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Seedlings!
March is the unkindest month here in the Pacific Northwest. Day to day one never knows what to expect of the weather. After having spent time in February cleaning beds and tidying up, March comes along and suggests that it’s time to start some planting outside, and to start those seedlings indoors for late April and May planting, only to bring cold, snowy weather one day, only to have it sunny and 60 the next.
One of the cheats - pre-potted flowers from the garden shop!
Every year I get overly eager and start too many things – only to have them spring to life too soon, and they become leggy and can’t possibly survive outside. This year is certainly no exception – I started a good number of things, and had to sacrifice a few, but overall I timed things a bit better. For my seedlings, I use a simple small shop shelf, and over each shelf I have a small aluminum shop light. I have the lights plugged into an extension cord that’s plugged into a light timer that switches on at 8:00am and goes off at 7:00pm.
Total investment:
Portable Shop Shelf – $20
Three Shop Lights from Home Depot – $5 each/$15
Extension Cord – $2
Light Timer – $5
If you are ready to start seedlings indoors (and now’s a good time to start pepper and tomato seeds, if you’re inclined to go that route!) here are a few tips that I’ve found work well for me:
1) Start seeds in clean pots. I store my seed pots and trays in the basement and shed, and they’re exposed to mold, mildew and heaven knows what else. After I hose them off outside, I bring them in, and rinse them in warm water with a splash of bleach in it to kill any mold or mildew still on it. Make sure to rinse them well, because you certainly don’t want any bleach lingering around.
2) Use a “sterile” seed mix – and if you get it from a Home Depot or Lowe’s type store, don’t buy it if it’s been sitting outside. Anything that gets rain in it will bring mildew and whatnot with it. Seed babies are prone to an unfortunate disease called “damp off” which is basically a mold that attacks the young seedlings and gives them no chance of surviving. You can start seeds in a LOT of different kinds of mediums – pure vermiculite or perlite work great! Seeds don’t need “soil” per se, they just need a place to get warm and take on some water.
3) You don’t have to use potting soil to start seeds in – chances of “damp off” are much higher, and potting soil has composted nutrition in it that the seedlings don’t need until they’re older. “Potting Soil” has a habit of being more expensive than seed starting mix – save yourself the money.
4) Only use those clear domes over the seed trays until you see the first sprouts. Once you see seeds germinate, take the lids off. If they might get too cold at night, prop the lids up with popsicle sticks, or clip clothespins on the sides of the seed trays, and use them as legs to hold up the dome. A little airflow will keep damp off from occurring, and you don’t lose much heat.
5) Group things together that have similar moisture and light requirements. Lettuces, cress and onions don’t need to be terribly warm, but some flowers want more heat. Have one tray of salad plants, another of warm flowers, cruciferous plants (broccoli, kale, cabbage, etc.) in another tray, etc. and arrange them on shelves accordingly. Heat-loving things closer to the lights, cooler plants farther away.
Gathered into groups with sensible companions.
6) Keep soil moist with an atomizer until you see the first leaves (cotyledons) appear. Once the first leaves are on, water from the bottom. This encourages stronger root growth – watering along the top will keep roots weak, and pretty shallow.
7) I’ve used distilled water for seedlings, but if you have a tea kettle, you can do your own. Just boil up water, and let it cool completely and fill your atomizers from the kettle. Boiling kills all the chlorine and other undesirable chemicals that might be appearing in your tap water. Chlorine may be good for keeping water clean, but it isn’t good for tender young plants.
Enjoy spring, whenever it comes to you. I’m looking forward to experimenting with a couple different tomato seeds. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on their progress.
I’m also contemplating using these “Topsy Turvy” planters for some tomato plants this year – has anyone tried these? Do share your experiences with these if you have – i’d love to hear what your experience has been with them!
Tags:No TagsPosted by Les on March 29th, 2009 under Uncategorized
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