Seed starting indoors

[so lucky]

When seed starting, I use 4' florescent lights in my basement, after the seeds start sprouting, which is done atop my fridge. The lights are lowered to within a couple inches of the emerging plants, and I put a small fan on them, to blow all the time the lights are on, about 18 hours per day. The fan blowing helps keep them from getting mildew or anything associated with warm still moist air, and really helps them grow strong and thick stems.
Occasionally I will turn the trays around if they are leaning away from the wind. The soil does dry out faster this way, so that needs to be watched.
Try the fan, you will be glad you did.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I'm of two minds now. The date and Phil suggest it is time to get my tomatoes started. But my experience of previous years leads me to think that, common knowledge about putting out your tomato plants on Mother's Day notwithstanding it actually wont be safe to put ANYTHING outside until the very end of June, and so starting them now is just setting them up to die. And while I have TONS of Ramito Dorado and Dulce* (since they are seed I collected myself) some of the packet seed is limited.

I'm focusing on currant and other small wild tomatoes on the grounds that only the smallest of tomatoes ever fruit in the pots (normal sized produce one or two cherry sized fruit and then die.)

 

[so lucky]

I don't think I will be starting any seeds till at least the end of February. I usually start too early and have huge tomato and pepper plants to try to maintain, then the tomatoes have to be planted way deep or sideways.

 

[Crealcritter]

I don't think I will be starting any seeds till at least the end of February. I usually start too early and have huge tomato and pepper plants to try to maintain, then the tomatoes have to be planted way deep or sideways.

Nothing wrong with planting tomatoes, peppers and eggplant deep - it encourages a good root system. I typically plant my tomatoes in a deep trench, raked up high anyways because Southern IL spring rains are crazy. I divert excess water runoff via furrows in-between hilled rows to a main trench that drains into the creek behind my gardens. If I didn't do this I wouldn't have any gardens because they would quickly become swimming pools.

 

[buckabucka]

I won't be starting seeds until late February. This year, we are upgrading to LED lights and a new light box that is at waist level (a platform for 6 flats), as opposed to crawling around on the ground, which will be a nice change. DH has it under construction now. I hope the LEDs work well.

 

[so lucky]

Nothing wrong with planting tomatoes, peppers and eggplant deep - it encourages a good root system. I typically plant my tomatoes in a deep trench, raked up high anyways because Southern IL spring rains are crazy. I divert excess water runoff via furrows in-between hilled rows to a main trench that drains into the creek behind my gardens. If I didn't do this I wouldn't have any gardens because they would quickly become swimming pools.

I didn't know if one could plant peppers and eggplant deep. I've not seen the little auxiliary roots on the stems of peppers, so hadn't tried it. Yet.

 

[baymule]

I keep the florescent lights on them 24x7 and very close like you. Untill they take off real well. Then I'll turn the lights of when I go to bed and turn them back on again when I get up. Seems to help with leggy seedlings.

That's what I've been doing. Phooey. I have a good gardening philosophy. It will live or it won't. Meh.

 

[baymule]

When seed starting, I use 4' florescent lights in my basement, after the seeds start sprouting, which is done atop my fridge. The lights are lowered to within a couple inches of the emerging plants, and I put a small fan on them, to blow all the time the lights are on, about 18 hours per day. The fan blowing helps keep them from getting mildew or anything associated with warm still moist air, and really helps them grow strong and thick stems.
Occasionally I will turn the trays around if they are leaning away from the wind. The soil does dry out faster this way, so that needs to be watched.
Try the fan, you will be glad you did.

I like the fan idea!

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's been a few years and I cant remember all the results. I wish other people would check it out and see if they get my results. I used to plant practically everything deep as possible but one year when I was cleaning up the garden in the fall I dug up certain things I had planted deep. I'm going by memory from several years back but the way I remember it the tomatoes do send out roosts all along the stem. More at leaf nodes but still some all along the stem.

The peppers I planted did not. Probably sweet peppers but occasionally I grow others. The only roots were at the bottom of the stem where I planted them. They still did well but I started planting peppers more shallow. Zinnias put out roosts from the leaf node closest to the ground surface. The stem rotted between the deep original roots and the surface. That surprised me. I can't remember what my eggplant did.

 

[digitS']

I'm going by memory from several years back but the way I remember it

Nov 22, 2014

You were There, Ridge'

Steve