Vegetable Gardening

[OakLeaf]

Tomatoes need to be started 6-8 weeks before the transplant date, peppers 8-10 weeks.

It sure is simpler to buy plants, but not nearly as satisfying, and of course you're much more limited in varieties. We're lucky that we now have a local greenhouse that has dozens of heirloom tomatoes, but varieties of peppers are still pretty limited.

Plus I really want to start saving more seeds. I used to start everything from seed, but that all went by the wayside when we became snowbirds.

[tulip]

I started my seeds in March. They are just small and slow. They seem to have hit a plateau. I water them with compost tea and everything. Oh well, I'll just put them in the ground and see what happens. And I'll go buy a big honking tomato plant for good measure.

[Tuckervill]

I've never heard of this before, but I have a pot of petunias that come up year after year. It's a pot that I planted at least 2 years ago, bought the plant from Lowe's, and it has been hanging out there on a shepherd's hook all that time. It dies back and then every spring as soon as it gets rainy, it starts coming back. It's blooming like crazy right now!

I would like it in another place but I'm afraid to move it, for fear of disturbing its perfect environment.

Karen

[GLC1968]

Starting tomatoes from seed can be hit or miss. We started a bunch in January in our basement under an old florescent light (and sitting on a heating pad set to low). They did wonderfully and by the time we could safely put them in the ground (we too have a short growing season), they were 3 ft tall and already sprouting tomatoes. We had to transplant them twice as they grew and we pinched off most of the early flowers. They are doing very well right now after two weeks in the ground.

The tomatoes we started in Feburary never sprouted. The ones we started in March sprouted and then died (our own fault, they got fried in the greenhouse when our temps went above 80 degrees too early in the season).

Our peppers also died in this heat wave, so we had to go buy some starts at the farmer's market.

It's SOOO much more satifiying to grow from seed! This is the first year I've ever had luck growing tomatoes from seed and it's so exciting!

[tulip]

I did set up a grow light in the basement, and I used it for the seeds, but what I really need is a greenhouse...so maybe next year...(kayak?...greenhouse?...kayak?...greenhouse?...)

[Blueberry]

The putting in the beds and figuring out what in the world we're doing was enough for us this year! We might try seeds next year. All of our plants came from locally owned garden supply places and the farmer's market (plus a few we picked up on a farm tour). We have some great varieties - and yes, our first sungold is almost ready to pick!!

CA

[papaver]

I did set up a grow light in the basement, and I used it for the seeds, but what I really need is a greenhouse...so maybe next year...(kayak?...greenhouse?...kayak?...greenhouse?...)

get a plexi see through kayak that you can use as a greenhouse.

[OakLeaf]

You'll need someplace to store your 'yak anyway. Why not in the greenhouse?

FWIW, I never had any trouble with my tomato seeds (or the other nightshades). The soil has to be maintained at 80-90°F (27-32°C) until germination, and the pots and soil should be sterile.

If the ambient temperature is low, to maintain the soil temperature, the heating pad should be set on high and the flats should be loosely covered (and if you're using a household heating pad, make sure it's one that's rated for moist heat!). With a tight cover you could probably get away with setting the pad lower, but then you'd run into troubles with moisture control and ambient molds. I never did invest in a thermostatically controlled seedling heat mat, but I always kept a soil thermometer stuck in one of the cells.

My sweet corn's up . Pre-sprouting the seeds indoors under a damp paper towel for 36-48 hours gives me close to 100% germination of untreated seed, even when the soil temperature is only 60°F or so. I haven't done sweet corn in several years just because it's so resource-intensive - and it's not in the best spot in the garden - so we'll see how it does. I'm going to kidnap some horse manure from my new neighbor.

[tulip]

Ah, well I'm sure the soil wasn't and isn't so warm. My basement, which is a wonderful wine cellar, is about 63F year round. Next year I'll get the heating pad. This year, I'll just buy some plants. It's getting late already!

I love the plexi kayak idea!