SEED STARTING Methods 2012, Part 3

We came from here:
Seed Starting Methods 2012
PART I http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1246528/
PART II http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1248111/

This season, Hornstrider used IHORT and Root Riot Seed Starting plugs instead of Jiffy Mix to start his tomato seedlings, and his results thus far have been outstanding. Hornstrider reports that he has the biggest, thickest stemmed, healthiest, greenest tomato plants he's ever started!

And, one of the greatest "plugs" for the plugs is that Horn DIDN'T MAKE A MESS! No potting mix flying everywhere!

Since this info could be helpful to people who have not started their seedlings yet (like the folks up north), we opened up a lively discussion on seed-starting methods. Feel free to join us. Catch up on the first TWO threads, then come back and share your own methods here, and post plenty of pictures!

Godspeed, and Good Harvest! ^^_^^


This message was edited Apr 12, 2012 12:59 PM

Good morning GG, guess I'm the first one here. Wow, you must have just started this. Good time to start it new. Have a good day. Jeanette

I have a question about the plugs:

Most seeds germinate in the dark. From what I gather, to use plugs, one just drops a seed down the hole.

Question:

Does one have to cover the top of the plugs in order to put the seeds in the dark?

Bee- I surface sow all my Nightshade seeds, well pretty much all my seeds, Ive read that it can aid in germination. Either way, it shouldn't be an issue when using the plugs. How cold did it get last night?

Linda-can you add that Horn didnt make a mess? lol Thats a big selling point to me. Im going to try them when Im messing around during the "dog days of summer". ATM I dont care if I never see another plant!

Done!

HEHE, Thanks!

Bee,
The hole in the plug is drilled down about 1/2". Some of the plugs are closed really tight and you have to squeeze it to open the hole. Once you do, the hole closes back. Most are open, however, but a dibble of potting mix should do the trick to plug it up!

I'm enjoying being able to peer down into some of the holes and see seeds germinating in motion!

Two eggplant varieties, and the cukes and squash were up in 6 days -- waaaay up!

Those okra seeds I soaked in H2O2 had nubs overnight, and I couldn't get to them fast enough. Last night was the best I could do after about 4 days. I was gonna plant them in yogurt cups of RO, but I had some plugs left over. Since the nub roots had grown longer than the hole in the plug, I just grabbed a wooden chopstick and drilled the hole down further.

Then I shoved the (mostly) corkscrewed okra roots down into the hole so the seed cap was flush with the top of the hole. I put the plugs in a large-cell tray, and got 3 plugs to fit in each cell without tipping over. Then I put the tray under the lights (yeah, I know, but, I'm addicted to my fluorescent lights....)

Anyways, this morning I noticed the seed caps were rising from the plugs. I'll take pics at some point. Waaaaaaaaaay behind on pics!

Linda

I have not bought the Ihort plugs yet, as i am still using up the RR plugs, but i recall reading about the Ihorts, where it said the round holes are for starting cuttings, and they have them with slits for starting seeds.

ernie

Ernie,
That makes perfect sense! I think this batch was a mix of mostly the cuttings holes. I only had a few with close slits.

I didn't pay any attention. A lot of mine the slits weren't very deep. I took the back end of a BIC pen and shoved it down with the seed on all of them. Didn't pay any attention to whether there was light getting in or not. All but 3 came up I poked new seeds in each that didn't. Will probably get 2 in each of those. Those are the RR plugs.

Seeds being soaked for starting ,later harvest.

Maybe this winter ? I'm getting hooked .
Linda , please don't grow me any more collards . I have enough in the freezer to last a year . Weren't they pretty ?I cut them back after harvest and got another picking .
Lisa , I'll take extra suckers so you can have some too . So sorry about the pig , he was sweet . Can't believe how smart they are .500/700 , I just knew he was BIG .
Need more pots of various sizes , Linda ? I have hundreds .The plants you grow and give away , I can supply lots .
Where do you get the plugs ? Looks like I'm gonna get some too .

Another person who has joined the ranks of the addicted. Just set up the "My Lowe's" deal and all them items in it are for the seed shelf set-up for next year. Lights, shelf unit, and all the fixin's...

The Bradley Tomatoes started on the 1st are about an inch tall, but they look very thin-stemmed. They were in the 50-cell Jiffy GH that's been spending the mid-morning to late afternoon out in the sun. I have been putting them back in the workshop at night under the shop lights.

I put some Beefsteak seeds in 3" Jiffy Peat Pots with Burpee Seed Starter and those seem to be doing better than the Bradleys. The beef's have been spending more time hardening and should be ready to go to the containers in the next couple weeks.

Lisa - it was 44F this morning. I don't know how cold it got, but I had to add two more blankets to the bed last night!
This is supposed to be the last cold night of Spring. Next week the night time temps are forcast to be in the 50's and 60's. YAY - I can finally set out some tomato/melon/squash transplants and start hardening-off more.

Linda- I put a very small amount of potting mix in the top of the plugs when I sowed watermelon seeds on March 30th and so far only two have sprouted. I was beginning to think I should not have done this. My plugs have holes - no slits.

Digger that would be great! Dont really need anymore but..

Bee-I would just dump those out and start again. The design is for seeds or cuttings and I believe it is more for convenience. I would just stick the seed in and let her rip. We are supposed to get into the 50s at night next week. Thats low for this time of year.

Bee,
Don't discount the fact that those particular seeds may not be viable. I'd give them awhile more.

I sure hope these seeds are viable. They are seedless watermelons plus a package of other seeds for pollination. There were five seedless and four pollination seeds at a cost of $7.45!

Well after soaking there planted, about the time I'm done showing the pics I'll have made the kindergarten page about starting tomatoes.

It's not that I'm not learning anything, and
as I really was enjoying a few conversations about water and the effects that has,all about control to get the best plants possible.


The plants growing under frost protection being the example of my own eagerness or extreme to accomplish this.I was and am searching for the not so large as a greenhouse for outdoor starting of the garden plants (etc seeds).

My old way with the bean cans freezer bags and recently the red coffee can seems to be working pretty well. The thickness of the red material seems to have somthing to do with that.The weather here , when it frosts ,requires protection that is nearly the same as if growing the plants through the winter. The barrier between the containers freeze dried the production potting soil making actual form of "outer space.'With the inner container baggies heated during the sunnier part of the day, the space holds down on the heated inner container,so far that has given protection to seedlings with temps of about 20degrees

That seems to act as a form of evaporter ,maybe somtime a natural water collector (like dehumidifier) can be accomplished from that.

So far only thing that comes to mind is a cold frame greenhouse inside with a red greenhouse over that(LOL) models anyone.

I am using a growlight for the first time. How many hours a day should i use it, and if the answer is not 24 hours, should it be used during the day to boost the light coming in from the south facing window, or at night?

Thanks,
Ernie

Ernie, I had my lights on a timer and ran them for 16 hours a day. Time started at 6:00 and stopped at 10:00 pm.

David,

If i cannot find my timer, will it hurt them to leave it on 24 hours?

Just turn them on when you get up and off when you go to sleep.

Yes Ernie. Do not leave them on 24 hours.

They need a period of darkness to process the photosynthesis or something to that effect.

Okay, Thank you for information and advice.
Ernie

honeybee nc ; Did you try covering them completely in darkness with bottom heat, like on top the water heater or fridge if you are'nt
using a mat.?
I ask as I miss a few things,I've had a few that took took five or six weeks, and they've usually been the F1 Type requiring pollinators.Ive gone back to hierlooms since, as i'm not that good at it.

And I forgot to thank you for your concern on the other thread,grandma thinks it was acid rain in the frost, she's usually right.


an hierloom watermelon sprout, not really looking as happy and contented as it might.

juhur7 - the watermelon seeds are in complete darkness, on a heat mat.

Thanks for saying that it might take five or six weeks for them to sprout - I'm just too impatient!

Wow, it takes that long for them to germinate??? I'm sure glad I'm not growing them. My season would be over before I got them planted.

Jnette -

Hello BEE; We might be remembering a conversation from last spring or fall, maybe the season before that. We were conversing about watermelons,I believe that about the time you broke down and bought that heating mat.That because you were tired of germinating seeds on top of some power device.

I went on some about a triple crown hybrid, how it required pollinator,, the polinators all died, and had planted the two or three remaining plants anyway.The time and frustration it had taken to start them,well It turned out resulting in an 18 pound or so triple crown melon. With no pollinator I'm still wondering to this very day how that happened.:)

Maybe one your namesakes did me a favor.

jnette ; The other part of the story "jack o lantern" pumpkin crossed with "black diamond" prettiest pumpkin squash in the shape of a watermelon you ever saw.

Juhur, I do wish my season was long enough to grow them. Sounds like fun.

Do you believe i'm still going in and around and typing here.

Jnette; aww c'mon that has to be some kind of something in the catagory that you can grow

Jnette, juhur, & Honeybee.... In line with the last couple posts, myself and grand daughter sowed 4 different types of WM in a Jiffy 16 GH on Monday, and this morning checked them and 1 of the Crimson Sweets is already an 1 1/2" tall. We've had almost 90% germination, so far. We did Bush Sugar Baby's, Congo's & Little Gems...

These were done in the workshop 80*+ during the day, under lights, and mid-60's at night, no pad or anything else...

Yeah Juhur, Cucumbers. LOL

kevcarr59, Oh, I can grow them but they would never have time to get ripe.

I planted 5 Lily Miller Sugar Baby Watermelons and 5 Burpee Sugar Baby WM, side by side in a 10 hole tray using RR plugs. The five Lily Miller seeds sprouted in just 2 or 3 days and are three inches tall now, but NONE of the Burpee seeds have sprouted yet. The Burpee seeds did look like they may have come from an Egyptian Tomb under a Pyramid.
Ernie

tomatoes, anyone?

Tell us about the tomatoes, or shall we let the discussion die?

My tomatoes are almost ready ... lots of green ones right now ...
here some : Cherokee Purple (loaded even more on the top), Gold Nugget, Sungold ... millions more

Drthor, I posted some questions to you on your thread. I don't want to retype them here so am waiting for your response. Thanks,

But then maybe again, someone here might be interested so will ask again. You said your plants were growing like 4" overnight. Or 2, don't remember exactly. And you also said that you were taking your suckers off every day, or whatever. Keeping them off anyway. So, my question is, what is the production at the end of the year by doing it this way compared to leaving some of the suckers on???? It sounds like you are just excited about the rapid growth and the tomatoes you have now. How long are they going to keep producing, those few stems that you are leaving on.

I should have asked Linda, Gym Girl, this. Isn't she the one that has so many and sells?