Seed starting indoors

[catjac1975]

Three types of basil. Almost ready for clipping.

 

[catjac1975]

My eggplant are way too big for the season. I think they will still be OK. But, it is long before they can go outdoors.They seemed to like fish emulsion.

 

[thistlebloom]

Everything looks so big and robust Cat! Very nice.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

View attachment 31095
My eggplant are way too big for the season. I think they will still be OK. But, it is long before they can go outdoors.They seemed to like fish emulsion.

Everything is HUGE! Very healthy looking!

 

[ducks4you]

Everything that is alive is growing like at 5mph!!! 1/2 of what I have started has either dried out or has rotted! My tomatoes are still alive, but I put them in the fish tank on the porch and they won't grow anymore. Haven't died, either. Spinach is doing better since being put under the lights. I can't grow where I want to bc of the murderous kittens!!!!

NO!!! They AREN'T the Good Guys in this story!!!!!!!
Actually, I have a good crop of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet peppers. Here is my basement setup. I had to drill through 100yo rough yewn oak to set up the eyebolts. Since I have been replacing the old flourscent units in the garage, I moved the old, broken units to store until I recycle them. I pulled off the chains to recycle and had to use a long one, in this case, to put up the LED flourescent unit with a gro light. Just like everything else, I bought some cheap ones. In this case one of the ballasts just won't work, so I bought one 48 inch pink gro light. I hung this last weekend from the ceiling in the basement.
Weird. Supports are every 18 inches except for this one gap right where I needed to hang this. ANYWAY, take a look at what I did last weekend.
Here is my new 48 inch LED gro light unit. I was surprised that it is pink!

To be sure, I attached the chains hooked to spring hooks and hooked THOSE to the eyebolts.

Here is the full setup. (YES, I am sometmes a sloppy gardener! =b)
Peas on the top row.
Sweet Peppers on the next row.
Spinach on the next row.
ALL 3 have heat mats bc my basement is UNheated. They are on all of the time. I have the gro lights on a timer, 16 hrs/day.

 

[catjac1975]

Sounds like cold is the problem. My greenhouse is unheated but open to the house. It gets cool most nights but, I have lights and heat mats. However, during a sunny day it get into the 80's and maybe 90's. Then everything goes crazy.

 

[so lucky]

Sounds like cold is the problem. My greenhouse is unheated but open to the house. It gets cool most nights but, I have lights and heat mats. However, during a sunny day it get into the 80's and maybe 90's. Then everything goes crazy.

Cat, if your greenhouse is open to the house, how does that work in really cold weather? Is your house cold? Does the house get really hot in the summer?

 

[digitS']

Cat' will have to answer but that is one reason why I wanted a shed attached to that 2nd hoop house. (Okay, a shed isn't an insulated house .) Available sunshine will make a great different in gathering heat but a building can moderate the greenhouse temperatures ...

My final tomato seed sowing will move from the kitchen to the greenhouse this morning. I can take the aluminum foil and newspapers off the top of the fridge and replace those with the usual junk ... The greenhouse is filling up! It won't be long before the plants from first sowing will need to be moved into pots. They have already been transplanted into 4-packs.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

Can't put it anywhere else this year. I TOLD you---kittens will murder my plants!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can't put it anywhere else this year. I TOLD you---kittens will murder my plants!!!

I understand. My wife got a house dog so I had to change how I stored eggs for incubation, how I incubated, and how I started seeds. You do what you got to do.