SEED STARTING Methods 2012, Part 3

Dear Jnette I did answer you already on the other thread.
Yes, it is good and exciting that the plants are growing healthy, making flowers and lot of fruits.
What else would you want, right?

Have a look at season 2011 ... it is a long post, just scroll to the pictures and you will be happily surprised:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1174653/

Just remember that I am no expert and I do have a small garden. I make the best of my garden and growing condition.

Good luck to you.

Jnette,

You are thinking of Cricket, look at her threads "Tomato Adventures #1 and #2".

David

You are right David, I was sure it was someone else but forgot Cricket. Thanks

yes, have a look at Cricket.
She is amazing.
I just grow tomatoes for my family of two, she does commercially.

To clarify my message written at 6 AM this morning, I am 100% in agreement with Linda, when she said early on, that this thread should not be limited to just tomatoes but should go wherever it could discussing seed starting. When TX reminded us this thread is on the Tomatoi forum, I was only suggesting that if anyone had something to say about tomatoes, that would be fine, but by no means did i want to stop the comments about Okra, pumpkins, watermelons, nor anything else. Since the subject switched abruptly to, and have been limited, i am concerned that my rather cryptic remark may have been misunderstood.

I have found this thread to be the most interesting of the ones i have seen.

Ernie

Ernie, don't be defensive, nobody takes offense I don't think. After 3 posts later nobody remembers it anyway. I don't think. Unless they were offended I guess. Then they would remember. LOL,

I don't grow those things, but do enjoy reading about them. I grow only tomatoes. Very limited. I just don't get enough sun for most things so I plant my tomatoes where they are in the sun the most.

I planted my tomato seeds, or sowed them, on April 1st and used the rr plugs on most and some ro potting mix on a few. The ones in the mix seem to be a little ahead of the others, but then I put some kelp blend on some of them yesterday and all of a sudden they are about an inch taller. They all seem to be getting their 2nd or 3rd true leaves. Are about 3 inches tall. But, I am using about 12 different kinds of tomatoes so can't expect them all to be the same either.

As you many ,are only small postage stamp orittle family gardens. The idea about being offended isn't really here.... Not to worry we'll all be back as things go along,

Tomatoes i've got going

marglobe
ester hess
farmstead
the melons' orangeglo, kleckley's sweet

other'minnesota midget' more to come later.

Juhur, that sounds like a good mix of tomatoes. I have not tried any of those. Please let us know how you like them. Have you grown them before??

The Marglobe I've grown off and on since 1970, it's red, a lot like the store produce, only with a much fresher taste, the later presumptively obvious. It's what I refer to as a nice tomato.

the other tomatoes are first time for me.

orangeglo; the sweet's; the midget; all firsts for me.There are some more that will come later. tomatoes dr.wyche and suger lump are the seeds pic'd on this thread. I'm afraid somthing has happened to them and may have to start over.

Juhur,

Marglobe was the only tomato my dad would grow when we had a garden when I was a kid. Through the Seventies we planted them every year. Seems like usually we had at least 20 plants. We mulched with old hay and let the plants sprawl where-ever they wanted. We had tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and supper... seemingly all summer long. My mama canned tomatoes, tomato juice, and vegetable soup (with tomatoes). It was all delicious. My sister still has a jar of the vegetable soup mama canned the summer before she died, over 30 years ago. It is still beautiful, though I don't imagine it has all that much flavor anymore. To me, nothing says summer like a bacon-and-tomato sandwich on fresh whitebread with a tomato straight from the garden. That is best followed-up by roadside blackberries, with a little sweet cream!

David

David, you forgot the lettuce...LOL... We grew the Jersey Beefsteaks for several years and they were great right out of the garden...

David, think that is what we all grow tomatoes for. Those BLTs.

I didn't know that a bacon and tomato had lettuce until I left home for college. I always had about 6 slices of bacon and 3-5 big slices of tomato, with or without a little Miracle Whip. The soft, fresh white bread was also key.

Imagine my surprise the first time I ordered a bacon and tomato sandwich in the dorm cafeteria to get this thing on toast, overwhelmed with lettuce, maybe three slices of bacon total, and one small slice of tomato per half sandwich.... I was crushed! I have since learned to eat commercial BLTs, but the home style is by far my preference. I can hardly wait for that first ripe tomato of the year!

When Linda started this thread , it was Seed Starting Methods . Seeds are seeds . Don't think she intended to limit it to one group of fruits , veggies . Correct me if I'm wrong , Linda .

Digger, et al,
You are correct in that this thread is an open discussion of all the VARIOUS seeds we may be starting. In three threads, over 3800 views have been documented, which means that, even though just a few of us are engaged in active discussion, a LOT of people are following this discussion to see what we're talking about!

So. Carry on....

Matter of fact, I'll have some pics tomorrow of the flat of eggplants, okras, bell peppers, cukes, and squash that have germinated in the IHORT seed plugs. The squash plant is GORGEOUS!

I would like to ask that we curtail posting pics of our mature crops here, as this thread is for seed starting methods. A separate thread has already been created, and is available for posting your pics, when you have something to show in the way of your Spring/Summer 2012 harvests.

Here is the link to the SPRING-SUMMER 2012: WHAT IS YOUR VEGGIE GARDEN YIELDING? thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1249659/

Please go there, and set your "watch thread" function, as people have begun posting some pics there already.

Godspeed, and Good Harvest!

Linda

Linda, I came back in to post that this Is the tomato forum and I was probably wrong to think it was for all seed starting . Thanks for clarifying .

I think that since it is for seed starting it is OK for all--even tho it is under the Tomato forum. I think I am correct in that Linda is open to most all- we have just been thru a spell where paople were dissed for posting on "inappropriate" threads, and this is why Linda has started so many diverse threads-- am I right, Linda??? Keep up the good work, GG !

Thank You, Jo!

Looking forward to your pics on the "YIELDING" thread!

Hugs!

P.S. Starting this thread under the TOMATOES forum was not my original intent, however, "it is where it is!" Actually, the title says it all, now that I look at it again -- there is no mention of ANY particular fruit there! So, we're good to continue as is!

Luving you guys, and this discussion, immensely!

Gymgirl

Jnette; thank's for asking about my luck with the tomatoes, we'll come back to that .

dreaves; I LOVE THAT STORY!! . Still I''m thinking I enjoy a good fresh tomato

digger9083; The seeds," tomato" this time in the pics one started in spray &grow the other in the peroxide water.The melons got discussed some about light methods and keeping them completely dark for germination"preferred method of most" .Personally I'm in no hurry with the melons so I will germinate thier seeds using either method. The ones in full light uncovered are darker and more robust this season. Other seasons the darkness covered have been more robust and healthy appearing,why that is 'GOT ME?'
THE SEED , THE TEMPERATURE, the dark or light intensity, all factors being there ,Including soil. All most forgot that, can't forget the soil.my goodness!

Me too you guys, even if I am way behind you. Fun to hear what you all are finding out with how you do things. Good thread. Jeanette

We crossposted Juhur what pics are you talking about? Or did I read it wrong?

Mostly this time the top of this page #9079932 is the first , if you have to backspace or something and it's probably not worth doing, i'll put the pic's up again later, as i'm thinking we'll stll be here.

And I forgot to ask if the tomatoes do well later ,if you would like to try some them ?

The 2 dollar digicam , and having some fun, I'm walking around like playing with a new toy,

Jnette,

Juhur7 is referring to the pics he posted way up top: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9079932

This did start out as a seed starting thread for tomatoes but people used the plugs for other seeds as well as cuttings. So as long as Linda doesnt mind it seems like the perfect place to share results. Im enjoying reading about everybody's experiences and looking forward to more.

Since i'm up in the middle of the night here I go again. The first two are last weeks pic ,the pic's 3 and 4 as the plant is now.pic3 is near true color, pic 4 gives clue to true size.

Notice the seed leaves from five days ago,those have all been covered and mulched.As have all the leaves in in pic 1&2. Plant is marglobe,grows easiest for me,is about 8 inches of growth,growth of leaves is uneven ,stem is well but is slightly red and not as green and fleshy as would be,leaves are lacking hares. these are all because of lower than favored temperatures.
However plant shows no damage at this point.

Here's a pictorial update on the seeds I started in the IHORTs on April 6th:

#1 & #2 These okra seeds were soaked for 4 days? in H2O2, and had root nubs waaaaaay long (couldn't get to them soon enough)

So, I remembered some extra IHORT plugs and drilled the hole down further with a chopstick, and planted the sprouted okra seeds. Was careful to not damage the root nub when I pushed em down into the plug.

Evidently, it worked!

Pic #3 is at 11 days from the H2O2 soak. They are looking really good, and will start making patio field trips pretty soon! No real hurry, cuz we're gonna have Texas HEAT for the next 6 months!!!

Here's the update on a Bush Zuchinni Squash, "plugged" on 4/6/12.

Pic #1 is @ 7 days in the IHORT Plug
Pic #2 is @ 11 days in the IHORT Plug

All my okra in the IHORT plugs are up ...

#1 is Cajun Delight
#2 is Red Burgundy
#3 Shows Eggplants in IHORT Plugs @ 17 days from plugging.


This message was edited Apr 17, 2012 10:21 AM

Grrrrr !

Uh, Digger,

Is that Grrrrr because it's cold there, or are you being a "player hater?"

If you are being a "player hater," don't hate ------------- P-A-R-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-E!!!

LOL!!!^^_^^


Grrrrrrrrr on you and Wanda for the fun ya'll are gonna have without me!!!!

Mess with me and I'll be on a fast plane to Hotlanta!! LOL!

Ok, Horn,

I'm sold on the IHORT plugs, no doubt about it, hands down.

With that said, I'm pricing 200-300 for the fall/wtr season....

Grrrr is envy . Wanda will spend the night . Can't wait to meet her and plane tickets are cheaper than gas .

Here's an update on my homemade PVC seed plug tray.

#1 is the drawer with the PVC tubes of seedlings
#2 is Early Sunsation Bell Peppers
#3 is Chamomile

The tray has been outside in a shaded area. The bells in this tray have come up before the bells inside under lights.

Pretty cool GG. How deep are they? I tried deeper pots one time and just put an inch or two of potting mix in the bottom and then as the tomatoes grew I added more mix. I thought that way it would take care of the up-potting. Don't remember how it worked. I think it took up too much room to start out with.

I was thinking the same some time ago about the pvc plugs , ended up using paper towel cardboard rolls. There's flwer seedlings in them presently and I'm suprised they stayed together.
It looks like a few 2/4'S and pvc would be better, thank you for letting me see how that's been working.
I really like plopping the root balls or plugs into the earth, lots of ease!

Jnette,
The PVC tubes are 4" long.

Juhur7,
The 2x4s aren't 2x4s. That's an old drawer I got for $1 at a garage sale. I bought a bunch of them and just now got around to using them. Almost threw them out last month!

I'll use a smaller diameter pvc piece to push the plugs out from the top. The good part is I just learned that the herbs I planted don't like the same watering conditions, so I can just lift and group the plugs with similar watering needs into another drawer until they're fully established and ready for planting into an herb container!

EZ button!

Here's the link to the original discussion of the PVC seed starter tray:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1067922/#post_7451170

And here are two pics of the original design, plus the instructions from the designer.

Linda

This message was edited Apr 18, 2012 4:22 PM

Sorry,
My instructions are in a PDF file. If you want it, send me your email addy in a dmail and I'll forward it to you.

You can get the instructions from the link I posted, too. I just reworked them into one sheet for EZ reference.

I was unclear about meaning, I already have some unused 2/4s laying around. As It is I put the plugs in aluminium cake pans as I have three or four of those, and I can use them indoors or outdoors, I''ll probably continue with the pans.
The pans also being about three or four for a dollar ,however they don't do as much for helping people at rummage or garage sales,And they're not as solid as the drawers.Gives me somthing to consider the next time my neighbors are throwing away dressers and such.
,

Still not as nice or neat as yours, these are couple of watermelons YEAH. OK,I'm still playing with my 2,99 for for postage digi minicam .
Patience,humor, and thank you again for the view and the link.

Juhur7,
That pan and those seedlings look FINE to me! Just hope your tubes hold up. The might need a piece of tape...