Fast kale!

[ninnymary]

Thiste, do you have a hole in that container to put the cord through? Also, do those lights work on all types of seeds? I'm wondering if they get as warm as a heat pad?

I've been thinking of tyring seeds this summer for fall veggies. About how many 6 packs can you put on top of that container?

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Mary, there's no hole. I just ran the cord out of the box and set the lid on top. This is a larger box than I've used before. It's an under
bed storage box. I have one strand of lights in it. Started out with two but it seemed like it was getting too hot. I also put the lights on a piece of foil to keep the bulbs from sitting directly on the plastic.

I usually use two smaller boxes with a strand (25' + - ) in each. The air temp in those boxes got around 90 degrees, and the soil temp was about 70. I have a very cool house when the woodstove isn't active.

I'll put a thermometer in this one and take some measurements for you a little later today and post it here. The sun looks like it may shine some today and I've got a mountain of chores!

 

[BurgerBoy]

Using Christmas Tree lights is a good idea. I'm going to try it on my seeds.

 

[thistlebloom]

The tomatoes are sprouting now also, and if you look reeeeely close you can see tiny little pepper sprouts. This is day four after sowing.
They grow so fast! I bet the tomato sprouts grew noticeably in two hours time, from just emerging to starting to straighten and unfurl those tiny leaves.

It always amazes me when seeds germinate, it's such an affirmation. And it just makes me happy

 

[897tgigvib]

Welcome to the forum Burger Boy



Remember your login stuff and stop in often!

 

[skeeter9]

Love how you did the lights, Thistle! I've never seen that before, only seen them in sand. What a great idea.

 

[digitS']

What? Sand?

I've never heard of these things. So, I googled . . . sometimes using google images makes it easier to narrow things down.

No Space or Money for Starting Seeds? Think Again (Rural Spin link) Or, kitty litter.

I am seriously displeased to have only purple Asian eggplants and no green ones. I really think that was mostly because I had to take the lid off the container since those tomato seeds I stuck in there had to go into the sunshine. Still, it would be nice to not only be better organized but get seed started a little more quickly.

My old fridge was better at generating heat up the back of the machine. There has been some TEG talk about water heaters lately. Some gardeners start seeds above those! Mine is in the basement and that wouldn't be the best place for me to keep track of seedlings.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm pretty happy with the Christmas lights in a box method. My second batch of tomatoes came up in 4 days from sowing.
I only start a fraction of the seeds you do, but the light boxes don't take up any more room on the table than the seed boxes themselves.

What appeals to me is it's cheap, simple and easy to put away when I'm done with it.

 

[digitS']

How did the peppers turn out, Thistle'?

My replanting of the Jalapeno M did just okay and, at least, were not in with other, faster germinating peppers.

I should probably not have been using that seed since 2009 altho' the Large Red Cherry tomato seed is a year older and had no trouble.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

The peppers are doing great, they came up within a week of sowing. Some were faster, but all of them had emerged by 7 days for sure.
My seed was not fresh so I sowed them pretty thick. The germination rate was way higher than I expected, so it's a pepper forest in there.
When they get their true leaves I'm going to pot them up.