though. Pinch off the bad leaves, get them warmer & give them a few days to see what happens.
- Steve
You should let them dry out a little, if they are constantly soaked it will cause them to yellow and rot their roots. They could probably use some fert. but be sure to start out with a dilute fert solution, so not to burn their already tender root system and you can even wait to do this until a little while after you plant them out. Also, if they are put outside to quickly and not hardened off properly then you could run into problems.
You might want to watch or tweek your watering regime. The compost will act much differently than a soilless mix...the compost may not move water throughout the container like you normally are used to. Bottom watering will become a whole different beast...so feel the weight of the container...don't go by looks alone.
Congratulations!! Like you, my first year was a bust but even so, it was a great learning experience. Despite all the reading and research I did beforehand, you don't know what you don't know until you dig in and give it a shot. My second year was markedly improved.
Your plants look absolutely gorgeous!! I guess the third time was a charm!
Here is a link that might be useful: my blog
Damping off will typically occur at the soil line, where fungi enter bruised tissue. Strange things on leaf edges means uptake of nutrients and water was poor, or it can be tainted water, etc. In their new home with plenty of light the seedings should be fine. Peat pots offer no nutrition, so moving them was the thing to do.
I have a PUR dispenser for drinking water. I have been using that at room temp to water all my seedlings. Should I continue doing this or use tap water? Once they go outside they will just get water from the hose anyway. I'm confused, I thought the cotyledons were supposed to give them enough nutrition for a while. Should I be transplanting the others that are in the Jiffy mix that doesn't have any fertilizer in it? I also have some in Miracle Grow seed starting mix, are those better off?
I was going to start tomatoes today and I had planned to use the peat pellets for those, in addition to also planting in the mixes for better luck. It seems at least for space I need to transplant the ones in pellets sooner but should I also be doing it sooner so they get nutrition? This is my first year starting seeds inside so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.
Thank you for your contribution, yiorges; however, I was a bit unsatisfied with the answer. I ended up stopping by my local independently owned nursery and showed them this very picture on my phone. Upon very close inspection, zooming in and out and studying the leaves, the guy at the nursery said that these little dots do occur naturally on some tomatoes. I was somewhat relieved. I've made pretty certain not to let any water get on these since they sprouted, but just in case that it was a fungus, I mixed up a fungicide solution consisting of water, milk, baking soda and a drop of soap. I then proceeded to spray the seedlings from all angles. It's been about four days and the leaves have gotten much darker in color. The dots are still present, but have seemed to blend into the darker colored leaves. In any case, I'll continue to spray them every week for the life of the tomatoes.
Yes its definitely to cold to put anything outside right now. Though I am planning on putting "cold-frame" lids on the raised beds and putting out the cold loving plants out in a few weeks. It did get up to 50 today so there is quite a bit less snow. The tomatoes probably wont go out until the beginning of June though I have enough plants that I may try to get some out earlier and keep them warm at night. I have been reading up on ways to extend the growing season.
Eagle - the potato leaf is "Stump of the World". This is my first year growing tomatoes from seed and my first time with heirlooms. Making choices was hard! I think Remy from Sample Seeds said these were one of her very favorite, so I am trying them.
I hear you mandolls, everytime I head to the basement to care for the babies I think about eating, I cannot wait.
From 2011-04-02 4-2-11
You don't say what you growing, but with one seedling per six inch pots, it is very easy to end up with a pot that remains too wet. I would only water when I am sure they need water and then only from the bottom, and let the water wick up, stopping before the top of the soil looks wet. Al
jayhawk,
No question is "dumber than dirt". We were all beginners at one time. I consider myself to be an intermediate now, but still have plenty to learn. (In fact, that's one of the best things about gardening, there always seems to be more to learn!)
A few tips for "potting up" (transplanting to a larger container before their final home) tomatoes:
1) when transplanting tomatoes, any part of the stem buried under the ground level will grow roots. Therefore, it is often best to bury them right up to their seed leaves when transplanting. This will help to bolster the root system.
2) when transplanting tomatoes, be sure to handle them by the "seed leaves". DO NOT HANDLE THEM BY THE STEMS! The seed leaves are less delicate, and are temporary, so if any damage is done to them during transplanting, it is not that serious. If any damage happens to the stem, it is more than likely permanent.
3) a little known fact by some beginners is that an indeterminate tomato can be "cloned". When the plant starts to grow, it will put out "suckers" these are side branches off the main stem, and will grow into "main stems" as well. If pinched off, and placed in a container of water when they are still fairly small, but handleable, they will put out roots, and can be transplanted into the garden later. (I did this one year when I lost a few tomatoes to birds, rabbits or other critters. It works great.) I don't generally do it as a plan, but if I need to replace a plant that is lost for whatever reason, it is a nice solution, and it can grow quite quickly (much quicker than starting from seed again, and much cheaper than buying replacements.
If you can I would get them into shade. They don't need full sun now and it is making it very difficult to control both the moisture and the soil temperature. Al
Al,
What you say makes sense. I moved them out of the sun. Of course now it has been overcast, so I moved them back. But they should do better this way. Still not seeing the squash or cucumbers come up yet; I know they do take awhile...