Inside Starts, Yours & Mine

[digitS']

Look, I was poised with the camera to take a picture of a frozen box of potting soil. No. There are no seeds in it yet! Maybe it would have been more interesting than a box of rocks! I had it sitting in a basin of water out on the deck yesterday afternoon. By the time I got it out of the water, ice had formed around the box. It was frozen to a brick this morning but I got the box, sans brick, into the house to warm up and, maybe, drip some more. Then, I'm gonna get some pepper seeds in there!!

Here is what is in the greenhouse:

It may be another week before these "boxes" have any onion sprouts in them. I will have to pay attention that they don't freeze - down in the teens soon, the WS says! It has been fairly warm and I can imagine an onion seed or 2 sprouting in there! They will struggle on just fine, I'm thinking .

What is going on under your lights, on that warm shelf in your kitchen, in a sunny South Window???

Steve

 

[journey11]

You've had a time with that potting soil, Steve. I'm surprised you haven't given up and bought a new one. I would have.

I've got to hurry and get the craft junk sorted and put up in my sunroom so there will be room to set up my flats.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I took this photo yesterday. I put tomato seeds in here Friday February 14th and took the photo exactly one week later.

I also put in pepper seeds at the same time but nothing is happening with them. I put some more pepper seeds in there this morning. It's Golden Summer pepper from seeds I saved.

This is sitting on a hot box I made from plywood, aluminum foil, and an old string of Christmas tree lights. When I measure the temperature of the soil it's between 84 and 90 degrees. It's in a spare bedroom. The house thermostat is set on 71. They are getting leggy so I put white paper on the sides to try to reflect more light from the side.

 

[so lucky]

Got peppers and parsley just about an inch tall. No cabbage up yet. After looking at that chart of how long seed is viable in ideal conditions, I won't be surprised if my cabbage doesn't germinate.

 

[digitS']

Those cabbage seeds went in the mix the same time as the others, So Lucky??

I know that I have a less-than-ideal location for starting the peppers but I would think that your 84°+ soil temperature has to be about as good as you can go, Ridgerunner.

My gas water heater in the basement must be well insulated. I just checked the temperature on top. It's only 68°. I could probably warm the box of soil by pushing it up against one of the pipes but that doesn't seem wise :/.

Where I can get in trouble is having more than one type of seed in the cookie box. There is no light above them on top the fridge (where it is about 70°, 24/7). As soon as the seedlings emerge, they must come out here to the South Window. There will be 8 different pepper varieties in that box . . ! As a complete idiot, I put tomato seed in a cookie box of eggplant last year. The tomato had to come out into the light dayz before those eggplant seedlings showed up. It isn't a terrible seed-starting environment here in the South Window but that fridge top is much warmer overnight and those.tomatoes.should.never.have.been.in.that.box!

The 2014 box has warmed and dripped out the melted ice. Time for me to carry my cookie box out to the greenhouse and drop some pepper seed in it! First, clean off the top of the fridge & write out some "stickers."

Steve

 

[Smithyard Farm]

Ridgerunner what is the string of Christmas tree lights for?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I made a flat box, lined the bottom with foil, and strung Christmas tree lights inside. I put small nails in the ends and bent them to attach the lights to. You control the heat by the amount of working bulbs you screw in.

 

[NwMtGardener]

I use christmas tree lights to provide bottom heat to my little pots. Helps with germination, and (i think) helps prevent some damping off diseases.

I'm not quite as fancy, or safe, as ridgerunner. My salad containers of little jiffy pots are just plunked down right on the string of lights, and if it seems too warm (i use a thermometer) i just take some of the lights out from underneath. I just try to never get the lights wet.

So far i only have 2 cabbages sprouted. Waiting for the bunching onions and 6 brussel sprouts to show themselves...

 

[digitS']

And, there they go!

In 10 or 14 days, I will do this again . . . you don't want to count out your eggs until the fat chicken sings. Or, something like that.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Those cookie boxes make me hungry. Are you sure those are seed starts in soil, or are you just disguising brownies?