|
I'm on team "start in a nursery pot", especially for tomatoes which will just happily grow extra roots if you add more soil. Basically just a very shallow 2-3cm layer of potting soil, enough for the heating pad to do its thing. Poke in 2-3 seeds per pot if I'm worried about germination rate. Then transplant to other nursery pots or murder them depending on how many seedlings I need. But that's dealing with very limited balcony gardening space, I pretty much stick to 6-7 medium pots nowadays. If I had to start a large garden from seed, I'd hope I also have more space to still start the seedlings from nursery pots rather than use seedling trays.
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 22:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 08:14 |
|
|
It also depends on how long your growing season is and how early you’re starting.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 22:28
|
|
|
DrBouvenstein posted:Wondering if people here in general like those seed start trays (can't deny the density of seeds per square inch) or if you just prefer to start directly in a slightly larger container? I use these https://www.neversinktools.com/products/winstrip-trays and they are great if you don't have to re pot. Pricy though, intended for market gardening.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 22:35
|
|
|
I've been using the peat coins for years now. I finally am fed up with them now that I'm able to be more serious about gardening. This year I'm testing out the jiffy starter pots where you plant the whole pot. We'll see how it goes. I'm not doing any heat pads because that seems like too much work. If they don't grow then I've started too early. Now, if I were in zone 4 or something then I'd be more keen on using a heat pad, but here in zone 6 the grow season in long enough for pretty much anything.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 22:50
|
|
|
How well does it work to use folded newspaper as a starter pot?
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 22:52
|
|
|
This year I'm going to try using a mould to make seedling blocks which I will then plop into larger pots once things germinate.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 22:54
|
|
|
Earth posted:This year I'm testing out the jiffy starter pots where you plant the whole pot. Mine never "decayed", leaving my plants severely root bound until I extracted them anyway. They are seriously a terrible invention driven by the need to ever consume. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 23:22
|
|
|
I'm going to go with the tried-and-true "leftover yogurt cups" for seed starting
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 23:26
|
|
|
I have a stack of 4" pots that came with plants bought from nurseries over the years. I fill 'em with soil from the raised beds the plants'll be going into. This year started 'em all about two and a half weeks ago. The biggest are the cukes, which are just about to put out their first set of true leaves. A bunch of the peppers have just started breaking the soil. So far looks like there's been some germination in each of the (four dozen or so) pots. Organic Lube User posted:How well does it work to use folded newspaper as a starter pot? Mostly just used it for notoriously difficult to germinate seeds, like when I was trying to get Sichuan peppercorn seeds to germinate (as part of the roughly nineteen million different approaches I tried).
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 23:41
|
|
|
I have the best luck with trays of little plastic starter pots. The seedling is big enough to transplant once you can turn it over and pop it out in one piece (once the roots can hold the soil together). Sometimes can get a bunch for free, with a tray, at lowes or home depot by the garden center registers. That's where they dump spare pots for people to take. Those peat pots don't seem to make for healthy seedlings for whatever reason. I did some side by side with some plastic last year and had bad results.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 23:46
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:This year I'm going to try using a mould to make seedling blocks which I will then plop into larger pots once things germinate. I have done this and it works best if you press the soil in firmly while wet so they hold their shape when you leave them in blocks. I never got around to buying the molds for it, and I may never. Just doesn’t seem to be necessary for my garden size. If you do your poly tunnel I’d definitely get the soil block molds to do this. You can still just water the bottom of your tray for it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 23:48
|
|
|
Jhet posted:I have done this and it works best if you press the soil in firmly while wet so they hold their shape when you leave them in blocks. I never got around to buying the molds for it, and I may never. Just doesn’t seem to be necessary for my garden size. That's the plan! I actually 3d printed my soil block mold 
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:21
|
|
|
I'm using plain trays for initial germination, and a bulk box of reusable 4" pots for stuff that gets too large. I only ended up repotting tomatoes, peppers, dahlias and celosia. The soil block mold is something I do want to try in the future. I will say that those loving peat pots never, ever seem to break down and I have to rip them off to preserve the plants inside. The ones I planted without removal never thrived and died off. Terrible.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:34
|
|
|
Solkanar512 posted:I will say that those loving peat pots never, ever seem to break down and I have to rip them off to preserve the plants inside. The ones I planted without removal never thrived and died off. Terrible. They refused to break down in the middle of my compost pile. I had grape vines that would break down faster than those things.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:37
|
|
|
I use them as screens to keep the dirt in on the bottom of pots on my balcony since they last for years
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:40
|
|
|
Sylink posted:I use these https://www.neversinktools.com/products/winstrip-trays and they are great if you don't have to re pot. Pricy though, intended for market gardening. What do you like about these in particular? Is the whole point that they're easy to pop out when it's time to plant but also avoids the whole problem of roots getting tangled together in a standard flat tray?
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:46
|
|
|
No, I meant folding newspapers into little pots and filling them with soil. I'd imagine you'd then plant them directly in the soil, and I'd assume they'd break down for root passage.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:52
|
|
|
Jan posted:Mine never "decayed", leaving my plants severely root bound until I extracted them anyway. Solkanar512 posted:I will say that those loving peat pots never, ever seem to break down and I have to rip them off to preserve the plants inside. The ones I planted without removal never thrived and died off. Terrible. This was my experience with coco-coir pots. I didn't use them for starting but a couple of the plants I put in the garden last spring came in them and the seller said to just put them in the ground so I gave it a shot. They were the only plants that were the same size in the fall as they were when I put them in. I dug them out and the pots hadn't broken down at all and none of the plants had managed to root through so I replanted them potless. I guess I know for next time.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 00:58
|
|
|
Organic Lube User posted:No, I meant folding newspapers into little pots and filling them with soil. I'd imagine you'd then plant them directly in the soil, and I'd assume they'd break down for root passage.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 01:41
|
|
|
vonnegutt posted:I'm going to go with the tried-and-true "leftover yogurt cups" for seed starting  We use 4 cup yogurt containers or solo cups depending on what it is and what we have available. Has always worked better than seed trays or Jiffy pots for us.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 04:36
|
|
|
Any recommendations on a place to order sprouting seeds (mung beans, alfalfa, clover, etc.) in bulk, like 8-16oz bags? The first thing that popped up on Google was Todd's Seeds, which looks fine, but I'm open to suggestions or supporting somebody's favorite little shop. Our local nursery has been out of stock of sprouting seeds for some time, and we're running low on a few things. My spouse makes spring rolls with our sprouts and garden produce (for the moment, that's cucumbers, dill, basil and mint; lima beans and peppers coming soon) and they're so loving nice. Wrap all my food in a thin layer of starch, please. In garden tent news, the German Extreme Bush tomatoes have emerged in the starter pot I have hanging in there, just in time to replace a Bush Champ Hybrid II that is about done. My lesson learned with that tomato plant was "no, you are not going to over-fertilize it." That tomato was very grouchy for the bulk of its life, with lots of wilting and browning leaves, even as it grew larger and larger and flowered/fruited. I was giving it what I thought was quite a bit of tomato fertilizer (doing what the packaging suggested), but once it had a bunch of fruits that stopped growing for a week+ and didn't ripen, I said "gently caress it" and put a double helping in, and within two days the fruits were growing again, and the larger ones were ripening right up. I also stopped finding new crunchy leaves everyday. So yeah, I'm gonna stop worrying about overfeeding tomatoes until I actually do it by mistake. The German Extreme Bush will be growing with plenty of compost (we were out of compost when we planted the Bush Champ, so it was just in potting soil with fertilizer), but if I see any of the issues that the Champ had, then I'm gonna give the German Extreme Bush a bunch of food and see if that helps. I like typing "German Extreme Bush." On a side note, our Ashe County Pimento pepper is fruiting left and right. We started it from seed on 12/22, and the fruits started popping up a few weeks ago.  Not pictured: like 10 more tiny ones in the leaves above. Sometimes I wonder if the little thing's trying too hard and I feel bad for it, but then I remember that it's a loving plant.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 04:55
|
|
|
It's weird, but I've never ended up with root bound plants on the occasions where I've used those peat pellets. They never loving break down, but the roots always bust out just fine and the plants end up doing well. I always ran into the opposite problem where I'd leave the pellets in the tray just a few days longer than I should have, and the roots would escape and then bust right through the netting of their neighbors. I finally decided to stop using them when I went to pull out some itty bitty tomato seedlings and found that they essentially formed a solid 2x3 block of pellets.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 06:18
|
|
|
Jhet posted:I have done this and it works best if you press the soil in firmly while wet so they hold their shape when you leave them in blocks. I never got around to buying the molds for it, and I may never. Just doesn’t seem to be necessary for my garden size. I bought the molds five years ago. They weren't cheap then and I just noticed they've doubled in price since.  Brexit must be working its magic.At least they're built to last. If one does break I will definitely replace it now even at the new and improved price. Way better results than peat pots and fumbling around trying to extract plants from 72 cell tray inserts. YouTube has a bunch of videos for DIY soil molds. I suspect most people would be fine with some way of molding a 2x2 cube or some approximation and starting everything in that. I just like geeking out on the nesting blocks. One thing that helped a lot was going to the dollar store and buying a cheap set of sugar tongs, ice tongs, and a spatula. After hammering the tongs flat they make handling the soil blocks a lot easier. CommonShore posted:That's the plan! I actually 3d printed my soil block mold That rules! If anyone's interested, Elliot Coleman's soil block recipe has worked well for us. You go through a lot if you hold a big tomato crop inside for too long and need to pot up everything to 4x4 cubes. silicone thrills posted:Is there anywhere online other than facebook and nextdoor that people do plant trades? I had to drop my facebook account because it was making me sad and mad every day and obviously nextdoor is full of nightmares. Not sure if there's something else good in the area. See if you can find the local gardening clubs. Hopefully they've moved off Facebook and onto their own website like mine has done. I really miss the Seedy Sundays we used to have. Way too many people crammed into auditoriums for my taste even before Covid, but at least it was a chance to talk with the handful of people pushing boundaries with native plants and exotics. I was going to get a loquat this year. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 07:42
|
|
|
Shine posted:Any recommendations on a place to order sprouting seeds (mung beans, alfalfa, clover, etc.) in bulk, like 8-16oz bags? The first thing that popped up on Google was Todd's Seeds, which looks fine, but I'm open to suggestions or supporting somebody's favorite little shop. Our local nursery has been out of stock of sprouting seeds for some time, and we're running low on a few things. My spouse makes spring rolls with our sprouts and garden produce (for the moment, that's cucumbers, dill, basil and mint; lima beans and peppers coming soon) and they're so loving nice. Wrap all my food in a thin layer of starch, please. My wife just sprouted mung beans that she got from nuts.com. They don't advertise specifically for sprouting, but the organic ones say they can be used for it: https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/beans/mung/organic/1lb.html From a quick search, their organic alfalfa seeds say the same, though they don't seem to sell clover.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 15:39
|
|
|
Solkanar512 posted:What do you like about these in particular? Is the whole point that they're easy to pop out when it's time to plant but also avoids the whole problem of roots getting tangled together in a standard flat tray? They are easy to pop out. The roots get stopped by exposure to the air by the design so they don't propagate too much but they can get a little tangly if you leave them in a tray with water. Prevents the roots from spiraling into a ball. I have 10 of them but I use them all so that's 720 plants I can start at once. They are also really thick plastic so they hold up instead of the flimsy ones you usually see Sylink fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Mar 3, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 15:39
|
|
|
I still have good luck with the little 8 pod seed trays, just bottom watering them with a heat mat and grow light. I dont have a ton of space so I give away some to friends and family and save the strongest to move into bigger pots. Then I start hardening the bigger pots moving them in and out for about 2 weeks before they go in the ground. Its a war of attrition for me. Seeds are cheap so grow a bunch and plant the strongest. Some plants I'll plant direct in big pots for the whole season like peppers. Pepper plants at least in my area seem to love being grown in pots as opposed to the ground.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 16:13
|
|
|
Also depends on what scale you are gardening at for seed starting. We garden about a fifth to a quarter acre in area with standard market garden beds.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 16:38
|
|
|
Thanks for everyone commenting on the jiffy starter pots that are "plant in ground" I've used them before and have always ripped off every part of the pot I could before planting them. My partner would complain at me that they can just be planted, but I never believed it and wasn't willing to test it. I would throw the pot into the compost. If part of it wouldn't rip off (like the bottom wouldn't always rip off) I'd plant with that part that wouldn't come off easily. Looks like I might have to consider starting with something else next year. I like the idea of using yogurt cups. I suspect I'll have to go back to work one of these days and I'll start eating yogurt cups again. I save some of my plant starters I get from Lowes (I buy begonias every year) and might try those too.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:58
|
|
|
nthing that Jiffy pots suck. I don't plan ever to use them again.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 21:38
|
|
|
Got approval from the missus to get a small cheap greenhouse from wally world so I can start some seeds, so I was wondering if I'd need to get a bunch of heating mats too (because that's expensive) or if there's a cheaper way to keep the whole assemblage warm enough at night, like a space heater or something. It's gonna be like a 60"x60" area. Any advice?
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 23:45
|
|
|
It depends on the construction of the greenhouse, but it’s feasible to heat the thing to maybe ten or twenty degrees Fahrenheit above ambient with an electric space heater for one or two bucks per night.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 23:58
|
|
|
Organic Lube User posted:Got approval from the missus to get a small cheap greenhouse from wally world so I can start some seeds, so I was wondering if I'd need to get a bunch of heating mats too (because that's expensive) or if there's a cheaper way to keep the whole assemblage warm enough at night, like a space heater or something. It's gonna be like a 60"x60" area. Any advice? How tall are we talking here, some sort of cold frame situation that's maybe a foot or two tall? Or an actual greenhouse greenhouse that's like a 5'x5' closet? If the latter, what sort of shelving are you going to have, what's the layout you're thinking about? I would be cautious about using a space heater in such a small area - it's going to be left unattended in a really humid environment so that needs to be taken care of. If such a thing is indeed safe (I honestly don't know if it is or not) make sure it's a type that can handle really humid environments, it's on a flat, level surface that won't turn into a puddle when it rains, maybe have a fan (similarly protected) in there as well. All of this of course plugged into a GFCI type outlet (the type in your bathroom with the test/reset buttons). Maybe this is actually ok, I just don't personally know. Otherwise, I think it might be better to look into heating mats or soil heating cables. If it's more of a coldframe/hotbed situation, look at my prior posts about running a hotbed and let me know if you have further questions there. Also, are you looking to just germinate seed/get a head start for outdoor planting, or are you going to be growing things inside there that generally won't be leaving?
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 23:58
|
|
|
It's the cheapest plastic greenhouse kit I can find at Walmart. My budget is like $100 for this purchase, and that one is $70, so I figure I could get one heating mat on top of that, or I could get a space heater that I'll probably only run at night with it's thermistor set so it hopefully doesn't run the entire time. I'm in Colorado, zone 5b, if that gives you some idea of climate. I'm only going to use it for starting seeds, really. I might grow a couple things in it longer term later on if it's convenient, but that's not the plan. Edit: This thing. Organic Lube User fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Mar 4, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 00:14
|
|
|
vonnegutt posted:I'm going to go with the tried-and-true "leftover yogurt cups" for seed starting The only times I've used seed starting trays have been for things like greens, herbs, etc but even then in my case I have better luck just direct sowing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 00:54
|
|
|
Organic Lube User posted:It's the cheapest plastic greenhouse kit I can find at Walmart. My budget is like $100 for this purchase, and that one is $70, so I figure I could get one heating mat on top of that, or I could get a space heater that I'll probably only run at night with it's thermistor set so it hopefully doesn't run the entire time. I'm in Colorado, zone 5b, if that gives you some idea of climate. Ok, so it doesn't seem crazy to me to have a space heater in something like that when placed on the floor (maybe on a brick or two in case water pools at the bottom when it rains). Just be sure that the material directly above it is well sealed to prevent water dripping onto the heater. If you're doing this right it should only result in the GFCI tripping, but you're on a budget so everything counts. I'm seeing small space heaters on amazon for $30 as I'm sure you are as well. The only other things I can think of is if the material is translucent enough, you can hang a large, inexpensive thermometer inside the tent so you can easily see various vantage points when it gets too warm in there. This happens particularly on those first really sunny spring days. I've had my hotbed get to over 100 in April when it was in the mid-50s and that was when I knew it was time to start propping it open in the morning and closing it at night. Or, if you have one of those weather monitoring stations, consider sticking the probe inside (I do this with a cheap Costco LaCrosse system) and it's even easier to monitor. But yeah, once you have this going, it's going to change everything. A single pack of seeds will easily turn into 50+ 4" pots of fully grown tomato starts or flowers or whatever that would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars to buy a few months later at the big box store or a nursery. You'll also have an amazing space to overwinter plants as well - I had great success with a pair of huge fuchsia baskets with the soil heat just turned to 65.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 01:26
|
|
|
Amazing advice, thanks so much. I'm thinking I'm actually going to set this up on an unused wooden deck, which may be bad for insulation, but good for drainage and making sure no water pools up anywhere. Would it help in that case to maybe use some old rubber floor pads my kid used to use to kind of seal up the ground area? Or is it not an issue because heat rises or whatnot? The deck doesnt have a lot of airflow, it's just like 6-8" above the ground.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 01:31
|
|
|
If you're running electronics in an environment where there's any chance of water exposure, at the very least, make sure you have a drip loop, and preferably one both near the plug and one near the electronics. If you're running an extension cord, you'll want one on both sides of the connection between the extension cord and your electronic device, too, to keep water from accumulating in the junction.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 01:37
|
|
|
Shine posted:Any recommendations on a place to order sprouting seeds (mung beans, alfalfa, clover, etc.) in bulk, like 8-16oz bags? The first thing that popped up on Google was Todd's Seeds, which looks fine, but I'm open to suggestions or supporting somebody's favorite little shop. Our local nursery has been out of stock of sprouting seeds for some time, and we're running low on a few things. My spouse makes spring rolls with our sprouts and garden produce (for the moment, that's cucumbers, dill, basil and mint; lima beans and peppers coming soon) and they're so loving nice. Wrap all my food in a thin layer of starch, please. Probably a bit more expensive than just buying a sack of organic mung beans, but they have a good range, and I'm pretty sure they ship to the US: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/collections/sprouting
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 01:48
|
|
|
Organic Lube User posted:Amazing advice, thanks so much. I'm thinking I'm actually going to set this up on an unused wooden deck, which may be bad for insulation, but good for drainage and making sure no water pools up anywhere. Would it help in that case to maybe use some old rubber floor pads my kid used to use to kind of seal up the ground area? Or is it not an issue because heat rises or whatnot? The deck doesnt have a lot of airflow, it's just like 6-8" above the ground. I would absolutely do that. Critters have a way of getting into greenhouses and that's going to save you a good deal of trouble. gently caress slugs. poeticoddity posted:If you're running electronics in an environment where there's any chance of water exposure, at the very least, make sure you have a drip loop, and preferably one both near the plug and one near the electronics. Great advice right here, and I need to double check my setup to ensure this is the case. They also make really inexpensive boxes for waterproofing extension cord connections. You can find ones like these at any hardware store and they're great for xmas lights as well. https://www.acfgreenhouses.com/waterproof-extension-cord-covers.aspx
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2021 01:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 08:14 |
|
|
I asked the thread this a while ago:CommonShore posted:I just took a walk through a community garden and I noticed something: And today I asked a newer Chinese friend of mine and got the answer! Chinese gardeners do this because they're trying to cultivate as much white on the scallion as possible. "Champion" scallions are determined by the total length of white in the harvested plant, she tells me. Through the season they'll heap up more soil or mulch to encourage the growth of white stem.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2021 05:03
|
|
