I goffed

[COgirl]

Thank you for the info. I have several that I can do that to now. That will be a nice way to spend the day indoors had a blizzard yesterday, and it is still blowing pretty hard out.

 

[karanleaf]

Hi gang I read through and just wanted to throw my seeds in for thought. your plants are proubly getting leggy because they are trying to get more light. If you get a Daylight natural color CFL bulb I use the 75 or higher and have it set about 6 inches or so above the plants then they won't feel like they have to reach so high. And it's been my practice to plant leggy tomatos long ways. Meaning laying the plant down and burying all the stem but just a few inches below the last bracket of leaves. As the stem will devlope roots and will give the plant a much stronger footing. Oh and I also use a empty toliet paper roll cut in half at the planting level as a cut worm collar. Those buggers can go through a group of plants in no time
I hope this is all recieved as helpful hints :tools as this is my intentision :bee

:happy_flower Karan

 

[jackiedon]

Welcome to a great website with some great people.

I planted my tomatoes back in the first of Feb and I am still babying them. I have transplanted them several times to plant deeper in cups and they are finally getting strong.

Have fun and if something doesn't work out than you will learn for next time. There is nothing better than watching your seeds grow and then see the plants produce.

jackie

So you can transplant the tomatoes. I started a bunch of heirloom tomatoe seeds and they are leggy. I asked a gardening friend if I could transplant them to deeper pots and she said no that they needed to become root bound in the peat pots so they would be ready to go in the garden. It didn't sound right to me but since I have never started them from seed I figured I better listen. My thought was I would plant most of the stem in a deeper pot like I do when I put store bought ones in the garden, am I on the right track?

You know I just transplanted the rest of my tomatoes into larger pots. I read in a gardening book I borrowed today that you pinch the first set of true leaves when there is a set of at least 4 true leaves and then bury the plant deep enough to cover that area, and it forces MORE and stronger roots. This makes for an easier outside transplant with a better shot at earlier developing fruit.

Might as well give it a try. I lost 9 plants outside I did not do this too... but buried deeply outside. I didn't know I needed to do it before.

I didn't know if it would work to transplant them deeper into the dirt. I remembered planting tomatoes as a kid that my mom had started from seeds and she would make us plant them deep enough so only the leaves were showing. My mom always put up 100 quarts of tomato juice a year so she did well with tomatoes.

Mine are really getting a lot of leaves and a thicker stalk. When the sun is shining, I take the outside. If it's going to be cold at night I bring them in.

Good luck.

jackie

 

[momofdrew]

Hello-my name is Donna and I live in the middle of Michigan abouts...

I grew up in the city and have lived on my husband family dairy farm for about 20 yrs... BUT have refused to learn to garden.. But this yr my 17 yr old daughter thought it would be nice to plant a garden, well in Feb I saw a lady from our church in Home Depot buying her stuff to start planting her garden inside- she said she starts them in the house then when it is warm puts them out in the garden... Okay sounded easy

So about 3 weeks ago I went and bought a Jiffy Professional Greenhouse
it is a tray with peat pellets in it... I bought seeds too, a few days later we put one or two seeds in each peat pellets and covered it.. put it in a warm place and things began to grow.. Hubby comes home a few days later (took him that long to notice it) and says don't you think it is a little early- I said Betty was buying stuff and he said ya but not planting yet..

So my question is I have these plants that I started on March 4th, and they are getting pretty tall, when can I plant them outside and how long can they live in those peat pellets in the house..

Thank you
Donna B

when you see roots coming out the sides and bottom of the pellets it is time to move them to a larger container with potting soil...

You need to check with your extention service probably at Michigan State University and find out what your zone is to know when things can go outside...you will also get good advice on what grows well in your area...they also may have classes for new gardeners...go to the library and get a few books on Veggie gardening...They tell you how to prepare the soil and how to plant and feed and a whole lot more...