Lets talk about growing things 2013

[dirtdobber]

Well seed starting is quickly approaching for me wondering who has what started and what you are doing in the garden to get it ready.

[dirtdobber]

Nice steady needed rain making ground prep impossible for me.

[Deleted]

My second wintersown tote got filled today.

Valerian, violets, scentesi pincos and alma paprika.

[LinFL]

Peppers and eggplants are just sprouting indoors. Tomatoes for grafting practice are up and the first of them are starting to get true leaves.

I need to get some more seed starting mix so I can start my "real" tomatoes. This is proving much more difficult than I expected...I can't find anywhere in town with seed starting supplies yet. Unbelievable - this is exactly the right time to start tomatoes, and actually a little late for starting peppers here, yet the stores don't have supplies. (I don't mean they are sold out, I mean they don't have them stocked yet.) One store said they were getting a delivery tomorrow and might have some then. Next year I need to buy this stuff when it goes on fall clearance so I won't be in this bind again.

Outside in the garden are carrots radishes, a little lettuce, a few greens, turnips and beets, and onion and garlic beds. Plus some herbs (chives, parsley, thyme, etc.) Nothing is harvestable right now yet except the herbs, though.

Other than hovering over my Solanaceae sprouts, mostly I have been collecting cardboard to smother grass where the tomato and pepper containers will be. (I am going to cover the cardboard with pine straw for appearance's sake.)

[gardencrazy]

Waiting for snow to melt. ~sigh~ We're actually having a little warm up right now. Unfortunately, there's still a whole lotta winter. I have the seeds picked out to plant this spring. I bought a couple sweet potatoes and hopefully will be able to get them to sprout. I'll start those soon to try and get slips.

[directsunlight]

Jan 9, 2013 16:44:13 GMT -5 LinFL said:

Peppers and eggplants are just sprouting indoors. Tomatoes for grafting practice are up and the first of them are starting to get true leaves.

I need to get some more seed starting mix so I can start my "real" tomatoes. This is proving much more difficult than I expected...I can't find anywhere in town with seed starting supplies yet. Unbelievable - this is exactly the right time to start tomatoes, and actually a little late for starting peppers here, yet the stores don't have supplies. (I don't mean they are sold out, I mean they don't have them stocked yet.) One store said they were getting a delivery tomorrow and might have some then. Next year I need to buy this stuff when it goes on fall clearance so I won't be in this bind again.

Outside in the garden are carrots radishes, a little lettuce, a few greens, turnips and beets, and onion and garlic beds. Plus some herbs (chives, parsley, thyme, etc.) Nothing is harvestable right now yet except the herbs, though.

Other than hovering over my Solanaceae sprouts, mostly I have been collecting cardboard to smother grass where the tomato and pepper containers will be. (I am going to cover the cardboard with pine straw for appearance's sake.)

Wal-mart and Lowe's both have some seed starting supplies here. I don't like the Jiffy mix the big box stores carry too well as I think it's too thin. When I water it washes the seeds around, particularly a problem for tiny seeds like eggplant. It also seems to dry fast when put outside. Right or wrong, I get some high-grade potting soil and use that.

[LinFL]

I don't like the Jiffy Mix, either, but I have been having a hard time getting potting soil without fertilizers anymore, and some seedlings are really sensitive to fertilizers before they get true leaves.

Speaking of "high-grade" potting soil, I was extremely disappointed in the Miracle-Grow potting mix I bought last year, and that (plus some Sta-Green stuff I know I don't like) is all my local big box stores and the local feed store sell. I finally found a local nursery that ordered Pro-Mix for me. It should be here Tuesday. I may end up using that for the rest of my seed starting as well as filling my containers.

I also started using cinnamon to prevent damping off. So far my results have been excellent.

[directsunlight]

I may get the pro mix this time and see how it does. Last year I used a Texas local kind called Rabbit Hill potting mix and it was really good for getting seeds to sprout.

My problem is usually getting the seeds to adjust to being outdoors; dumping the jiffy mix helped a lot with the water retention in the soil but the plants really hated going outside in July for the fall garden even so.

[LinFL]

Ah, I can see where that would be a problem - you're in a desert climate, right? Do you have a porch or can you rig up a shade cloth so you can get them used to the temperatures first, then gradually harden them to the intense sunlight?

[dirtdobber]

Got my Jiffy 72 cell starter kit ready but trying to figure out how to mark what is what so I do not have the problems of last year that it is a tomato but not sure which one is which.

I should have onions in the ground and started but no it is to muddy sighhh.

Snow was pretty this morning here as I was driving home from work.

[gulfcoastguy]

Dobber I just planted a Jiffy 72 cell tonight. I took a pen and labeled the rows one thru 12. Then I took a piece of paper and wrote down what I planted in each row. To help out I planted peppers or eggplant between each variety of maters.

[capebuff]

dd,

i pretty much do the same as gcc.

i put those little sticky "dots" on my tray 1-12 and a - f front to back. make a nice little spreadsheet and varieties seem to stay in place. ( outside of when the cats knock over the whole tray and the pellets are in a heap. ) drats !

works really well when planting an almost obscene number of diff varieties.

[txdirtdawg]

Hey DD,

Similar, but little different than GCG or Cape do. 72 cell trays also for me. Instead of peat pellets, this year I'm going with the 72 cell insert tray and filling with my soiless mix. Same concept applies tho. For reference the tray is divided into 8 compartments of 9 cells each.

I have a lined (I think it is legal size, but not positive. 8 1/2 X 11 normal will work also) spriral that has the wire coil at the top instead of on the side. I draw a box in the spiral that mimics what the tray of cells looks like. I use 2 lines high for a cell which gives me enough room to write in the variety and how many seeds of that variety I put in that cell (I do 1-4 seeds in a cell). I mark the front, back, left and right on the drawn box on the spiral and put a piece of masking type tape on the front, back, left and right of the greenhouse tray and mark appropriately. As I'm placing each cell of seeds, I make sure to record each cell individually to avoid confusion. Then when seeds start sprouting, I can glance at the tape to see if the greenhouse is facing front or back and orient the diagram so I can easily tell what's in that cell. I put the left and right tape on the greenhouse also so that if one of the front or back tapes comes off for any reason, then the left, right and whichever of the front/back tape remains will all match confirming the orientation of the greenhouse. I have had 1 piece of tape come off of 1 greenhouse since I've been doing it this way, but wasn't a problem.

Anyway, that's another way to do it.

Cape: Ouch! I don't know of any method that helps when the tray goes on its head!


ETA: I like the Promix BX also. I couldn't get my hands on it in time for starting this season, so I used LuvsToPlant's recipe and mixed my own. Happy with it too.

[dirtdobber]

Thanks for the advice. They sound pretty easy to keep up with.

My cat has done that to me in the past knocked it off the shelf found a pile of rubble on the floor. I feel your pain.

[Deleted]

So far only one seed company has had the smarts to post (by email) that it shipped today. I don't know if thats a good thing or not. For the confiscatory P+S+H of Johnny's their notification should be on vellum and gold print...

[directsunlight]

Jan 13, 2013 11:39:48 GMT -5 LinFL said:

Ah, I can see where that would be a problem - you're in a desert climate, right? Do you have a porch or can you rig up a shade cloth so you can get them used to the temperatures first, then gradually harden them to the intense sunlight?

I'm in Texas where we get about 36 inches of rain a year. It's pretty hot in the summer, 100-105 in July and August lately. The shade is sparse. My yard slopes down to the southeast so with the slope it seems I get more freezes than others in the area. The lack of shade makes it really hot during the day. I have a porch but it only shields the plants in the afternoon from about 2 onward. I usually try to start the plants close to the back door (gets shade by 2) and then gradually move them further out.

Last year I took a broken shower door and used it as a makeshift shield from the sun, cut it by maybe 1/3 when I angled it right. It weighed about 30 pounds though and had to be propped up by cinderblocks. I looked at shade cloth but it was very expensive ($40-100) and then I would still have to get posts to hold it up. There has to be a way to do it, where the garden can get a more successful start. In the spring I had problems setting things out but it didn't affect the peppers as much as it did the tomatoes.

[dirtdobber]

Well last year my starts got to big as I had a cold rainy end of winter so I waited 3 weeks longer so today I just got all my seeds started and on top of the fridge in the Jiffy Dome hope something sprouts as all seeds are left over from last year. HEHE nervous anticipation.

[txdirtdawg]

DD, as long as they didn't get damp/wet or too hot, you ought to have good germination. Tomato seeds usually have a few to several years of good germination even if they aren't kept with dessicator pouches or frozen.

Good luck on this year's seed starting!

[dirtdobber]

They were in the little zip lock baggies in my desk drawer so I am pretty sure they will be okay. The ones I am curious about are some I saved myself for the first time. I think I did it correct we shall see soon.

[txdirtdawg]

Good luck on the saved seeds then DD. Look forward to hearing your report.

[garrett]

good luck buddy.....

[dirtdobber]

Seeing a few signs of life under the dome still a lot of no shows but it has only been a few days. Will have to move under the lights soon and go with the stretch wrap for the stragglers.


I hope all of your starts grow strong and do well for you to.

[dirtdobber]

Was just checking out the dome most of what has popped their little heads up are the ones I saved looks like all I have learned on theses sites payed off.

[kay]

Wow! May your success continue through out their growing cycle!

[LinFL]

Congratulations!

[dirtdobber]

Thanks you guys and gals I hope you all have a great season. They are under ther lights.

[garrett]

gonna backfill and drop some baby maters tomm.lol

[garrett]

gonna backfill and drop some baby maters tomm.lol

[nightmist]

I've got two feet of snow on the ground, so my garden dirt is staying just as it is for a few more months. ;D

I do have my starting mix soaking. It's naught but worm castings with coir, a hand full of bird or bat guano (bat this year), and a quarter or a third potting soil depending on what I think of the potting soil. One year my DH grabbed some hyponex and I left off the potting soil completely.
I generally start doing starts in January or February, and my relations think I am crazy for starting anything that soon. I just smile and consider how much more I get out of my tomatos and peppers than they do. Some things a good long head start is just the ticket. My onions and leeks do better than theirs do too. They just stick the seed in the ground and do not start them at all. Was it Train that did the vids on shoebox starting? Dude, you rule!

Last year my DH did some tomatos and snow peas, and made sure I did just about nothing. This year I am definitely back in the game (I may have to fight the man off with a rake), for he has left me a piece of work for sure! I've got dock and grapes invading the strawberry bed, the raspberries have run wild, the roses are in desperate need of pegging, and I don't think he weeded the asparagus even once. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

I may have to press the kids and their friends into service as garden slaves, but by gosh I am going to get at least some of what needs done done!

[kay]

Yeah, about half the tomatos and peppers have sprouted. Hopefully, the rest will sprout tonight or tomorrow. Am getting anxious to see green growing things!